Chaquanna McIntyre
Chaquanna McIntyre is a quality and continuous improvement professional based in Augusta, Georgia, with nearly a decade of experience in automotive manufacturing. Her career spans both production and quality functions, working with major OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, as well as contributing to agricultural manufacturing environments such as John Deere. In her current role, she leads quality investigations, drives continuous improvement initiatives, conducts process audits, and collaborates in customer-facing and strategic leadership discussions—all with a focus on ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality, conforming products.
Throughout her career, Chaquanna has demonstrated a strong ability to identify inefficiencies and implement impactful solutions. One of her most notable achievements came during her time as a Quality Inventory Manager, where she successfully reduced an inventory loss bin from nearly $2 million to approximately $15,000 by recovering lost material—an accomplishment that underscores her analytical mindset and commitment to operational excellence. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of South Carolina Upstate and is a Six Sigma Green Belt, further reinforcing her expertise in process optimization and data-driven decision-making.
Driven by ambition and resilience, Chaquanna’s journey into manufacturing began as a practical path to support herself through college, eventually evolving into a lasting passion and career. She is guided by core values of honesty, transparency, and respect, which shape her leadership style and professional relationships. Recognized as part of the 2026 Influential Women program representing Augusta, she continues to advocate for perseverance, encouraging others—especially young women entering the industry—to stay the course, speak up, and push forward even in the face of challenges.
• Six Sigma Green Belt
• University of South Carolina Upstate
What do you attribute your success to?
I would attribute my success to my ambition and my endurance. No matter what the ups and downs of manufacturing and automotive in this country, I've always stuck with it and continued to strive for excellence in my career. I think that my endurance and my ambitions are the things that have gotten me here thus far, because a lot of my friends have definitely left the industry and haven't lasted as long as I have. No matter what I see in the economy or just in the industry itself, I always continue to push forward.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice that I've received is to not be afraid to speak, because that idea that I'm holding back may just be the very idea that pushes us to the next level. So never be afraid to speak up.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The advice I would give to young women who are entering this industry is to persevere and stay steady. Pretty much hold the line and stay the course of what you're trying to do and complete, because it is going to be a hard journey. There are going to be times where you feel as if you've reached the very end of how far you think you can go, and I'm telling you that you can go further. Just keep pushing.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Being a woman in a male-dominated field, particularly a woman of color, you definitely face challenges. There are times where you're in a room and you feel like you don't belong in that room. A challenge is having the confidence to know that, hey, I deserve to be here, I'm just as smart as my peers, and my thoughts and my ideas matter and deserve to be heard. I would say that is definitely a challenge - getting out of that shell where I may have a great idea, but I'm afraid to speak on it simply because it may not be received well in a room of my peers. On the opportunities side, I've definitely had a lot of opportunity to train and to absorb quite a bit of knowledge from each company I've worked with. They definitely saw something in me that they felt inclined to invest in.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I definitely think honesty is one of my core values, because I feel like you can't really establish anything based on incorrect information. I think facts are everything, so I love the aspect of being honest and transparent. I also value respect, because you always want to ensure that you're treating people the exact same way that you want to be treated. In things like work, attitudes and tempers can flare, but you always want to make sure that you're leading with respect. I think that yields results.
Locations
F.S. Fehrer Automotive GmbH
Augusta, GA 30907