2010 Automotive News 100 Leading Women

Why did you want to work in the auto industry? Since I was little, I was fascinated by making things and engineering.When I was quite young, my father was in the Commerce Department as assistant deputy secretary under Secretary Malcolm Baldrige. I met [General Motors’] Pete Estes and some of his staff, working around my dad. It was recommended that I look at Kettering [University] even though I was from the East Coast. I was fascinated by the opportunity to work in an industry while you were getting your education, so that you knew that what you were going to be doing for the rest of your life was something you were going to enjoy.I’ve stayed since 17 because from an engineering standpoint, it’s fascinating. Then from a business standpoint: What other industry holds the technology advances and interest while being so meaningful to the GDP of any country it’s in?