The Automotive Leaders Podcast

In this podcast, you’ll meet Carrie Uhl, Chief Procurement Officer for GE Healthcare. Carrie is one of the most impactful supply chain leaders in not one, but two different industries. She shares with us her belief in bringing her best self to work, being tough on issues and not people, and being relentlessly positive.02:24 – Carrie’s formative years in Pittsburgh04:15 – First job in Supply Chain, with Guardian Industries05:31 – After many years in Automotive, moving on to healthcare08:46 – Carrie’s leadership style10:14 – How Carrie creates a safe environment12:50 – Building high-performance teams17:48 – Lean Thinking18:30 – Carrie’s definition of Gravitas22:17 – How Carrie’s leadership style has evolved28:16 – Developing people globally31:14 – Work/Life balance36:15 – Carrie’s surprising morning routine40:47 – Carrie’s advice to her 25-year-old self42:38 – Carrie’s legacyPlease share your thoughts on this episode, email me at Jan@gravitasdetroit.com,  I'd love to hear from you.

Download the 21 traits of authentic leadership e book In this podcast, you’ll meet Carla Bailo, President and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research. Carla shares with us her love of cars and deep roots in the automotive industry. Her long career has been full of opportunities to start from a blank slate, she loves doing things no one has done before. She also enjoys breaking molds and challenging people to think differently.02:27 – Carla’s deep roots in automotive05:30 – GMC ride and handling performance on big rigs, driving cross-country09:30 – Moving to Nissan’s newly opened R&D center, the “blank sheet of paper” job11:36 – Joint venture with Ford, negotiating differences in culture and customer expectations19:00 – Request from President to start three new departments for R&D23:50 – Moving to Japan for 5 yrs to be program director for trucks and SUVs globally27:37 – Moving back to be head of R&D for North and South America28:00 – Retiring from Nissan, working for Ohio State to do mobility research29:48 – Asked to go to the Center for Automotive Research32:00 – Modernizing the CAR – MBS conference  37:24 – Gen Z has a totally new way of thinking about things, employers have to change too38:45 – What authentic leadership is to Carla48:29 – The joys of getting back to in-person human interaction54:20 – Carla’s definition of Gravitas56:23 – Advice for her 25-year-old self1:02:23 – Carla’s morning routinePlease share your thoughts on this episode, email me at Jan@gravitasdetroit.com,  I'd love to hear from you.

Today, you're going to meet the change leadership guru. Jesse Jacoby is the founder of the business consulting service Emergent, which focuses on organizational change management and business transformations. Jessie is exactly the subject matter expert we need right now, to help us all transition into this new way of doing business. We will benefit from his experience, and expertise to navigate this new normal, and avoid pitfalls along the way.02:28 – How Jan and Jesse met04:39 – Jesse’s background – developing a strong work ethic06:30 – Joining Accenture to satisfy curiosity about the workings of large corporations07:47 – Started consulting business, Emergent10:10 – Why so many change efforts fail13:45 – Qualities of authentic leaders17:29 – Figuring out a flexible work model, companies with a culture of trust have a huge advantage21:51 – Remember this is an ongoing process25:56 – The dangers of inconsistency29:26 – The importance of leading by example34:09 – Remembering the human element of change38:35– What Jesse would say to his 25-year-old self41:38 – How Jesse starts his dayPlease share your thoughts on this episode, email me at Jan@gravitasdetroit.com,  I'd love to hear from you. 

In this episode, you’ll meet Mark Lecher, President and CEO of HFI. Follow his journey from an impoverished beginning where he had to start working at age 12, to being the President and CEO of a tier-two Automotive Interiors company. Mark speaks of being true to your purpose, being your authentic self, and bringing out the best in your team by demonstrating trust.02:29 – Mark’s blue-collar beginnings04:20 - Learning self-reliance from his mother06:17 – High School, College, and accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers07:25 – A business unit’s transition from a family-owned business to being part of a large corporation10:00 – Becoming CFO of GST Auto Leather, 3 days before division spin-off12:54 – Embracing the “gray area” in leadership16:39 – Being a servant leader20:24 – When you’re playing a part, you’re not being yourself25:39 – Demonstrating trust with your team members29:20 – How Mark starts his day35:45 – Mark’s definition of Gravitas40:29 – Advice for young leaders44:00 – What Mark would say to his 25-year-old self49:33 – Mark’s legacyPlease share your thoughts on this episode, email me at Jan@gravitasdetroit.com,  I'd love to hear from you. 

As pandemic restrictions come to an end, we find ourselves facing another transition. Many of us are heading back to the office, but not necessarily in the same way we did it before. There is understandably some concern over what this “new normal” is going to look like.In this episode, we are going to delve into research and strategies that harness the power of the restart to help us successfully lead through this transition. 00:50 Going back to the office02:38 Some science behind the restart: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901.04:45 Use this transition to break the mold of corporate leadership08:43 Talking about culture… yes, again09:45 7 things to establish a High-Performance Team - #1, Connection12:40 #2 Get it off your chest14:06 #3 What we love16:52 #4 Strengths21:00 #5 Trust battery24:32 #6 Team Traits26:17 #7 What now?29:20 Take advantage of the Gravitas Workshop to harness the power of the restart.Please share your thoughts on this episode, email me at Jan@gravitasdetroit.com,  I'd love to hear from you. 

In this episode, you'll meet Jason Stocker, President of C&U Americas. We’ll learn about his blue-collar roots, how he took inspiration from a 1980’s sitcom to send him on his career path, and how he lives his life with volition.02:13 Jason’s story05:49 Honing in on Accounting as a career choice08:30 Incentive to graduate college at lightning speed12:44 Living and breathing volition15:35 Jumping into sales21:00 Desiring to create wealth, as well as have an impact, identifying qualities of a leader25:00 Look up Sumantra Ghoshal, work on volition30:30 Automotive industry is at a turning point38:00 Importance of conflict management45:20 It’s ok to fail49:20 Jason’s definition of Gravitas56:23 Finding your own definition of work-life balance1:03:15 Storytelling and imagination as an essential toolPlease share your thoughts on this episode, email me at Jan@gravitasdetroit.com,  I'd love to hear from you. 

In this episode, Jan shares her thoughts on Mother’s Day, what she learned from her grandmother and mother, and how their influence translates into powerful lessons about psychological safety and leading with Gravitas through challenging times.00:50 Mother’s Day musings01:24 My grandmother, Mary05:23 My mother’s encouragement07:40 Psychological safety. Important in parenting, and in leadership09:30 Coming out of the pandemic11:40 Challenges will require a leader with Gravitas13:20 The new Gravitas Workshop

Download the 21 traits of authentic leadership e book In this episode, you’ll meet Kimberley Gardiner, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Volkswagen. She truly is a model in leading authentically with confidence, caring, and understanding.You’ll learn how her twin passions for marketing and the environment propelled her into a career in automotive, and how her many experiences and her love for variety helped her become a true change agent. She talks about her game plan for effecting change within Volkswagen, including removing silos and “thinking small” to achieve big things. She discusses marketing the automotive industry to a new generation, and how important it is to understand their needs.02:47 – Kimberley’s story03:38 – Falling in love with marketing, and the environment04:57 – Job opportunity at Toyota, marketing for Prius06:56 – Using experiences in and outside of automotive to be an agent for change08:05 – Why Volkswagen?11:51 – Understanding other’s perspectives to effect change14:36 – Breaking down silos and “thinking small”17:24 – Marketing a career in automotive to a new generation21:18 – Starting at VW22:16 – Getting to know the team, and coming up with a plan25:58 – What authentic leadership means to Kimberley33:53 – Advice to a leader wanting to embrace authenticity36:36 – Embracing failure40:24 – What Gravitas means to Kimberley41:27 – How Kimberley starts her day50:22 – Advice to her 25-year-old self

The way we work is forever changed, in this episode I share my thoughts and experiences on the subject and why this is an opportunity for leaders.

In this episode, you'll meet one of the most well-known figures in the automotive industry. Jason Stein, Publisher of Automotive News, has spent decades interviewing automotive industry leaders, now he’s on the other side of the mic.  We learn about his journey from a small-town sports reporter, to becoming the publisher of the most well-respected source of automotive news today. We’ll hear what he’s learned about leadership from his own experience, as well as from the many automotive leaders he’s interviewed. We discuss the challenges of changing the well-entrenched culture in the automotive industry and why it’s imperative to evolve. 00:50 The interviewer is now the interviewed 02:42 Jason’s story 05:07 Starting a car column in Fort Wayne Journal Gazette Morning newspaper 08:10 From Reporter to Publisher 10:43 Ex-pat assignment’s effect on leadership style 17:06 Leaders Jason has interviewed that inspired him 21:25 The need for traditional auto companies to evolve 23:25 The obstacles to changing the way the automotive industry operates 27:12 Building a foundation of trust to spark innovation 32:38 Jason’s interpretation of Gravitas 34:27 Failures and lessons learned 39:43 How Jason starts his day and how he avoids distraction 43:26 Advice to 20-something self