Automotive News Canada - July 2022 - 24

24
* JULY 2022
A champion
for innovation
and women
in STEM fields
MARIE MILLS
University research lead,
engineering, Stellantis
Preparation,
'thick skin' key
to thriving in
manufacturing
BOBBI CURRAN
Plant 1 plant manager
Honda Canada Manufacturing
CHOSEN BECAUSE:
WHEN BOBBI CURRAN WAS
in high school, Honda Canada
Manufacturing (HCM) recruiters
came looking for students interested
in joining its growing operation at
Alliston, Ont., 35 kilometres south
of her home in Creemore.
Curran instead continued her
education, studying accounting at
Toronto's Seneca College. But she
yearned for home and joined her
classmates at HCM.
Curran, 50, has been at Honda for
24 years, starting in the purchasing
department and rising to division
manager before being tapped last
January to manage HCM's Plant
No. 1, which produces the Civic
small car.
She didn't arrive unready to
tackle manufacturing. Curran has
helped Honda's suppliers troubleshoot
various problems, " checking
on the processes and supporting
them [during times of] crisis. "
That has helped equip her for
challenges at Plant No. 1: Dealing
with parts shortages in the short
term and readying the line for a
transition to building electric vehicles,
for which HCM is investing
almost $1.4 billion.
Curran is one of two female plant
managers at HCM - Susan Kenny
runs Plant No. 3, which makes
engines - and said she has not had
a negative experience as a woman
at Honda. But it can be difficult in
a supplier's boardroom, mandating
changes.
" Being the only female in the
room, you start to develop a fairly
thick skin. "

IN HER OWN WORDS:
" Whether you have it or not, you
start to demonstrate confidence. I
think sometimes we have to make
the environment more welcoming
for females so they understand it
can be done and they deserve the
respect in the room. "
When the auto industry
needs the law, he's there
GIAN PAOLO VESCIO
General counsel, Automotive Parts
Manufacturers' Association
CHOSEN BECAUSE:
GIAN PAOLO VESCIO KNOWS THE
legal ins and outs of solving major crises.
An anti-vaccine-mandate blockade in
2021 shut down traffic at the Ambassador
Bridge that connects Windsor and Detroit,
costing the automotive industry on both
sides of the border billions of dollars. Key
to ending the standoff was Vescio, general
counsel for the Automotive Parts
Manufacturers' Association, and his boss,
President Flavio Volpe.
With the help of a Windsor law firm,
the APMA filed an injunction to compel
police to enforce laws that prohibit impeding
traffic. That action was responsible for
removal of the blockade.
Vescio was also instrumental in helping
the industry pivot to producing personal
protective equipment when demand
for automotive parts fell to nearly zero
during the early months of the COVID-19
pandemic.
Vescio, 37, said there was a host of legal
issues - including intellectual-property
rights - that had to be worked through
" in record speed. "
Vescio joined the APMA in 2018, coming
from a private firm where he practised
civil litigation, criminal and real estate
law.

IN HIS OWN WORDS:
" When the blockade happened and it
lasted more than a day, we were a little
miffed as to why it wasn't removed. It
was clearly infringing on the [Highway
Traffic Act], not to mention other acts.
We successfully argued in court, irrespective
of the reason why people are protesting
- everybody has the right to protest
- but the idea of blockading a highway or
breaking the law in order to protest a law
you disagree with is not protected in the
Charter. "
CHOSEN BECAUSE:
STUDYING ENGINEERING AT
the University of Windsor, Marie
Mills wasn't set on a career in
the auto sector. Two rewarding
co-op-student placements at the
school's Automotive Research
and Design Centre (ARDC) helped
change her mind.
The Windsor native, who graduated
in 2005, joined what is now
Stellantis and, after various positions,
has come full circle. She's
responsible for collaboration with
Canadian universities through
ARDC, including running the co-op
program she enjoyed.
" It means a lot to me to give the
students the same experience that I
had, if not better, when I was a student, "
said Mills.
Founded in 1996 as a partnership
between the University of Windsor
and Chrysler (now Stellantis),
ARDC gives engineering students
hands-on experience on projects for
the company.
ARDC, which now includes
Windsor, McMaster (Hamilton),
Waterloo, Sherbrooke (Quebec) and
McGill (Montreal) universities, will
be pivotal as the company invests
heavily in electrification.
" It's my responsibility to determine
who the appropriate researcher
or university would be to work in
that area. "
Mills, 39, also leads the Stellantis
Canadian Women's Alliance, which
encourages women to go into STEMrelated
(science, technology, engineering
and math) fields.

The used-vehicle disrupters
CODY GREEN
DAN PARK
CEO, Clutch
Founder, Co-CEO
Canada Drives
CHOSEN BECAUSE:
DAN PARK AND CODY GREEN ARE
competitors, but they share a common
goal: disrupting a century of tradition in
the Canadian used-car market. And if they
disrupt one another along the way, that's
just business, right?
Park, CEO of Clutch, and Green, founder
and co-CEO of Canada Drives, each run
online used-car businesses. The consumer's
entire experience, up to the point of
taking physical delivery of the vehicle, is
online, including financing approval and
trade-in valuations.
Park, 42, a former venture capitalist
and founder and ex-general manager of
Uber Eats Canada, is no stranger to shaking
up an entire industry. He believes buyers
shouldn't have to " spend an entire
Saturday " or " meet a stranger in a Tim
Hortons parking lot " to buy a used vehicle.
Green, 37, came up through the car
industry.
" I saw firsthand the biggest pain
points for customers, and that was the
catalyst for Canada Drives, " he said.

IN GREEN'S WORDS:
" Canada Drives' mission is to be the
easiest place to buy or sell a car. We
believe we're executing on that mission
and expect in five years we'll be serving
more Canadians from coast to coast. "

IN PARK'S WORDS:
" The goal here is to build an iconic
Canadian brand, synonymous with
trusted experience. We're not in a
hurry. We've had 2,000 per cent growth
the last three years, but the goal is to
build a fundamentally sound and sustainable
business that improves the
lives of consumers. "
IN HER OWN WORDS:
" Math doesn't discriminate
whether you're male or female.
Women oftentimes have a different
way of thinking as well, which can
be a critical asset within engineering
and the automotive industry.
So, keep an open mind and do not be
discouraged if you're the only girl
in the room, that you have a voice
and you should be heard. "
Automotive News Canada - July 2022

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