Kathleen Ligocki: Supplying Fresh Ideas to Ford

by Rachel L. Miller

The face of the auto industry sure has changed since Kathleen Ligocki first joined its ranks 23 years ago. Starting out at a Midwestern GM plant as its only female foreman in the late 1970s, Ligocki has seen the industry grow and evolve from one that adapted to the dominant norm to one that embraces choice. And as she takes a step up to the position of vice president Ford Mexico, Canada and North America strategy, she discusses her new priorities and comments on how she's no longer the only woman in the room.

Don't blame Kathleen Ligocki for not wanting to leave Mexico. After all, trading in the country's rich culture, delectable cuisine and temperate climate for a move to Detroit isn't something most of us would want to do. And factor in having to abandon a gorgeous house brimming with antiques — a place that family considers their "private retreat" — how eager would you be to hop on the next plane to Michigan?

"I live like a goddess here and now I have to move back to Michigan and do my own grocery shopping," Ligocki, 45, says with a laugh.

But the move will be made worthwhile by the challenges and excitement of a promotion at Ford Motor Company, for which Ligocki has worked since 1998. She is stepping up in ranks from CEO of Ford Mexico (a job she held from January 2000 to July 2001) to the position of vice president, Canada, Mexico and North America strategy. And although she's already familiar with Ford's position in Mexico, she has a new set of goals ready to tackle.

"My first goal as vice president of North America strategy is to improve quality, to get product quality where we want it to be," Ligocki said. "We've got to get the business structure going forward, to get costs in line."

And as for Mexico and Canada, Ligocki says she will "make sure both Canada and Mexico's needs are met."

"Really I look at both as canary markets — things happen there before they do in the States, so it really keeps your antennae sharp," she said.

"There has been a huge change from the days when you were the only woman in the plant or in the room. It's definitely not equal, but I'm not alone anymore."

It's really quite amazing that Ligocki, who studied Chinese history and Renaissance art as an undergraduate at Indiana University, ended up in the auto industry at all, let alone in one of Ford's top leadership positions. But as Ligocki professes, "I wander from interest to interest. Every time I think I know what I'm going to do, five years later I'm doing something else."

If anyone has lived by following her passions, it's Ligocki, who was reading Buddhist philosophy during Catechism class and delved into Mao's Red Book at the age of 9. She grew up in Milwaukee and moved to Kokomo, Indiana, where she stayed put through her high school and college years. By then, she had become immersed in her love of Chinese history.

"I was intrigued by 10,000 years of history, intrigued by a culture so different from ours," Ligocki said.

And as for her other college major, "Renaissance art was pure love. I couldn't believe that I could get college credit for looking at paintings. I just studied things I love."

That love was what first brought her to Mexico. She traveled there after graduating from college to work on an archaeological dig and discovered a passion for the people and culture. Then another passion took hold — she wanted to go to law school.

"I couldn't get money, though, to go to law school, so I took a job at a GM plant," she said. "I was the only foreman who was a college graduate and the only female foreman."

But like Chinese history and Renaissance art, Ligocki fell in love with working in the plant.

"Working so close together on an assembly line, I found the dynamics to be very fascinating," she explains.

And it was at that time she found herself a mentor. "My boss was a visionary at the time. He thought quality was the number one priority and teamwork would help us achieve the goal. People thought he was crazy, but he helped turn our area around."

Inspired by the positive attitude of her boss, Ligocki's career plans changed indefinitely. "I stayed and kept staying…and 23 years later I'm still in the business," she said.

Through the past two decades, Ligocki has seen the number of women in a male-dominated field jump dramatically.

"There has been a huge change from the days when you were the only woman in the plant or in the room," she says. "It's definitely not equal, but I'm not alone anymore."

She's also made a wry observation of the absence of what used to be a tried and true plant favorite.

"There are no pinup posters in the plant anymore," Ligocki says, laughing. "I used to think that Hustler and Playboy were funded by the plant."

All joking aside, Ligocki says she's definitely seen an ideological change in the industry within the past 20 years.

"[Women are] half of consumers, we should be half of the business too."

"When I joined, it was all about adapting to the dominant norm," she she. "The expectation was as a consumer and employee, you had to adapt to the dominant norm."

Ligocki adds that the industry is starting to realize that such a view won't work anymore. "Consumers have so many choices; employees have so many choices," she explains. "People are thinking, 'I want to be the same person at work that I am at home — and I want to be comfortable with that person.' "

And being a female executive in Mexico taught Ligocki a lot about the advantages women have in business.

"Women in Mexico work in family businesses, not in multinational corporations - it's still a novelty there," she said. "But no matter what culture you're talking about, women listen before projecting their own needs. It's gives us an advantage and helps us build bridges. I think that by listening first and not judging and trying to make it happen, it creates a bond. Being a woman has been easier there in some ways."

And even though the auto industry is seeing many more women join its ranks, it still has a way to go before the industry is balanced, she said.

"Jump right in!" she advises women who are interesting in joining the field. "We're half of consumers, we should be half of the business too."

"The auto industry is a tough business — a very competitive, rough-and-tumble business," she continues. "You need to be up to the challenge. The product is very seductive…vehicles touch us in a way few other products do. If you're not tough when you jump in, you'll be tough after a while."

A part of Ligocki's job that's definitely not tough for her is the travel involved. For someone who has seen 160 countries and whose goal is to say "I've been everywhere in the world," travel is definitely a perk of her job.

"If you stay in the office all the time, the world closes in on you. So I really spend a lot of time out of the office," says Ligocki, who is single and has no children. "I work about 70 to 80 hours a week on average, but it varies. In this job, I'm never in the office — I travel every week."

Another passion for Ligocki goes hand-in-hand with travel — learning foreign languages. She's fluent in French and Spanish (in addition to English, of course) and has studied Arabic, Chinese and German.

"I believe if you study a language, you understand how people think in a different culture," Ligocki said.

It's a belief that will most definitely help her make the transition back to Detroit, where the auto industry seems to have a culture and language of its own sometimes. But there's no doubt her advancement at Ford will be full of fresh ideas and strategies for the automaker. And there's definitely no question that Ligocki is ready for whatever comes next.

"I love it when everything's new, when everything's a challenge, when you're working on a learning curve," she says, her fiery passion and determination becoming more evident with every word spoken. "I like doing work for people I respect. You can't complain about stress in the workplace when you have a job that you love."