Pandemic a tough time to take a promotion

Just days into his new role as president of Continental North America, Bob Lee is leading conversations about how to survive.

It is not the sort of welcoming scenario an executive hopes for with a big promotion.

The COVID-19 pandemic that has stifled global automaking has caused Lee, 54 — who for five years was CEO of Continental Korea — to focus on such priorities as employee health and safety and maintaining U.S. production lines to supply health care and defense needs.

"It's not a simple discussion," Lee told Automotive News. "Some of our facilities provide components that are essential for defense or health care industries, or parts of transportation industries that are critical. It makes sense for us to keep those activities going, even given the current situation.

"Those are the type of hot spots we're trying to figure out — how do we adjust our production facilities, or the way we work, to make sure people are safe and we're able to continue contributing to these essential areas?" he added.

Lee said conference calls with Continental leadership around the world are helping the megasupplier engage all operations in the shutdown.

The conversations have included how to temporarily reroute supply chains, sourcing products from plants less affected by the virus and making engineering changes so products can be sourced from plants still up and running.

"We have to make sure we keep customer requirements as part of our calculus in what we do. There have been government directives," Lee said. "There are many different constraints we have to work with.

"The one positive thing I've taken away from this situation," he added, "is that it is forcing a much tighter communication and collaboration with your partners and customers."

Lee, who has an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joined Continental in 2014 after several years in the industry's battery and electronics segments with LG Chem and SK Innovation. He also led a New York-state instant-messaging startup.

"While I still have some things to learn about the auto industry, I can bring some different perspectives as well," Lee said.

His arrival at Continental North America coincides with the German giant's move deeper into advanced vehicle technologies, connected vehicles and autonomous driving.

Just as the coronavirus was rearing its head, Continental was launching a sweeping corporate restructuring plan that included two U.S. plant closings, work force reductions and other cost-cutting efforts as a result of weakening global demand and the discontinuation of some operating activities.

Lee said he does not expect the virus disruption to derail the plan nor change the company's direction. Continental North America will continue pushing ahead in new technologies while also improving its software capabilities, he said.

Lee has lofty goals. They include better attuning Continental's R&D capabilities to the needs of North American customers and working more with emerging automakers, such as Tesla, Lucid Motors and Rivian.

On the pandemic front, there are lessons to be learned from how Continental navigated the crisis in Asia when it first appeared last year, Lee said.

Continental's Asian operations implemented social distancing guidelines early throughout the region. It also encouraged employee virus testing, introduced masks and adopted the practice of taking employees' temperature as they returned to offices and plants. Those practices are being applied now in North America.

"There are some lessons to be learned here in terms of how we manage crisis and stabilize the supply chain," Lee said.

"But in terms of our overall focus on technology, and building our capabilities and software and services, I don't think any of that has changed."