Christie Handlon
I began my career in the automotive industry in 2002, starting as a press operator on a machine. What's interesting is that I actually got into this field by accident. I was working as a restaurant manager and needed a second job to make extra money, so I thought I could work in a factory on midnight shift running a machine. When I got my first paycheck, I went and turned my two weeks notice in at the restaurant because I could make so much more money. Then I fell in love with the industry when an opportunity came to work with engineers and I really started to understand it. Over the past 13 years with ZF, I've worked my way up from that press operator role to my current position as Assembly Operations Manager at ZF Axle Drives in Marysville. I'm responsible for overseeing all assembly operations, managing 7 direct reports and approximately 300 employees across 3 shifts. My role involves ensuring we build the most world-class quality axle in the most safe and efficient manner, and I'm in charge of all processes that do that. My personal expertise is working with production crews and helping develop leaders in the industry. I manage everything from making sure lines run efficiently to meeting customer shipments, financial efficiency, factory contribution margin, safety, manpower planning, and all KPIs. We supply to Stellantis as a Tier 1 supplier, and because our facility is about 45 minutes from the main assembly plant, I literally have 45 minutes to get parts to them, so we keep very low inventory. My most notable achievement is that I started as a press operator and worked my way up to the MG (manager) level at ZF. I was doing this role for 5 months interim and finally got the promotion in January. I became the first female superintendent in my plant, and there were only two female supervisors when I started moving up. I've completed ZF's Empower Her women's leadership development program and Elevate, which is also a women's leadership program in my division. What makes this even more remarkable is that I only have an associate's degree in Human Services, which has nothing to do with manufacturing or automotive. Before joining ZF, I had already been a plant manager in South Carolina and ran continuous improvement operations across North America, traveling between a Mexico plant and a plant in the United States. When I first started at ZF 13 years ago, the environment was challenging. It was very much considered the 'White Boys Club,' and I was talked down to despite all my experience. I actually considered leaving automotive because I had worked too hard to deal with that mindset. But as a single mom, I had to make decisions based on that as well, so I stuck it out. My work ethic started to show, I got more projects, and that's where I'm at now. Things have changed significantly since our current plant manager came on board 3 years ago. He truly believes in individual talent and looks beyond gender to find the strongest people for his team. His leadership line is now 50-50 male-female. We started a women in manufacturing group at ZF, and although we had to change the title due to new DEI regulations under the current administration, we still hold our group and continue our coffee chats where we bring people in and educate them on diversity as a whole. Our plant is very diverse, with flags from every country our employees represent hanging across the top of our facility. I'm also involved in the community, sitting on the advisory board for our local high school tech center as a representative from ZF.
• Empower Her Leadership Development Program
• Elevate Women's Leadership Program
• Associate's Degree in Human Services
• Baker College
• Advisory Board Member for Local High School Tech Center
• Buddy Walk for Down Syndrome
• Animal Shelter Volunteer
• Detroit Neighborhood Cleanup
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to hard work and never giving up. No matter how hard it got, I never, ever gave up. It's about believing in myself and what I'm capable of. My dad always told me that nobody is better than me, and the only person better than me is myself. I've lived by that every day. I also credit a lot of my discipline, dedication, and commitment to being raised as a military child. Growing up as a military brat, I dealt with adversity every day - our parents were gone, we were always the new kid, things like that. I think that's what's helped me a lot as a woman in such a male-dominated world, because I experienced adversity from a very young age and developed resilience. I've always believed that the blessings in your life are found through the struggles that God puts in front of you, and I never question anything that God puts a period on. I look at struggles not as struggles, but as opportunities to find the blessing in them.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received came from my dad, who told me that nobody is better than me, and the only person better than me is myself. That has stayed with me throughout my entire career. Another piece of advice that really stuck with me came from a mentor when I was first starting in automotive and beginning to work with engineers. He told me, 'I need you to go out to your car and slam your arm in it 3 times, and if you can withstand that, you are going to be one of the most successful people in this industry.' It was such a male perspective, but when I asked him about it later, he explained that he believed in me and knew I could do this, but that I was going to come across so many males who think I'm not tough enough for this. The automotive industry is what we call a meat grinder - it literally is a meat grinder. He was telling me that he knew I was tough enough to do it, but I needed to know I was tough enough to do it. It kind of goes hand in hand with what my dad told me - that I need to be better than myself, and that's the only person I need to be better than.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The advice I would give to young women entering my industry is to face every challenge as an opportunity. Don't be afraid to take a step back to move two steps forward. Be authentic and be proud of who you are. Be proud to be the woman that you are. It's so important to be your authentic self, whether you're being a leader, whether you're being a mom, whether you're being a partner. Because if you are not true to yourself, you can't be true to the audience. I also believe strongly in advocating - advocate for yourself and advocate for the people that are not in the room, and advocate for the people that are in the room. Always remember who your audience is and who you are speaking to, because perception is so much stronger than the words you're delivering. And always validate what you heard, because there may be no malicious intent in someone's words, but your perception might be completely different.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge right now is the unstable market and economic uncertainty. I'm in a business that provides product to a consumer, so we don't know from day to day if the economy's going to crash. When things happen to the economy, the automotive industry is hit directly. The other major challenge is that companies are just starting to recover from COVID and the chip shortage in the supply chain, so we are running so lean. When I started at ZF, I was one of 13 supervisors, and I am now an operations manager with only 7 direct reports total. That shows how much leaner we're operating. Professionally, the biggest challenge is this unsustainable, unstable market. Personally, I don't look at struggles as struggles - I look at the blessing in the struggle. I'm a very positive, forward-thinking person, and I've always been taught that the blessings in your life are found through the struggles that God puts in front of you. So I don't think I struggle anywhere in my personal life. Professionally, it's just the instability of the market, and I've been doing this for a long time.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are integrity and giving 110% of yourself to anything you do in life. People always say there's not 110%, but I say there's actually 111% - you get 1%, and the other 110% is to your career, your family, everything. I give the same effort at home as I do at work. Another critical value is showing up and being present in the room. I am not a quiet person and have never been a quiet person. What's right is right, what's wrong is wrong, and I am not afraid to speak my truth. The other essential piece is to be your authentic self - whether you're being a leader, whether you're being a mom, whether you're being a partner, be your authentic self. Because if you are not true to yourself, you can't be true to the audience. I also believe strongly in perception and validation. Perception is so much stronger than the words you're delivering, so you always need to remember who your audience is and who you are speaking to. And always validate what you heard, because there may be no malicious intent in someone's words, but your perception might tell you something completely different.
Locations
ZF Axle Drives
Fort Gratiot, MI