Big break: My transition from Ford to Audi in 2007. That really set me on a different career trajectory."

Matt Carpenter grew up in a company town. His parents worked for the company. His first job was with the company.

But in 2007, he left the nurturing womb of Ford Motor Co. -- the company that had employed his parents and given the Dearborn, Mich., native his first job out of college -- to join a much smaller German luxury brand on the precipice of a very long, lucrative sales run.

And at 36, Carpenter finds himself vice president and CFO of Audi of America/Audi of Canada.

"At the time, Audi of America was only selling 90,000 cars per year," Carpenter recalled of his move from Ford to Audi's then Auburn Hills, Mich., headquarters in 2007. "Now we're at 210,000 sales in the U.S., and our mission is far from over."

Carpenter was appointed to his current role in September. He previously served as a management consultant, vehicle merchandising manager and general manager of sales with Audi. In 2015, Carpenter was named general manager of dealer remarketing at VW Credit. Before landing the top finance job, he spent months working in Audi AG's controlling office in Ingolstadt, Germany.

"Until 2008, the furthest I had gotten away from home was going to school in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan," Carpenter joked.

With 10 people reporting to him, balancing between Audi of America and Audi of Canada can be a challenge, Carpenter said. "It's a dynamic role; [I] do have to manage time allocation between the two companies. But I embrace it.

"I knew most of the main stakeholders in the Canadian company before I even started the job. It's a tremendous part of the job that I take very seriously."

-- Larry P. Vellequette