Questions & Answers Monika Gutenschwager ADIENT What was your first automotive job and why were you interested in the industry? Right around the time when I completed my studies, Slovakia's automotive industry was growing rapidly. Even though I didn't even have my diploma in hand, I was hired right away as a young quality engineer for a greenfield plant. I joined the Johnson Controls family and found my professional home. It is 18 years later and I am still very happy being part of the automotive world. Your greatest achievement? I really enjoy working with my team every day and leading the European quality function for our seating business. Our success makes me proud and shows that I have made the right decisions in my life. We have become an efficient and close team. No one works alone. It is all about collaboration and joint success. While I am grateful for the success in my career, I am also the mother of two young children. It is a challenge. I count raising them as my most important personal achievement. What was your biggest failure and what did it teach you? Life has taught me not to react too emotionally. I did that when I was young and that quickly caused frustration on both sides. Therefore, I had to learn to take time to reflect and control my emotions. What is your current challenge at work? I am in charge of quality strategy and the quality management for 50 plants of the seating group. The challenges are to steer improvement plans together with my team so we meet customer specifications and ensure that product-specific requirements are in compliance with international as well as industry standards. What about the auto industry surprises you? Today we are faced with rapidly changing technologies revolving around mobility, electrification, autonomous driving, connectivity and robotics. That means we have to be quite adaptable to change. These developments will significantly impact how people live, work and travel. I am curious to see how the world and how mobility will change in the future. I am also looking forward to being part of the process of improving the experience of a world in motion. 36