FEATURE Driving Forward Thinking Jaclyn McQuaid leads GM Europe BY SARAH KITTLE “ European customers are switching to electric vehicles at a faster rate than anywhere in the world.” So says Jaclyn McQuaid, and she should know. GM is all-in on EV, investing $35 billion through 2025 in electric and autonomous vehicle technology in Europe, and Jaclyn oversees the entire operation on that side of the pond. Growing up in Farmington with her parents, George and Linda Lossia and three sisters, Jaclyn was a typical girly girl. She liked dolls and later, boys and dressing up. She did have a mind for math and science, and her father encouraged her and her sisters to pursue S.T.E.M. interests. An automotive engineer at heart, his own training at Lawrence Tech was cut short by the war in Vietnam. Her mom supported her daughters by being “a go-getter” and teaching them they can do anything. “I wanted to engineer roller coasters,” Jaclyn says with a laugh. When asked what her childhood was like, Jaclyn answered, “Fun. What can I say? I have three sisters.” Jennifer, the eldest, is a principal lawyer at Fagan McManus. Only 18 months older than her identical twin sisters, Jamie, who is an executive chief engineer at GM, and Jaclyn, the three often felt like triplets. The youngest of the four, Jessica, is a nurse by profession. “Being an immigrant made me more driven,” says Jaclyn. “When you have no established network, you have to make things happen yourself.” Like most Chaldeans, she and her sisters were raised to develop a strong work ethic. She earned both a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan. Their father’s dream was to be an automotive engineer at GM, the family favorite automaker. Although he gave up his dream to support his family, two of his daughters now have extremely high-level engineering jobs at GM. Jamie Brewer, Jaclyn’s twin, is the lead engineer on the Cadillac Lyriq, a vehicle that Jaclyn says is pivotal for the company. GM aims to be a major driver of the auto industry’s transformation, says Jaclyn, and since they basically pulled out of the region in 2016, Europe is now a blank slate. Ultimately, the European market will be electric vehicles only, she asserts. And completely autonomous vehicles are on the horizon. “Our flexible Ultium battery platform and the breadth and depth of our EV portfolio enable GM to offer customers in Europe a variety of products and services to support their lifestyles, while also contributing to a future of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion,” she said. Mary Barra, the GM CEO, is an inspiration to Jaclyn, who never felt her career at the organization was compromised by the fact that she was a woman, at least not within the organization itself. She recounts one time when she was giving a presentation on trailering with a truck hitch, a subject she knew intimately, having worked for 6 years on truck engineering, when a man in the back yelled out, “But she’s a girl!” Barra’s saying, “Hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard,” resonates with Jaclyn. Her own viewpoint reminds her that when the going gets tough, she has the “opportunity to beat hard”; to overcome the adversity and ultimately come out on top. It’s a good thing the role is so challenging and satisfying. She’s living in Zurich now, while her husband Dan and children Josephine, 16, and Nicholas, 14, remain in Michigan so the kids can finish the school year. Josephine is a junior at St. Catherine of Siena and Nicholas is a freshman at Catholic Central. They will be joining her in June, but in the meantime, Jaclyn will spend their spring break with them in the States. In honor of March and Women’s Month, she will provide an intimate opportunity for the Chaldean Women’s Committee to hear her story and ask her questions. Her daughter will accompany her. Jaclyn’s husband Dan is one of her biggest supporters. They met when she was just 20, and they married four years later. Jaclyn recalls going to his house and seeing his parents in the kitchen together. They displayed a true partnership, one that she wanted for herself. She and Dan have worked together to make that a reality. Females face barriers in industry every day. Jaclyn wants to make sure that young people, especially young women, are not self-limiting their futures, or de-selecting themselves for future career paths. “It starts in elementary school and middle school.” She wants them to see that people who look a lot like them are succeeding, indeed thriving, in industries that are thought of as nonfeminine. If you can dream it, do it. Her primary goal, she says, is to show all young people, regardless of gender, ethnicity, social class, or physical ability, that they can take their passion and make a career out of it. Jaclyn wears high heels and lipstick to meetings. You can be tech-savvy and feminine, too. Driving the big truck market into the new dawn, she’s still very much a woman. 20 CHALDEAN NEWS <strong>MARCH</strong> <strong>2023</strong>
WE BUY ALL CARS Are you tired of your lease or just want out early? Even if you’re over your miles, that’s no problem, we want your car! WE PAY TOP $$ Give us a call at 313-952-2626 or stop in at our dealership on Grand River Avenue. WE BUY OUT ALL LEASES, MAKES AND MODELS. نحن نشرتي جميع موديالت السيارات-الحديثة واملستعملة بدون استثناء حتى اللييس .ترشفوا بزيارتنا. TWINS AUTO SALES • 25645 GRAND RIVER AVENUE • REDFORD, MI 48240 This winter... KEEP YOUR COVID-19 VACCINES UP TO DATE Help protect yourself, your family and the community by keeping your COVID-19 and flu vaccines up to date. Let’s enjoy all the togetherness we can this winter. Find a vaccine location near you at Michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine. Michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine <strong>MARCH</strong> <strong>2023</strong> CHALDEAN NEWS 21
Change language