Editor's note: Marinela Cirstea ran Faurecia's Fiat Chrysler interiors customer business unit in North America. An earlier version of this story did not accurately describe the business unit.

Big break: As a new program manager, oversaw development of the Renault Clio interior

Every supplier needs a “firefighter” — an executive who can step in to repair a difficult relationship with a key customer.

Two years ago, Marinela Cirstea played that role for Forvia. In France, she was a program manager for the company’s interiors unit.

The French supplier — then called Faurecia before its Hella acquisition — offered Cirstea a chance to run its Fiat Chrysler interiors customer business unit in North America. She accepted. 

“We had a difficult relationship with FCA at that time, so I focused on rebuilding the account,” she said.

Cirstea helped create a training program so that everyone — engineers, supervisors, plant managers and hourly employees — could understand procedures at FCA, now part of Stellantis.

She also coordinated the redesign of the Ram 1500 and Jeep Compass. Those projects went well, and the interiors unit subsequently won $1 billion in lifetime sales from Stellantis.

Cirstea developed a passion for cars during her childhood in Moldova. Her father, a mathematics teacher, rebuilt a Russian Moskvitch sedan from scratch using parts scavenged from another vehicle.

In the family garage, 9-year-old Marinela watched every step of the rebuild. Ever since then, “cars have been my passion,” she said.

In 2004, she got a degree in finance from a French business college. She went to work for Schneider Electric, a French company that specializes in energy management, and stayed until 2012, when Faurecia hired her as a finance director.

In 2017 she asked to become a program manager. 

“I got out of my comfort zone,” she said. “So I said to my team, ‘You help me understand engineering and I’ll help you understand finance.’ It was a risk, but I took it. Forvia supported me 100 percent.”

One major assignment was the redesigned Renault Clio, which featured Forvia interior components. The launch went well, and Cirstea subsequently was named vice president of Forvia’s interiors unit in North America and global director of the Stellantis account.

Although her job keeps her busy, Cirstea mentors 10 Forvia employees. She schedules one-on-one dinners and offers feedback when they need advice. 

“They know they can call me with questions,” she said. “I really believe people with high job titles should be accessible.”

— David Sedgwick