Margaret Anderson
Vice President, Chief of Sales, and Marketing Officer
Health Alliance Plan, Detroit
Whether she’s helping to run Health Alliance Plan in Detroit, a $2.7-billion nonprofit organization, or donating coats to students, there’s no denying Margaret Anderson’s desire to improve the lives of those she encounters.
“The meaning of this kind of work comes, for me, when you can actually connect with people,” says Anderson, vice president, chief of sales, and marketing officer of Health Alliance Plan. “I tell my team all the time: The value of our interactions is what really differentiates us as an organization — interactions with each other, our members, and providers. It makes all the difference in the world.”
As a leader at Health Alliance Plan, a subsidiary of Henry Ford Health, Anderson embraces a role in which she finds purpose and opportunities for success.
“I didn’t envision an executive career. I envisioned myself being very successful, but more so in external sales, as opposed to more of a corporate role,” she says. “My grandfather was a general surgeon and … I was fascinated that he was motivated and got himself into medical school, and raised eight kids. Just listening to his story and his passion around it, I’ve always been drawn to health care.”
Anderson began her career in pharmaceutical sales in Cincinnati, but moved back to Buffalo, N.Y., to be closer to family as well as to work with her father in his diagnostic imaging business.
“Then one day I came home and my little 7-year-old girl was crying because I missed her play at school. I realized it probably wasn’t the right time in my career to be (traveling so much),” she says. “So I stopped that role (with my father) and I started my own MRI business with two radiologists in Buffalo.
“It was great because I was home with my daughter and could do all the soccer pickups and go get Starbucks and pick her up from school and all that in-between.”
As her daughter grew up, Anderson sold her interest in the company and plunged into the health insurance industry. In her 25-plus years of experience, Anderson’s career hasn’t been linear, and she encourages young professionals to be willing to do the same.
“Go sideways instead of always trying to go up,” she says. “The more you can learn across (multiple) lines of business, instead of trying to get that next promotion, the better you can be.”
Whether she was listening to her grandfather, running her own business, or helping clients, Anderson says she was always learning and gathering experiences to help her become a more compassionate and efficient leader.
Most of all, she says, she likes caring for people.
“A big differentiator for HAP and Henry Ford is that we’re very much embedded in the community,” Anderson says. “We’re very committed to social determinants of health, making sure we’re not just thinking about somebody’s blood pressure or their disease state, but also looking at what’s happening around them, things like housing and food insecurity.”
With that mission in mind, HAP recently donated winter clothing, along with washers and dryers, to several Detroit Public Schools where teachers were taking students’ clothes home to wash them because their parents didn’t have access to laundry facilities.
“When you’re making that connection and you can see the impact of the work you’re doing, it’s just so important,” Anderson notes. “I’ll never forget one little girl who said to me, ‘I’m going to be a doctor,’ and I said, ‘That’s awesome,’ and she said, ‘But my mom said it’s too expensive and I shouldn’t do it,’ and I said, ‘Do you know there’s a thing called scholarships?’”
That fifth-grade girl left with hope after learning about scholarships.
“A second kid came up to me and he said, ‘Can I talk to you for a second?’ ” Anderson recalls. “He said, ‘Do you know how cold it is when you go to school and the only thing you have is a hoodie?’ I said, ‘I can imagine that it’s very cold,’ and he said, ‘I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart (for providing a winter coat).’ I had tears in my eyes.”
To further its impact, HAP recently signed a joint venture with CareSource, a nonprofit health care plan in Dayton, Ohio. Anderson helped lead the team in the process and says she’s excited about the partnership.
“They bring the scale of some for-profit carriers, but they have a mission very similar to HAP’s,” she says.
And it’s the mission-focused work she wants people to know about.
“Health insurance can be seen as the ‘bad guys’ of corporate America,” Anderson says. “We really aren’t. It’s about supporting the health and wellness in the community, and when you see that in action, it just kind of connects all the dots together. I want to break down that stigma and think about how to position health insurance in a different light.”
— Calli Newberry
Rebecca Bray
President
Epitec, Southfield
It was the last job she’d thought she’d ever do. Now it’s the first thing she thinks about each day.
“We’re a family-owned business. I’m the second generation; my stepfather started the company 45 years ago, and my mother joined not long after that,” says Rebecca Bray, president of Epitec, a technology-focused staffing agency in Southfield. “As a young person, I never wanted to work for my parents. I didn’t even know what they did. I didn’t care. I did some internships elsewhere.”
Then, one summer, Bray stepped into the Epitec office as an intern — and she hasn’t looked back. She joined the agency in 1998 after graduating from Central Michigan University and is now serving as its president.
“I love it. My husband thinks I’m a little crazy because I wake up excited every day to go to work,” Bray says. “I can’t wait to get to work. I love it.”
As president, Bray’s focus is on growing the company while improving its leaders, including herself. She says she’s led hundreds of team members to promotions within Epitec, but she’ll never forget the first.
“It was the first time we got to a size where I had so much going on, and I had mentored and developed someone who was working with me,” she says. “Coming from a small business, we didn’t have a lot of management at the time. So the first person under me that was actually promoted to a manager was one of my proudest moments.”
That was in 2006, and the woman’s name was Angela. Although she no longer works with the company, she and Bray still keep in touch.
That’s what it’s all about, Bray maintains — the people and the relationships formed. While Epitec’s primary function is connecting employers and employees, Bray would say it’s so much more.
“It’s really about our community and our neighbors, and how we can create sustainability in career progression,” she says. “One of our differentiators and one of the things that has really helped us grow, especially starting out as a very small, minority-owned business, has been our training and development of other people.”
She calls it “creating career paths.”
“We look for people who support technology jobs, whether it’s in IT or engineering. I know you’ve heard there’s just not enough people for the jobs, so for Epitec, it’s also about partnering with community organizations like Vista Maria Community Social Services (in Dearborn Heights) and putting programs together to help generate a path for workforce development.”
On the industry front, Bray’s been involved with the Michigan Council of Women in Technology for more than 15 years, which has as its mission to make Michigan the No. 1 state for girls and women in technology. Together with these partners, Epitec is developing and creating new opportunities within the sector.
As she’s led others, Bray says she’s also learned a lot about herself as a leader.
“One of the things that really has helped me in my growth is self-awareness and wanting to be a better, kinder human being,” she says. “I think that comes from hearing feedback and understanding that feedback comes in all different forms.”
She shares an example of unexpected feedback. At her 10-year work anniversary party, Bray says, her team put together a video presentation in honor of her career — but halfway through, they played rock music with a picture of a bull in a China shop. She says it was meant to be funny, but she realized it might’ve held a deeper meaning.
At the time she was proud of her “go-getter” mentality, but the subliminal feedback said otherwise.
“I was getting some other feedback from folks about how I was communicating, which as a strong individual contributor was fine,” Bray says. “But to grow and develop more, it didn’t matter if I was right; it mattered how I was delivering my message.”
She says it was a “wake-up call,” and she’s since become more aware of and focused on improving her leadership skills.
“I think, as humans, we naturally want to hold on to things. There’s a saying in my family: ‘That’s it,’ ” Bray says. “When (I was) growing up, whenever there was an argument or disagreement, we’d say, ‘that’s it’ — like get it all out, and now that’s it. We draw the line, and now you can never bring that up again. I think you’ve got to learn to give yourself the grace to say ‘that’s it,’ and move on and don’t look back, especially when you hit the bumpy times.”
Perhaps that ability to move forward is what allows Bray to enjoy each workday, and why she’s not looking toward the end of her career. “I have a lot of friends getting to the point like, ‘How many years do I have left?’ ” she says. “I feel like I’m nowhere near (retirement).”
— Calli Newberry
Mary Buchzieger
President and CEO
Lucerne International Inc., Auburn Hills
Mary Buchzeiger’s career has evolved from bartender and nanny to personal trainer, “serial entrepreneur” (her words), and CEO of an auto supplier. Her college training spanned eight years and included mechanical engineering at GMI in Flint (General Motors Institute, now Kettering University) in 1992, occasional classes at Lansing Community College, and earning a bachelor’s degree in industrial management from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield.
Today, she’s president and CEO of Lucerne International Inc. in Auburn Hills — a global supplier of chassis, propulsion, and body structural components that lists ZF Industries, Harley Davidson, and Meritor among its customers — and its sister company, Lucerne Forging Inc.
Beyond the office, in February she earned a Global Executive Master’s “tri-degree” from TRIUM, a program that blends educational components from New York University’s Stern School of Business, the London School of Economics, and the HEC Paris Business School.
After two semesters co-opting at GMI, Buchzeiger relays, she knew it wasn’t her thing. “I was going to transfer to Michigan State University,” she says, but she ended up taking classes at Lansing Community College. While tending bar in East Lansing and working as a nanny for the bar’s owner, she founded her first business.
“When desktop publishing came out, I saw a need for marketing. So I started my own little marketing company,” Buchzeiger recalls. “I was more interested in working than school.”
Meanwhile, her father started Lucerne International in 1993, and Buchzeiger went to work for him in 1998. She started out as a laborer, assembling parts, while she finished her bachelor’s degree at Lawrence Tech. An amateur boxer in her early 20s, she also bought a kickboxing gym and was a personal trainer for a couple years.
Her father and a partner started another company, called Sure Solutions, in 2003, “but they hadn’t done anything with it, and his business was all domestic. I saw opportunities to make inroads offshore, so I started some relationships in Taiwan and China, went out and sold my first program, and took our business international. In 2007, I combined the two businesses and, when my father retired in 2008, I bought him out and took over.”
What advice does she have for women in business?
“I think women experience a larger degree of trying to achieve work/life balance,” she says. “My advice is that there really is no such thing, so don’t look at it that way. Sometimes your family will take more of your time, and sometimes your career will need more. You have to make choices and be comfortable with those choices, and not let society dictate that you have to be a perfect mom and a perfect employee or executive at the same time.”
Buchzeiger says young women, including herself earlier in her professional life, often fear that asking for help or advice is a weakness. “It’s very important to have a great network and support system around you, and one thing that has enabled my success has been nurturing and growing my network,” she reveals. “Reach out and ask for help, especially from other women, and grow your network. We can’t do things by ourselves, on an island, so one of the most important things is for women to support each other. Our industry has seen a lot of improvement in the development of women, but we still have a long way to go.”
Buchzeiger also credits her success to the support of and examples set by her parents.
“My father was an important mentor, as was my mother, who was a very hard worker. I watched my father quit General Motors when I was in the third grade, and watched him and my mother work really hard to grow a business. I was very fortunate to experience firsthand what a good work ethic looks like.”
She also received regular advice from the executive support group Vistage, a CEO coaching and peer advisory organization. “I belong to a local chapter, and it’s a wonderful organization that helps C-level executives support one another,” she says. “The chair of that group was Richard Best, a retired GKN CEO. He came to me at a really important time, when my father was retiring. I had big shoes to fill, and Richard and the Vistage team provided a really great support system.”
In December 2022, Lucerne acquired Morgan Machining, a woman-owned shop in Auburn Hills, and is bringing machining work back from China. As part of the move, Buchzeiger is raising funds to build a new hot aluminum forging facility in North America, potentially in Michigan. She predicts more onshoring down the road.
In addition, Buchzeiger is a founding member of the CEO Coalition for Change, and an active member of the Great Lakes Women’s Business Council and Inforum. She also serves on the board of the Detroit Regional Chamber, MICHAuto, and the Automotive Hall of Fame.
She praises her husband, a former professional boxer, for being “an amazing support system at home” and helping to raise their three teenage children while she travels around the world growing her business.
— Gary Witzenburg
Elaine Coffman
Shareholder, President of Michigan Operations
Lockton Cos., Detroit
It was 2019, and Elaine Coffman had spent more than 15 years with a large insurance broker where she specialized — and was a leading force — in the automotive industry. She also enjoyed success as a shareholder and business owner.
And then it all came to a crashing end.
“We sold the company to a publicly traded firm and the margin requirements went from 10 percent to 35 percent,” Coffman says. “When that happens, when you lose 25 cents of what you use to pay your people and take care of your clients, it changes the way you work.
“As hard as it was to leave a firm that I had previously been a shareholder with, I left an entire book of business. It was a huge risk for me to do that. I basically had to rebuild everything,” she says.
To say Coffman also landed on her feet is a tad of an understatement. Today, as shareholder and president of the Michigan operation for Lockton Cos., she leads the expansion in the state for the world’s largest privately held, independent insurance broker.
“That’s what sets Lockton apart. There’s been tons of mergers and acquisitions in our business, and of the top 20 firms, we’re the only one that’s privately held. Now, everyone else is publicly traded or private-equity owned, with high margins,” Coffman says.
Since 2019, when Lockton Cos. established a Michigan presence, Coffman has opened two additional offices. The company now has a prominent presence in Birmingham, Grand Rapids, and downtown Detroit; the Detroit office relocated and expanded just last year.
In 2022 alone, Coffman increased revenue by some 40 percent, while almost doubling her staff to nearly 70 people. She also boasts the highest client retention rate in the industry, surpassing all other insurance companies in Michigan.
“Because of all the mergers and acquisitions, there’s a lot of people who miss the privately held environment, and we’ve been able to recruit a tremendous amount of talent and clients that are out there, through COVID-19 and through a lot of compliance and just pressure at work,” she explains.
“They’ve wanted to change brokers, even in the midst of that, because (clients) need more help. So it’s the combination of having the talent, with capacity and clients being out there who aren’t happy.”
It all adds up to a stunning success story for Lockton Cos. — and, in particular, for Coffman, who breaks it all down into a nutshell: “We haven’t grown from just taking business from one of our competitors. We’ve grown from taking business from all of our competitors.”
When it comes to offering advice to young women who are contemplating a career in insurance — or anywhere, for that matter — and dealing with resistance or criticism, Coffman offers some sage wisdom.
“I call it the coffee table analogy. For everything that someone says to you, instead of letting it hit you directly and reacting, let it hit (an imaginary) coffee table in front of you. There are things you might let hit that coffee table that you don’t even want to pick up.”
Things like gratuitous insults, for instance, or unhelpful negativity, she suggests.
“But there are other things that maybe you want to pick up, like a compliment or a point you can learn that will add value as you grow. Or it might be a criticism you need to pick up and own,” she says.
“I like the analogy because I think a lot of women in the workplace just take in everything, and we need to have a way of putting a barrier in between, so that we can decide how we want to react. This allows people to be honest with you, but it also allows you to control how you react.”
She says confidence plays a significant role in any calculation, and adds a final, important admonition: “You’ve got to be willing to bet on yourself. Don’t take risks because they’re scary; if you believe you can do it, take the risk.”
— Tom Murray
Megan Crespi
COO
Comerica Bank, Detroit
How does a psychology major end up as the COO of a bank? By listening to an accounting firm recruiter while still in college. At least, that’s how Megan Crespi did it.
“On the advice (of) a recruiter from a Big Six accounting firm, I went through a technical boot camp and the rest is history,” says Crespi, COO of Comerica Bank since January. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1995, just as people started worrying about what might happen to the world’s computers when the calendar flipped from 1999 to 2000.
“Prior to Y2K, everyone thought all the computers in the world were going to crash at midnight on Jan. 1, 2000,” recalls Crespi, who was born in New York but moved with her family to the west side of metro Detroit when she was young. “There weren’t enough computer science majors coming out of school at the time, so the recruiter thought it was something I should consider.”
Crespi, who attended Mercy High School in Farmington Hills, started her corporate journey at Price Waterhouse before its merger with Coopers & Lybrand (today PwC). Over the course of four and a half years, she worked in training, application development, business intelligence, and data warehousing.
She spent a year with the MicroStrategy business intelligence company, working on the General Motors account, then jumped to the automaker in late 2000 as manager of business-to-customer and customer relationship management systems for North America. By the time she left GM nine years later, she was global director of aftermarket information technology.
While at the automaker, Crespi managed the implementation of the General Motors Retail Process Vision and Strategy, and was responsible for the application development and deployment of GM-Dealer systems on a global basis, driving global common processes supported by global common systems.
By that time, Crespi had tacked a master’s degree in information systems management from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh onto her bootcamp certificate.
Following her time at GM, Crespi served for more than a decade at Ally, which, as GMAC, had spun off from GM to become its captive auto financing arm. At Ally, she was director of strategic initiatives, chief information officer for auto finance, and then chief technology officer for the entire enterprise.
While there, she was responsible for technology supporting the Ally Dealer Financial Services business, including Consumer Credit, SmartAuction (an online vehicle remarketing platform), Sales Performance, and Dealership Online Services.
Crespi says she thought she would retire from Ally, but then Comerica Bank called with the proverbial offer she couldn’t refuse.
She joined Comerica as chief operations and technology officer in March 2020, just as the bank was starting to transform itself into a more digitally focused institution — which was right in the technologist’s wheelhouse.
In her first few weeks at the bank, COVID-19 hit, and she oversaw the transition of 7,700 employees who made the change from working in the office to working from home while implementing and executing several programs across all operations to ensure Comerica’s success throughout the pandemic.
Crespi has since launched several technologies at the bank, including mobile apps to provide a more frictionless experience for treasury management and Direct Express customers, as well as a redesign and relaunch of Comerica’s personal banking app.
Today, she’s overseeing two major transformations in Comerica’s corporate real estate portfolio, including moving 2,000 Michigan employees to a state-of-the-art facility in Farmington Hills and the construction of the new Business and Innovation Hub in Frisco, Texas.
Her Livonia-based work includes technology, cybersecurity, real estate, bank branches, management offices, customer contact centers, interactive teller machines, standard ATMs, the bank’s website, and mobile apps.
“A typical day would be great,” Crespi says with a chuckle. “It’s really a 24/7 job. My phone is never more than an arm’s reach away. I have days where we’re responding to issues we weren’t anticipating, (and) when something went bump in the night, (we) marshal all of the resources available to restore services.”
In addition to dealing with emergencies, Crespi is looking toward the future of Comerica and its continued digitization.
“A fair amount of my week is spent thinking about what we’re doing today and what we need to be doing in the future, especially from the digital perspective. Since adopting ‘the customer (is) first’ as our first core value, our goal is to be more proactive in communicating with customers about when elements of the bank’s services are unavailable and what the options are.”
In what little spare time she has — Crespi and her husband have two college-age kids — Crespi works as a member of the Michigan Council Women in Technology Foundation, which strives to inspire and grow women in technology. “There aren’t that many girls in STEM fields, and I’m actively involved in changing that.”
— Tim Keenan
Yasmeen Jasey
Michigan Market Executive
Citizens Bank, Southfield
Only a few minutes into a conversation with Yasmeen Jasey about the business of banking, she’s asked to comment about what seems to be a confusing message: The mission statement for Citizens Bank, which is “to help our customers, colleagues and communities.”
It’s solid, straight down the middle, and reassuring. Like a banker. But it seems to be in sharp conflict with something else Jasey believes: That there must be an emphasis on things like “the importance of soft skills,” working with clients “outside their loan,” and even empathy.
It’s not exactly the description of a traditional, prototypical banker — but that’s the point.
“I think we get caught up in this idea of pedigree, and that things have to be a particular way, but one of the reasons I came to Citizens is because I saw the opportunity to look beyond that,” Jasey says.
“Communities, customers, and colleagues, if we stand behind that, and we elevate them, then we create diversity of thought. We become the organization that stands out, that innovates, that does the right thing. And then if we add the soft skills and the empathy, and the dialogue and collaboration, and giving people purpose, you’re a force that can’t be reckoned with.
“You’re going to do well in the future. We want to be operating in an innovative environment. You can’t be innovative if everybody thinks the same, if everyone behaves the same.”
For Jasey, being innovative and flourishing well beyond the usual comfort zones began long before she took her first job.
“I grew up in London, Ontario, in an environment where we didn’t have a lot,” she shares. “My parents didn’t come from a lot of money. My dad worked on the line. My mom did odd seamstress jobs. But we had a 1,100-square-foot home that was constantly full of love, full of people, full of family,” she says.
Jasey was the youngest of four children, by 11 years, and considers herself a hardworking and accomplished student. She says one of the most important lessons of her life was learned not at school, but in her home.
“My sister was a young mom. Her husband left when she was 25, and they had three kids. She had to go back to school because she only had a high school (diploma). So I watched her go back to school as a single mom and get a degree, and eventually her MBA.”
It was a life-changing moment for Jasey, who was determined she wasn’t going to follow her sister down the same path.
“I realized, at that point, that I really wanted to be financially independent,” she confides. “I wanted to be self-sufficient, regardless of what career choice I made. I needed to be financially independent.”
That decision, and Jasey’s ability to execute it as she progressed through her career, imbued her with a sense of confidence that proved to be invaluable. “The one thing that I think drove me to get to where I am is when someone told me I couldn’t do something or I wasn’t qualified, it gave me an opportunity to kind of dig in and figure out a way to get it done. I just told myself I could do it, and I needed to find a path to get there.”
Jasey clearly found not just one path, but many — all while striving to successfully achieve the always-delicate balance between her career and her family.
“I’ve always known my priorities, and it allowed me to manage my time appropriately,” she says. “I never felt like I had to compromise. I love being a mom, but I also love my work family. And what I realized right out of the gate is I had to establish boundaries right at the beginning. So I prioritize family first, hands down. If something got in the way of my family, I pivoted my career.”
All of which makes Jasey a wise and valuable source of information and inspiration for young women who are just at the beginning of their careers.
“I would tell them to be true to your authentic self, and if you are, you can accomplish anything. And even though some moments will be difficult, you need to embrace them, because you have the tools that are unique to you to actually overcome those obstacles.
“Everyone has fears,” Jasey adds, “but if you’re happy and comfortable with yourself, you know those fears are normal, right? And so you can’t let anybody or anything stand in your way.”
— Tom Murray
Jacqui Spicer
President
Baker College, Royal Oak
Jacqui Spicer took a nontraditional route to the president’s office of Baker College in Royal Oak. She started climbing the corporate ladder in the auto industry before moving to the education sector.
Spicer grew up in a small Michigan town playing team sports. She says her experiences gave her essential teamwork, leadership, and perseverance skills, which came into play during her climb later in life.
“My love for learning extended beyond the confines of the classroom, as I recognized that real-world experiences and interactions with others were also rich sources of knowledge and growth,” Spicer says. “My childhood and early educational experiences blended independence, physical activities, socializing, and a genuine thirst for knowledge.”
Spicer admits to being more drawn to playing sports than pure academic pursuits as a youth, but says she still had an enthusiasm for learning.
“I later understood the value of a collegiate journey, knowing that (in order) to accomplish my career goals, obtaining degrees would play a role in my success and future ability to influence the higher-ed world,” she says.
As a student, her academic career started with a bachelor’s degree from Walsh College in Troy. She then earned a master’s in management information systems from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Ultimately, she earned a doctorate in education, focusing on organizational change and leadership, from the University of Southern California.
Spicer spent the first 11 years of her working career at automotive glass supplier Guardian Industries in Auburn Hills, where she was manager of operations, accounting, and information technology.
“With a wealth of opportunities in manufacturing, I gained valuable experience and honed my skills in operations, technology, and accounting,” Spicer says. “This period of my career also afforded me the privilege of traveling extensively around the world and working on diverse projects that broadened my perspective.
“While my work in the manufacturing industry was fulfilling, I felt a growing desire to make a more significant impact or difference in my professional endeavors. This longing led me to pursue higher education and explore opportunities in the academic realm. I began working at the University of Michigan and eventually found my way to Baker College.”
Spicer was director of information technology at U-M for two years before coming to Baker College in 2012 as chief information officer, a position she held for three years.
In 2016, she was named COO of Baker College. She stayed in that role for almost seven years, recently overseeing the creation of the institution’s new, state-of-the-art, seven-story flagship campus in downtown Royal Oak, which began welcoming students in January 2023.
In September 2022, Spicer was appointed the first female president in Baker College’s 112-year history.
“Baker College (has) provided a platform for me to engage with students and utilize my expertise to help positively shape their educational experiences,” she says. “These experiences have allowed me to grow professionally and personally, fostering a desire to create a lasting impact and contribute to the development of individuals and communities.”
She says Baker’s niche as a boutique college with a strong emphasis on individualized attention and student-centered education is what initially drew her to the school.
“By being a part of Baker College, I’ve been able to contribute to the unique environment that fosters student success. The college serves as a catalyst for transformation, providing a supportive community and resources that enable students to overcome challenges and achieve their goals. It’s a place where students find the necessary guidance, encouragement, and opportunities to excel academically and personally.”
Spicer says that, as a woman, she encountered various obstacles in her climb up the corporate and academic ladders.
“While I was fortunate enough to travel extensively (at Guardian), I also had to navigate cultural differences and societal expectations that required adjustments for effectiveness,” she notes. “The overall perception and treatment of individuals who identify as women in the workplace have improved significantly over the years, but challenges related to gender still persist.
“My journey hasn’t been void of struggles, but I’m glad to have persisted and prevailed through pressure and demands. (Even) more important, I’m able to use my leadership position as an example to our students of how your personal background, gender, and other variables aren’t necessarily determining factors on how successful you’ll be.”
She also deploys her leadership skills as an active member of local nonprofit boards, including McLaren Oakland and Lighthouse of Oakland County.
“I’ve had a unique path that allowed me to arrive at Baker, but with persistence, a positive mindset, and an earnest desire to help students reach and realize their potential, I’m committed to using my platform as one of influence.”
— Tim Keenan
Jaymi Wilson
Senior Vice President and General Manager, North America Automotive
Gentherm Inc., Northville Township
One common attribute among successful executives is a high level of energy, and Jaymi Wilson is no exception. The youngest of nine kids, she was that child in school with an “obnoxiously long list of things” in which she was involved.
“I did a little bit of everything — sports, student council, debate team, volunteer organizations. Pretty much anything to be active with other students outside of academia,” Wilson says. “My No. 1 sport was basketball, which I still love today. I even played as an adult, until tearing my ACL at about 40.”
With a talent for math and science, Wilson soon learned she also exceeded at solving problems. She attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering (graduating cum laude) in 1998, and an MBA (magna cum laude and Outstanding Academic Achievement Award) in 2005 while working at Visteon Automotive, which she joined in 1998 as a product design engineer.
She moved to manufacturing engineering in 2000, and from there to a product line business analyst role in 2001.
“I was in an excellent college graduate rotational program out of college, which gave me a great view of the business through cross-functional eyes, and I soon realized that I liked solving business problems even more than technical problems,” she reveals.
In 2010, though, she left the corporate world to help care for her parents and two toddler-age daughters. “During this time, I wanted to be available to not only provide the support required during these bookends of life, but I wanted to be able to spend valuable time with (my family) during those precious stages,” she says.
In 2013, she rejoined the workforce as global manager, product development at Gentherm and, once there, moved up to business development global manager in 2014; medical division vice president and general manager in 2017; senior vice president of strategy, marketing, and corporate communications in 2018; senior vice president global sales, marketing, and corporate communications in 2021; and to her current position one year later.
Wilson completed an executive education mergers and acquisition course at Harvard Business School in 2020, and has been involved in the American Heart Association’s STEM Goes Red Chair program since 2018. She chaired the organization’s Detroit event the past two years.
“I didn’t carve out this career path,” she says. “As opportunities presented themselves, if they were exciting and something I could learn and grow with while bringing value from my previous role, I said yes. I tried to have a lot of diverse experiences, which made me versatile and has served me well. There are few parts of the business in which I haven’t been involved.”
Over the years, Wilson has learned that when she was the only woman — or, in many cases, the youngest person — in the room, her unique perspective was valuable. “You need to have your homework done, but so does everyone else. And part of that homework is making sure I understand the point I want to make and how to articulate it, and knowing who my audience is so that they’re picking up what I’m laying down.”
Like most successful leaders, Wilson has benefited from many mentors throughout her career. “The dialogue going both ways is powerful and allows you to take questions out of your head and sort through them to make a decision,” she says. “You can have multiple informal mentor relationships. People talk about building a personal board of directors, which makes sense because you’ll have different mentors in different parts of your career.”
She especially enjoys mentoring young people, including students. “Whether in my community, my family, or my team, I see mentorship as key to enabling people to maximize what they can bring to the table and accomplish. My leadership style isn’t telling the team what to do, but what needs to be accomplished, then giving them the tools and helping them figure out how to accomplish it.”
Another common question involves trying to achieve work/life balance. With two now-teenage daughters and a husband who travels quite a bit as a professional pilot, Wilson suggests there’s no such thing.
“I prefer to think of it as work/life integration,” she explains. “It’s dynamic, and there is no perfect equation.” With her daughters involved in a lot of extracurricular activities, she seeks to prioritize her family first. “I think through what I need to accomplish each week, then drive my calendar to accomplish what I want to (do) across all my points of life. I believe that has allowed me to optimize between work and family.”
Given her own experience, she believes leaders should understand that their team members also have families and other outside responsibilities.
“You need to respect their needs. Whether someone is a parent or maybe a caregiver, they’re navigating all these things as well as their jobs,” Wilson notes. “I make sure they get the work done but also that they can manage what they have going on outside of work. Then people have a lot of satisfaction, and their engagement levels go up because (we’re) embracing that whole spectrum of their responsibilities.”
— Gary Witzenburg
