Presenters at the fourth annual Automotive News Leading Women Conference shared how they are taking the lead and cultivating change in the auto industry. Deloitte and Ally were the exclusive lead sponsors of last week’s event.
A discussion on driving change among, from left, Constellation Agency CEO Diana Lee; Diehl Automotive Group CEO Corina Diehl; Shilpa Patel, Faurecia indirect purchasing director; and Crystal Windham, Cadillac director of design, interiors
General Motors CFO Dhivya Suryadevara said the automaker is making “deliberate, tough decisions” to transform its culture.
Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein with Meredith Guerriero, U.S. head of partnerships at Pinterest. “You need to give people a shot,” said Guerriero, who explained that she pushes her teams to recruit expansively.
Kimberley Gardiner, chief marketing officer at Mitsubishi Motors North America: “We need to be more aspirational as an industry to young talent.”
Jan Griffiths, president of leadership development firm Gravitas Detroit, said that because of the seismic shift taking place in the way we work, “the leaders of the future will need to inspire and ignite performance in their teams by setting a clear vision and purpose, develop trust and transparency, fully embrace collaboration and shifting to a more supportive coaching leadership style. These traits are predominantly female.”
From left, Terri Cooper, Deloitte chief inclusion officer; David Cook, Ford executive director HRBO, automotive operations and corporate staffs; and Lori Costew, Ford chief diversity officer and director of people strategy, discussed the importance of an inclusive corporate culture.
Cummins Foundation CEO Mary Chandler: “When men and women share equally in the jobs at home … we will have a better chance at equality in the workplace.”