2015 Automotive News 100 Leading Women

What attracted you to the auto industry? It was an accident. I did not set out to be in automotive. I had a goal of going to the University of Michigan, majoring in music and taking a minor in library science. I had a full scholarship. My older brother was going to GMI. He came home one day in 1971 and told me GM is looking for “smart women” and gave them my name. The next day I was called in for an interview at GM’s Fort Street plant. I was made an offer for a sponsorship right there. That was unheard of. I thought about it. I come from a very poor family. I grew up in inner city Detroit. So it became an issue of music or a career. I talked it over with my mother, and she said, “Do whatever you want to do.”