Revecca Luther

I attribute my success to grit. I'm actually reading a book called Grit right now, and I think that really captures it. Coming from Pontiac Central High School, which is a very difficult, poor community where there aren't a lot of success stories, I had to pay for my own college and carve my own path. When I started in technical sales in 1994, I was one of only about 10% of women going into that field, and there weren't a lot of female leaders in outside sales in the 90s. At AGC, a Japanese-based company, I was the only female salesperson out of a global team of 84 people. That was challenging, especially when I was single. But I kept going, and that grit, that determination to keep pushing forward despite the obstacles, is what has driven my success throughout my career.

The best career advice I've ever received is to accept change and challenges when they come upon you, and to be adaptive to change without being afraid of a challenge. One piece of advice that really stuck with me is that 80% is enough. You don't have to be 100% qualified to take on the next move. 80% is enough, and you can learn as you go. This has helped me throughout my career to take on new opportunities even when I didn't feel completely ready, knowing that I could figure things out along the way.

My advice to young women entering this industry is to understand that your career path doesn't have to be a ladder straight up. It's not a direct path. Sometimes it's more of a jungle gym, and taking sideways lateral moves to increase your broader knowledge of the scope of the company, the market, and the business is very helpful and useful. Don't feel like you have to follow a traditional upward trajectory. Those lateral moves can give you invaluable experience and perspective that will serve you well in the long run.

The biggest challenges in my field right now are the constant global events that create complete earthquakes within automotive that we have to adjust for. Just name it, right? We went through COVID, we went through supply chain issues, we went through the semiconductor crisis, and then we moved on to inflation, and now we've moved on to tariffs in 2025-2026. It seems like there's an annual global event that disrupts everything, and we constantly have to be ready to adapt and adjust to these major shifts in the industry.

The value that is most important to me in both my work and personal life is building a bridge of trust. Trust is really key for both personal and professional relationships, and it's the foundation that everything else is built on. Whether I'm working with my team, my customers, or in my personal relationships, establishing and maintaining that trust is what matters most to me.