2005 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS 100 LEADING WOMEN AWARDS

Education: A.B., mathematics, Dartmouth College; M.B.A., Stanford University

What your college professors didn't teach you: "The importance of leadership."

First automotive job: Advised automotive clients at McKinsey & Co. in Los Angeles in 1992

Most fun automotive job: "There's no question, CarsDirect has been a terrific experience."

Biggest mistake and what you learned: "In hindsight, it's always easy to see that you should have moved faster into some businesses. I wish, for example, that we had launched our referral business sooner and that we could have gotten our special finance subprime lead business started a lot sooner than we did."

Proudest achievement: "I got to be part of the team at CarsDirect that built the company that we have today, which serves thousands of dealers and millions of customers every month."

Current challenge: "The challenge that we and others in the Internet business are facing is getting dealers and manufacturers to appreciate the value of the Internet as a way to reach consumers."

On being successful: "It's keeping everybody focused on the right goals."

What about the auto industry surprised you: "I would have expected the adaptation of the Internet to be faster than it was. I think we're beginning to see very large shifts, particularly in manufacturer ad spending. But I would have expected it to have happened sooner."

Job to which you aspire: "I'm having a great time doing what I'm doing here, and this job, although the title's been the same, has grown significantly in the last six years as CarsDirect has added products and services that we're providing."

What you do to relax: "I like to ski and play tennis and play with my three children and husband."