We are so happy to welcome Grace Lieblein, an impressive Latina leader, as this year's Keynote Speaker! Here is some information regarding her achievements, responsibilities, and interests.
Grace Lieblein
Vice President,
Global Purchasing and Supply Chain
Effective December,
2012, Grace Lieblein was appointed to the position of Vice President, Global Purchasing and Supply
Chain. In her new role, Lieblein is
responsible for GM’s purchasing activities and supply chain and logistics
operations worldwide. Lieblein
was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for Honeywell International as
well as the Advisory Board of Focus: HOPE.
Previously, Lieblein
was President and Managing Director of GM Brazil where she oversaw the launch
of 9 new products in 15 months, and was part of the unit’s Transformation. Before coming to Brazil, Lieblein was
President and Managing Director of GM Mexico, and the first woman to serve in
this role. While in Mexico, in addition
to her position at GM, she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the
American Chamber Mexico, and in May 2010, she was named Vice President of the
Board.
Grace began her
career in 1978 as a co-op student at General Motors Assembly Division in Los
Angeles. She later progressed through a
number of positions including manager of GM’s Desert Proving Ground in Arizona
and director of Engineering Design for GM’s North America Car Group.
Grace received a
bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from General Motors Institute (now
Kettering University) in 1983 and a master's degree in management - materials/logistics
from Michigan State University in 1987.
She also holds a certificate from Thunderbird’s Global Leadership
program from 1998.
Widely recognized for her achievements, Grace’s
most recent honors include:
·
In
2012, she was featured on CNN as part of their “Leading Women” series. She was also named Executive of the Year by
TopCar TV in Brazil.
·
In 2012, she was added to Hispanic Business
Magazine's 2012 Corporate Elite 25
·
In
2011, she was recognized by Fortune magazine on their list of “50 Most Powerful
Women in Business – International”, ranked as #22 overall, and one of “10
Global Women on the rise”.
· In
2010, she was recognized by Financial Times magazine, as one of the top 100
women in world business in a group of “The Ones to Watch”.
·
In
2010, She was Second on the list of the Most Powerful Women CEOs in Latin
America by America Economy Magazine
·
In,
2010 She was recognized as one of the top 100 Women in the Automotive Industry
by Automotive News
· In
2010, Expansion Magazine placed her in the second position of the “Top 50 most
powerful women in Mexico”
When she is not working, Grace enjoys exercising,
cooking, reading and traveling with her family.
