Automotive News Canada - November 2020 - 13

DON WALKER
* N O V E M B E R 2 020

13

Staggering growth for Magna highlights a glowing
career that will soon end with his retirement

defined: How do we keep our customers happy so we win business,
so we can keep growing the business? How do you keep employees
happy and motivated so they have
their mind and their energy focused on
being productive? And the third is how
do you reward the shareholders, who
are the owners of the company, for a
good return and keeping that balance?
So, I think the thing I'm most proud of,
quite frankly, is the relationships and
the culture we have inside the company,
keeping it growing. "

For Kotagiri,
a new role in
a new world
Magna's next
CEO faces big
challenges, from
trade to COVID-19

IF HE HAS REGRETS
By JOHN IRWIN
and GREG LAYSON

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA

W

HEN DON WALKER TOOK
over as CEO of Magna
International Inc. in 1994, the
Ontario-based supplier had
yet to become the autoparts
giant it is today.
That year, the company had more
than US $3.5 billion in sales. By 2019, it
reported revenue north of US $39 billion
($52 billion), making it the third-largest
supplier in the world.
Magna founder Frank Stronach, who
recruited Walker to the company, " did
a good job there, " said Flavio Volpe,
president of the Automotive Parts
Manufacturers' Association. " But Don
took it to another planet. "
In October, the 64-year-old Walker
announced he would retire at the end
of the year and would hand over the
company reins to Swamy Kotagiri,
Magna's president and former chief
technology officer, who has spent 21
years at the supplier.
Walker retires after overseeing
most of Magna's rapid growth over
the past 26 years, serving as CEO
from 1994 to 2001 and again from 2005
until the end of 2020. He left in 2001 to
become CEO of Intier Automotive, a
vehicle-interiors unit that Magna controlled as a wholly owned subsidiary.
Against the backdrop of the seismic
changes facing the industry, Walker
said Magna has been doing succession
planning for his position and several others. It was " the right time " for
Kotagiri, who has a background in
technology, to " lead the company into
the future, " Walker said.
Raised in Toronto, not far from the
company's headquarters in Aurora,
Ont., Walker graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Waterloo.
Before joining Magna, he held several
engineering and manufacturing roles
with General Motors.
Walker spoke with Automotive News
Canada during an Oct. 23 appearance
on the weekly " Canada Conversations "
podcast. Highlights from the interview
include:

WHAT HE'S PROUDEST OF
" Quite often, people think of a company as a legal entity or a thing. I think of
a company as a collection of people who
are all trying to hopefully work together for a common goal. And in Magna's
case, the common goal is pretty well

" I think in the last 10 years, we've
really been focused on three priorities:
world-class manufacturing, consistency around
the globe - that
includes the
launches on innovation, on product
and manufacturing processes and
new materials -
and a global people system to identify
and drive promotions to the right people and attract the right people. I wish
that we had been able to get that started earlier, maybe 20 years ago. But the
company is evolving, so I don't really have it as a regret. But that's something you live and learn in how you
run the most effective company. "

THE HEALTH OF CANADA'S
AUTO INDUSTRY
" I think Canada has tried to do
their best in attracting, promoting investments of the [automaker]
assembly plants here, and we've had
a couple wins lately, which was good
to see. And they've worked on eliminating red tape and administration. I
still think we have some areas we can
improve in Canada, and that's why I
would like to continue to focus on it.
But the industry will rise or fall by
whether you get vehicles assembled
here. ... Now that we've got the new
NAFTA [the United States-MexicoCanada trade agreement] in place, I
think that will make NAFTA strong. "

PLANNED INVESTMENTS
AT CANADIAN ASSEMBLY PLANTS
" I think what we've seen, and I'm
very happy to see this, is they've maintained their production here, so the
footprint isn't going down. Now I don't
know the details, but hopefully the
vehicles they put here will sell well
and the volumes will go up. So, I think
it's a good news story. I was talking
with [Unifor President] Jerry Dias the
other day. He's probably in a difficult
situation because you want to have
investment you can get for the workforce, but it's a competitive world out
there. You have to be willing to do the
right balance of keeping the competitiveness and attracting [automaker] investment. The
government has a role to
play there. The fact that
we got some production
mandates here is good
for those plants [Ford
Oakville assembly and

By JOHN IRWIN
Don Walker says the mark of a good
leader is developing a strong team
to take over when it's time. Walker
retires at the end of the year.
P H O T O : G I A N C A R L O PA W E L E C

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Windsor
assembly], and it also gives it an opportunity for the supply base to win business. And there's probably going to be
some opportunities to win some business in some new areas. "

WHAT BEING CANADIAN MEANS
" I kind of think of myself, quite
frankly, as a North American person.
I spent so much time in the States. But
obviously, I have a very strong, keen
interest in having a healthy Canada.
...We're very proud of our heritage
here. In fact, the head office [of Magna]
is here. And we're such a large, internationally successful company. I think
it's great. Canada needs more companies like this. That's why we need to
make sure we have the environment to
attract entrepreneurs and let them be
successful here, support business and
celebrate the victories. "

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA

SWAMY KOTAGIRI, THE
president of Magna International
Inc. and the supplier's incoming CEO, said the United StatesMexico-Canada Agreement
(USMCA) will help Canada -
and the company's Canadian
operations - become more globally competitive.
" I think that's going to be
key, " Kotagiri told Automotive
News Canada in October. " It
was kind of in question for some
time, but it looks like it's got
good provisions.
" That's going to be important to keep trade going between
the U.S., Canada and Mexico. We
have a significant footprint in all
three. "
Kotagiri, 51, is set to take the
helm at Magna on Jan. 1, replacing the retiring Don Walker.

SEE A CANADIAN PAGE 14

END OF AN ERA?
" Maybe it's an end of an era because
I've been here for so long. I remember
30 years ago, I was going to the suppliers' council as a young CEO. I'm pretty well known in certain areas of the
industry, so that changes. But it won't
change the company. If I've done my
job right and put the right people in,
we'll look back in three or four years
and say the company got even stronger
with the management team that was
in place. And I think that's a true judgment of how successful you are. If you
can replace yourself with a team that's
as strong or stronger, then I've done a
good job. If you've not done
that, then you've failed. "
- ANC

Incoming Magna International
CEO Swamy Kotagiri has more
than two decades of experience
at the company.
P H O T O : M A G N A I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Don Walker oversaw
most of Magna's
rapid growth during
his time as CEO
with the supplier.
PHOTO: MAGNA
Automotive News Canada - November 2020

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