Automotive News - November 9, 2015 - Supplement - 74W

20151109-Sup1--0074-NAT-CCI-AN_--

11/2/2015

12:35 PM

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74W * NOVEMBER 9, 2015

L E A D I N G

W O M E N

LISA FRARY

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Vice President of Quality | Autoliv North America
Division | Auburn Hills, Mich. | Age: 53 |
Education: B.S., mechanical engineering,
University of Wyoming
● What attracted you to the auto industry? I started
my career in the aerospace industry. It was really exciting
because it was highly technical and very challenging. But
after about seven years, we went through the downturn. I
had an opportunity to design and build airbags for the
automotive industry. And that was really exciting to be
able to save lives.
● First automotive job: Product design engineer for
modular airbags at Morton International, which is now
Autoliv
● Big break: When I was plant manager for the AutolivMorton auto facility [in 1999], we had decided to
implement lean manufacturing. We called it the AutoLiv
production system, and it was based on the Toyota
Production System. We had help from a customer, but as
a management staff, we had to figure out, what is lean
manufacturing, and how do we apply it? It was
challenging. We made a lot of mistakes along the way,
but the sense of accomplishment as an entire team, as
an entire staff, is one of the most rewarding things I've
had in my career.
We won the Shingo Prize, which recognizes excellence in
manufacturing. What we accomplished was amazing -
90 percent reduction in quality issues, 50, 60, 70
percent improvement in efficiency. It was probably the
most cohesive and most functional team that I've been
a part of.
● What is the major challenge you've faced in your
career? Our company's commitment to quality balanced
with the extreme pressure in the automotive industry to
cut cost and weight. Sometimes it means we have to
make decisions where we don't get business, and that's
tough. But you have to stick up for what you think is right
personally and then as a company. One thing that's good
in Autoliv is I've never had that conflict of what I thought
was right and what the company thought was right, but it
is a conflict in the industry.
● Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
Mike Ward, former president of Autoliv Americas. He was
my boss about four or five different times, and he was
the first one to get me into operations. In my initial
career, I always thought of myself as an engineer,

>> HAVING HER SAY:
autonews.com/fraryvideo
SHIRAZ AHMED

technical, doing the analyses. He convinced me to take a
position in the plant, and I loved it.
● What should be done to encourage women to enter
the auto industry? It starts with high school. How do we
get young women interested in math and science? How
do we get them to pursue degrees such as that in
college, and then, how do we convince them that this is
really a friendly environment for women? It's a tough
environment, but it's a tough environment for everyone,
not just women. But it's a rewarding business.
● Tell us about your family. I have a husband. I've been
married to him for a lot of years. I have one son. He's
21. My husband was also a mechanical engineer. He
actually put in a large number of the facilities at our
Promontory, Utah, location, which is where we produce

SANDRA BOUCKLEY

●

Vice President of Manufacturing Engineering |
GKN Driveline Americas | Auburn Hills, Mich. |
Age: 56 | Education: B.S., mechanical
engineering, and M.S., manufacturing
management, General Motors Institute; MBA,
Michigan State University's executive program
● What attracted you to the auto industry? I was born
and raised in Oshawa, Ontario, where the primary
industry was GM. I was debating between med school
and GMI, but I liked GMI because it was a co-op program.
I was the master of my own destiny. I could work and go
to school at the same time.
● First automotive job: I went to GMI, sponsored by GM
of Canada. First, we worked on the shop floor. In 1977, I
was in the body shop of a car plant running a welder,
formerly called a jungle line.
● Big break: I left GM to work at Chrysler. The late Dick
Dauch, then head of manufacturing, understood he
needed to do something about diversity. So Chrysler was
actively recruiting women product and manufacturing
engineers. It was my big break to go to Chrysler in a
manufacturing engineering role, and it was a big change
and exciting. My mentors were Dick and Dennis Pawley,
former executive vice president of manufacturing at
Chrysler. Dennis and I are still friends.
I was with Chrysler for 19 years and left in 2007, when
bankruptcy was looming. I got out of automotive and
worked for Tyco Electric and Metal Products until 2010. I
came back to the auto industry working for Eaton in
2011. I recently took the GKN position.

● What is the major challenge you've faced in your
career? Somewhere in the 1990s, someone decided to
eliminate manufacturing engineering as a function
because you can cut a lot of people that way. At Eaton, I
was tasked with re-creating the function. That was big
challenge.
Working at Chrysler in the union environment was a big
challenge. I had to work on building productive
relationships, getting everyone to understand who I was
in this overall vision that we had for the group.
● Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
Dennis Pawley after Dick. Dennis was always willing to
talk to me and give me a chance because I wanted to
move into nontraditional roles. He created networking

propellant. As our son started to get a little older, I was a
plant manager. My husband was working, and it was just
too much. So he decided to be a stay-at-home dad and
take care of our son. That's allowed me to move in my
career. My son is following in his mom and dad's
footsteps as a mechanical engineer. He goes to
Kettering University.
● What's your favorite weekend activity? Fishing,
boating, ATV riding, snow skiing.
● When and where was your last vacation? France. It
was September of last year. My husband and I went to
Normandy and Paris.
● What advice would you give your child? Always be
honest and upfront in all your dealings.
- Hannah Lutz

bridges that I wouldn't normally have had access to,
which broadened my perspective.
● What should be done to encourage women to enter
the auto industry? I sit on boards, and we're concerned
about not having enough Americans enrolling in technical
fields. Some of the biggest issues are around middle
school kids making decisions that are opting them out of
technical careers. They aren't taking base science and
math classes. They won't be able to take a lot of the
high-paying and critical jobs in the auto industry. It's
important for educators to make science and math
interesting and fun. Manufacturing is not dark, dirty and
dangerous. It can be an exciting place.
● Tell us about your family. I'm married to the most
awesome domestic god ever. My husband of 22 years
retired from Chrysler, so I can travel as much as 60 to 70
percent of the time. We have three grown children, three
cats and two dogs.
● What's your favorite weekend activity? We live on a
small inland lake near Oxford, and in the summer my
husband and I like to be out on the pontoon boat. We
look at birds and turtles and have the dogs out with us.
● Are you able to maintain friendships? Yes. I have
been very lucky to have lots of long-standing friendships
from my hometown and close friends from undergrad,
who are my closest confidantes. I also have new friends
I've met while raising my girls.
● If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead,
who would it be? Gloria Steinem
● What's your guilty pleasure? I love to watch
"Jeopardy!" and play along and shout out answers to the
TV. I also love to read detective and spy novels. Linda
Fairstein is a favorite author.
- Marti Benedetti

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Automotive News - November 9, 2015 - Supplement

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