Automotive News Canada - July 2022 - 22

22
* JULY 2022
She's keeping customers in the loop
JOYCE TSHIAMALA
schedules, delivery process and timelines.
Manager,
voice of the customer,
Hyundai Auto Canada
CHOSEN BECAUSE:
JOYCE TSHIAMALA BELIEVES THAT
communication is critical to attracting
and retaining customers in a sector that
is facing its fair share of disruption.
" Consumer expectations are evolving
rapidly in the era of both digital disruption
and inventory shortages, " said
Tshiamala, manager, voice of the customer,
at Hyundai Auto Canada.
" Dealers and their automakers must
prioritize effective communication as
a best practice to nurture the lead and
optimize customer experience. "
That means communicating constantly
with customers about production
Tshiamala, 30, has been at Hyundai
since 2015, most recently in the position
of district customer-experience manager.
On May 30, she was named manager,
voice of the
customer. In
the role, she
leads the customer
experience
(CX)
team and is
responsible
for delivering
meaningful
customer experience insights that
inform strategic decisions and help steer
Hyundai through the automotive landscape.
She
is also responsible for the contact
centre and Hyundai's roadside
assistance, for which she helps design
and execute CX strategies on customer
needs, pain points and opportunities.
A founder and board member of
Accelerate Auto, Tshiamala advocates
for Black talent in the auto industry.
She worked alongside Hyundai CEO
Don Romano to create a scholarship at
Ontario's Georgian College for Black students
hoping to enter the sector.

IN HER OWN WORDS:
" Diversity builds a competitive
advantage that automakers and
dealers cannot afford to miss out on.
This includes diversity from entry
level to C-suite and board level.
Diversity of perspectives and mindsets
at the table gives us confidence
that when solving problems and building
solutions, we've done so from the
most competitive positioning. "
Rewriting the promotional playbook
DENVER PINTO
Senior manager,
chief marketing management
Nissan Canada
CHOSEN BECAUSE:
She's getting
Quebec ready to
attract EV plants
SARAH HOUDE
CEO, Propulsion Quebec
CHOSEN BECAUSE:
SARAH HOUDE, 41, HEADS UP MONTREALbased
Propulsion Quebec, an industrial cluster
that brings stakeholders together to create infrastructure
for building electric vehicles. Her team's
efforts led to two battery cathode plants that will be
built in the province by 2025.
She's working on an industrial policy " road
map " of 225 initiatives, ranging from engineering
education through to the supply chain, that need
to be in place for local EV production. Her planned
online resources for governments, universities,
private funding and other partners will help them
create the framework needed for automakers to
build their EVs in Quebec.

IN HER OWN WORDS:
" If we're not ready to grow our manufacturing, if
we don't have the strategic elements in the supply
chain, we will be importing vehicles in 2030 and
not exporting them. We have the R&D, the manufacturing
capacity from the auto industry, the minerals
for batteries, and we need a structured plan.
This is an ecosystem from the bottom up. "
DENVER PINTO, 35, DREW FROM
his seven-plus years with Nissan
Canada to ensure the success of the
launch of the Frontier midsize pickup
in the fall of 2021. The COVID-19
pandemic rendered the usual promotional
activities obsolete, including
auto shows, media events and
dealership unveilings.
Pinto and his creative team had
to " rewrite the playbook. " Their
ideas included sending pre-production
Frontiers to dealership events,
an unveiling at Toronto's Yorkdale
Mall, and virtual walkarounds of
the new pickup via Zoom. He said
the tactics have become standard
operating procedure.
The Oakville, Ont., resident
comes from a sales background and
had built a healthy relationship
with Nissan dealers in a previous
role, reforming the ordering process
so they could get vehicles they
believe are best for their markets.
With dealers firmly on the
Frontier's side, market share in
Canada has risen to more than 10
per cent today from 6.5 in 2019.
Pinto is also responsible for promoting
the GT-R and the new Z
sports cars as well as the Pathfinder
and Armada utility vehicles.

IN HIS OWN WORDS:
" That's the beauty of Nissan.
It's an organization that loves to
challenge. This role, chief marketing
management, is unique
[to Nissan]. I'm essentially
the CEO for the vehicle. "
Exploring tech that could reshape the industry
TODD DEAVILLE
Director, engineering and R&D,
Magna International
CHOSEN BECAUSE:
FROM MAGNA INTERNATIONAL
headquarters in Aurora, Ont., Todd
Deaville, 48, oversees a global team helping
to shape the future of automotive
technology.
Working closely with startups, investment
firms and university researchers,
Deaville and a team at the supplier prove
promising technologies with applications
in vehicles or within automotive
manufacturing.
Projects range from printable, vehicle-mounted
solar cells to 3D printing
techniques powered by artificial intelligence.
" We're
always kind of saying, 'OK
what's unique here, what's really interesting,
what does it mean for Magna and
the industry overall?' "
Not all new ideas find real-world
applications, Deaville said, but those
clearing the proof-of-concept stage earn
engagement from a wider team at Magna
and ultimately could help reshape the
industry.

IN HIS OWN WORDS:
" By 2030, 40 to 50 per cent [of Magna's
business will] probably be in the electrified
market. The other side of that,
of course, is then there's 50 or 60 per
cent that's not, and so how do you
manage that? With what's going on
in the world today around supply
chains, energy management and
all of that, it's going to be interesting
and challenging. We're
going to be bringing a whole
bunch of tools to bear to
get through this period. "
Automotive News Canada - July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - July 2022
