Automotive News - November 9, 2020 - 32W

32W * NOVEMBER 9, 2020

10 0 L E A D I N G W O M E N

sonia RIEF

 Vice President, Vehicle Connected Services & Program
Management Office | Nissan Americas | Franklin, Tenn.
| Age: 44 | Education: B.S., mechanical engineering, North
Carolina State University; MBA, University of Michigan

linda HASENFRATZ

 CEO | Linamar Corp. | Guelph, Ontario | Age: 54
| Education: B.S., chemistry, and Executive MBA,
University of Western Ontario
What drew you to the auto industry? I decided I
didn't want to turn my back on something my father
had created from nothing and wanted to be a part of
this business he had built. I've never looked back.
First automotive job: My first job at Linamar [in
1990] was machine operator. I ran a machine on the
shop floor for a couple of months, those months being
July and August, notably. So it was a good experience
that taught me a lot about how tough it is to do that job,
and I developed a strong respect for people who are doing that all year round.
Big break: I had a great opportunity to see our business from a lot of different perspectives by virtue of this
training program that my father and I decided that I
would embark on. So I started out on the shop floor, but
from there I went into engineering and then quality
control, production control, accounting, estimating.
What is the major challenge you've faced in your
career? A pandemic definitely was not in any of my
MBA books about things to handle. It has been obviously very challenging, not just in terms of the financial
performance of the business. Of course, I already experienced a very tough financial and economic situation
in 2008-2009 when we had the financial crisis. But this
situation was that plus much more.
You've been in the industry 30 years. What has
been the most important change you've seen? The
one that we're living through right now in terms of technology evolution in the industry as we move towards
electrification and all the different forms that might
take. I think there's actually never been a more exciting
time in the auto industry than right now because there
is so much change happening.
What do you struggle with? I think at Linamar, culturally, we are inclined to act quickly, which is great.
Where that becomes a bit of an Achilles' heel is in more
strategic decision-making and M&A kind of activity,
where you don't want to move quickly. I've definitely
learned some lessons there, jumping too quickly into
maybe a joint venture or an expansion that should have
been thought through more. I try and look at decision-making in the context of the consequence of that
decision. So if the consequence of the decision is this
week, then take seconds to make the decision. But if the
consequence could be months or years, then you
should think for a lot longer about that decision and get
more facts.
Describe your leadership style. Different disciplines
and diversity in your team bring you a point of view that
may be different than your own. I think it's really important that we listen to those differing opinions when
we're making decisions in order to make better, more
balanced decisions. So I would say it is definitely an inclusive, team-focused leadership style.
How do you bring your best self to work? I think
that you bring your best self to work by being good to
yourself. I start every day with a great workout. I think
it's a great way to invigorate your day and clear your
head and give you the energy and passion that you
need to get in there and get your day started.
Tell us about your family. We have four children.
They range in age from 20 to 24. So, obviously it was a
fairly productive few years there. I like to say high production is in my blood, so I basically had another child
every year and a half or so. So there were some pretty
crazy years in there. They're all fantastic young adults,
and I'm really proud of each and every one of them.
What's your favorite weekend activity? I love to
cook, so we would often have friends over for dinner
and spend a great evening together with great food.
- John Irwin

What drew you to the auto industry? Cars. I was racing as a hobby. I was very much excited about being in automotive because I
love cars and I loved racing.
First automotive job: With General Motors at the proving grounds
in Milford in 1999. I was a durability test engineer.
What is the major challenge you've faced
in your career? Deciding what's next. The
more you do, the more options you have, and
the more options you have, the harder it becomes to decide what's the right next step.
You've been in the industry 21 years.
What has been the most important change
you've seen? When I started at the proving
grounds, everything was about horsepower,
torque, performance. The transition that
we've seen in recent years to performance in
terms of the connected experience; and performance not just being about muscle anymore, but about range and noise. The change
in what drivers today expect versus what drivers 20 years ago expected is amazing.
What work achievement are you most
proud of? I was able to be a chief engineer on
Rogue and that happened to be at the right time when that segment
was taking off when that vehicle was taking off. I was in the right spot
at the right time to be able to make some great changes. I was really
proud of that.
What do you struggle with? The balance between too fast and
too slow. Knowing when the right moment is to make a decision.
When you have enough information, to move forward without losing the opportunity that's in front of you.
Describe your leadership style. Collaborative. Direct. I am much
more of an enabler probably than a doer. I am all about being handson, but also with having a very clear sense of direction.
What should be done to encourage women to enter the auto
industry? I think there's an impression that it's more difficult, or that
there are huge hurdles to be faced, or that there's an environment
that's not welcoming. Somehow we have created this vision as we

marissa HUNTER

 Head of Marketing - North America | Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles | Auburn Hills, Mich. | Age: 46 | Education: B.A.,
communication, Michigan State University
What drew you to the auto industry? My first job was at [ad
agency] BBDO, here in the Detroit area. At that time, [Jeep was our]
client, so I quickly became immersed in automotive. I'm not a natural gearhead. I'm much more of a marketing head and a people person. And so, obviously, I quickly grew a significant appreciation for
cars and the role that the automotive industry
has here in our state, but also in the country
and in the world.
First automotive job: My job at BBDO right
out of college, so that was in '98. I was there
for about half my career and then made the
change over to now FCA in August 2009.
Big break: In 2009, when the automotive
industry was facing its last great crisis, I recall
one day in July, I received a call from an FCA
executive, or his office, and I was asked if I
would be able to meet him the following day. I
was operating in the capacity of account director at BBDO, and I oversaw all of our motorsports marketing programs and all of our
Dodge car brands. I was assuming that the
discussion was project-based. We were taking
some time off across the leadership team at
the agency, and I was sort of the highest-ranking official in the office at that moment. So, of
course, eagerly, excitedly, I went over to
Chrysler and sat down with him. He asked me
if I ever considered coming to the other side. So had I ever considered working as a client in the marketing organization, at the time,
Chrysler. He was the Dodge brand CEO, and he was head of U.S.
marketing. Wow, it's not at all what I expected the conversation to
be. But I really started thinking about it. Could I do it? Is it something
that I would want to do? At one point, he just basically said to me
very candidly: "Marissa, at some point, you're going to have to stop
staring over the edge of the cliff. Sometimes in our lives, we have to
just jump." And you know what, it really had a profound impact on
me. I thought, wow, I think I can do this. The very next day, I made
the decision to leave the agency and start a new career path at FCA.
It was just two weeks after that that I did in fact do that. Sometimes,
those biggest breaks can come at a time when you're not expecting

talk about women in automotive that it won't be welcoming. And
that's not the case at all. I think what we meant to discuss was that
there are differences. That it's a culture that was originally male-dominated, that that comes with some cultural norms that take time to
fade away. But, that doesn't mean that when a woman walks into
automotive, or into engineering, that it won't be a fantastic experience, that people won't be open and that opportunities won't be
there. So, I hope that we haven't turned people away by talking about
some of the experiences maybe that we had in the past.
How do you bring your best self to work? The best self is always
going to be the one who is doing more of what I want to than what I
have to. So, as long as my life and my integration is about things I
want to do, and I haven't just become someone who's doing what I have to do, then we all
get the best self. Which isn't necessarily the
self that everyone wants because everyone
has their own priorities.
Tell us about your family. I'm married
20-some years to my husband who has also
been in automotive. We have two children.
We just moved here to Tennessee about a year
ago. It's been an interesting experience with
COVID and moving to a new place.
Are you able to maintain friendships? I
used to talk to people a lot about work-life balance and one of them would always say, "Well,
how do you manage?" I would say by being
sometimes a really bad friend. You have to
pick the things that are most important. And
then when you go in order, sometimes those
friendships end up a little bit lower on the list.
So, how do I do it? In Michigan, I had a group
of women that I was very close to, that was very good at making sure
that they were embracing me and pushing me to be included. The
easiest [friendships] to maintain are other women in automotive. We
can keep communication even during the day. I would like to say that
I'm great at [maintaining friendships]; I'm probably not. I have a few
select friends that I make the effort to reach out to.
What's your favorite weekend activity? Anything outside that's
active with my family. Biking, running, hiking, kayaking - anything
that's a little sweaty.
If there were 25 hours in a day, how would you spend your extra hour? I would do at least 12 of those things that people tell you
only take five minutes a day. I would stretch, I'd floss a second time, I
would read something motivational - I would do all those things
that people tell you "it's just five minutes."
- Urvaksh Karkaria

them. And you have to find the courage to take the chance.
What is the major challenge you've faced in your career? When
I was in the process of making my move at FCA from, at the time,
overseeing the Ram truck brand from an advertising perspective - I
was the head of Ram truck advertising - to potentially being able to
move up to become the director over all of the brand advertising
teams. And I had the opportunity to do a little bit of an extended interview. I was asked to sort of act as a leader among my peers. I was
stretching and reaching for that next layer, that next rung on the ladder, but in doing so I needed to demonstrate my ability to lead that
whole team while I was still their peer. So the process of being a peer
and a mentor at the same time; being a peer and a developer of people and work at the same time; needing to
build that trust [and] mitigate some of the internal sort of competitive challenges and also
prove and show that my involvement in their
work was and did lead to a better work product.
You've been in the industry 22 years.
What has been the most important change
you've seen? The relationship that marketing
organizations have with agencies is much
more collaborative now than it was probably
when I started. The exchange of ideas, the
openness to ideas, the willingness to work a
project, a challenge together, in a very integrated collaborative way, I think has evolved
tremendously.
What work achievement are you most
proud of? I'm very proud of the team's effort
and the deliverable of our most recent Super
Bowl commercial, "Groundhog Day." I'm very
proud of how we worked inside of two weeks
to navigate all of the relationships, all of the
dynamics with the film studio. And, of course, at the end of the day,
you can't remake Groundhog Day without Mr. Bill Murray himself.
So the fact that we were able to pull that project together inside of a
couple of weeks and execute what is definitely one of the best-ever
Super Bowl commercials and definitely on behalf of FCA, I'm extremely proud. I'm extremely proud that that Super Bowl commercial has been put in the company of other great brands like Apple,
like Amazon, like P&G, as one of the five finalists in the outstanding
commercial category for the 2020 Emmy Award. So that is a significant achievement and definitely recognizes the impact that that creative piece had on behalf of the Jeep brand and the new Jeep Gladiator.

- Vince Bond Jr.

Automotive News - November 9, 2020

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