When thinking of the auto industry, women – African American women – very rarely come to mind. The auto industry, although changing, still has work to be done to increase not only women’s presence but the presence of African American women. Whether it is in auto finance, NASCAR, or consumer car sales, these are the…
Global Cars: How a Powerful Latina Drives a Japanese Company to the Top in the US
What Drives Her? Behind Patricia Salas Pineda’s rise to the top. Editor’s note: When we first spoke to Patricia in 2016, she was Group Vice President for Toyota North America. She has since moved on from that role, instead becoming a board member for both Frontier Airlines and Levi Strauss. Her inspiring rise within the automotive…
How Jackie DiMarco, Ford’s Chief Programming Engineer, Built Some of the Worlds Greatest Cars
Doctor? No Thanks. She’d Rather Build Cars. No one wants to be that kid who disappoints her parents by deciding not to become a doctor. But growing up in Youngstown, Ohio, Jackie DiMarco knew it wasn’t for her. “That was definitely not my path.” It wasn’t until she stumbled into an engineering session at her…
Behind GM’s Newest Line Of Trucks- A Woman Who Never Thought She’d Design Cars
What Drives Her: Anita Burke, Chief Engineer, Mid Size Trucks, General Motors You might not believe that this petite lady built this big truck. Well, mid-sized truck, to be exact. But as trucks go, it’s so much more, and as petite ladies go, Anita Burke is a heavyweight in truck design. Anita was charged with…