Auto Care Insider Volume 109 - 24

INDUSTRY
NEWS

2017

2017 AUTO CARE
WOMAN OF THE YEAR
LAURA SOAVE
AS a proud Detroit native, Laura Soave
began her career in the Motor City more
than 20 years ago in the automotive
industry. It wasn't until three years
ago that she made the decision to
shift gears into the auto care industry
and to join Women in Auto Care.
	 "I had worked in the automotive
industry at that point for many years
and found the chance to bring my
experience into auto care to be a wholly
new challenge," said Soave. Currently
serving as the SVP and chief marketing
and communications officer for
Federal-Mogul Motorparts, Soave is
responsible for protecting and growing
its more than 20 brands globally.
What do you feel are the
rewards for being a part of the
association/auto care industry?
	 One of the most rewarding aspects
of being a member of the association
is the ability to network with so
many knowledgeable and strong
women. I also love the opportunity
through YANG to interact with the
very talented young women and
men joining the industry. They bring
such fresh, new perspectives.
In your opinion, what is/are
the biggest issue(s) facing the
auto care industry today?
	 The biggest issues facing our
industry are two-fold. First, the growing

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AUTO CARE INSIDER  |  VOL. 109

complexity and models of vehicles
are making it more and more difficult
for technicians to stay up to date
with technology and tools required to
perform repairs. The second part of
the challenge is recruiting young men
and women into the technical side of
our industry. The vocational schools
today are struggling with enrollments.
Fewer and fewer high schools have
technical career prep options. The
skills gap is growing wider every day
and we, as an industry, need to come
together to help solve the problem.
Please explain how your company
is doing business internationally.
	 We have more than 15,000
employees in nearly 90 locations on
three continents. About one-third of
our sales are to original equipment
manufacturers and the remaining
two thirds are to customers in
the independent aftermarket. Our
international business is quite diverse,
so we try to think globally and act
locally. Our U.S., Canadian and Western
European markets are very mature and
stable, whereas we see tremendous
growth opportunities in Mexico, Latin
America, Eastern Europe, the Middle
East, North Africa and Asia Pacific.

SVP, Chief Marketing and Communications
Officer, Federal-Mogul Motorparts
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY: 23
PHONE: 248-354-7700
EMAIL: laura.soave@fmmotorparts.com
FAVORITE APPS: OpenTable, Waze, Lyft,
Instacart, Flipboard and Garage Gurus
WORDS TO LIVE BY:

"Get outside of your comfort
zone, that's where the
true magic happens."
https://www.womeninautocare.org/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Auto Care Insider Volume 109
