About Linda

Linda has a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO.  and a Masters in Manufacturing Management from Kettering University, Flint, MI.  After 37 years of service at General Motors, she retired in June 2016 with a wealth of knowledge and experience from working in Quality, Manufacturing, Product Engineering, Global Purchasing & Supply Chain (GPSC), GM University, Supplier Diversity and Global Connected Customer Experience (GCCX).

Training Experience

Throughout her career at GM, Linda has either worked in Training or was responsible for the development and delivery of a Training program.  In 2007-2009, she was Dean of the GPSC College at GM University where she was responsible for Employee Development & Training for over 300 employees in 40 countries.  She managed a global training staff, set global direction and learning priorities for knowledge assessments and training initiatives.  As Operations Manager for the Warren Customer Engagement Center (Call Center), she was responsible for training all Customer Engagement Center employees and managing the site Training Team.  Some of her key accomplishments for Training at GM include:

-Initiated a “Back To Basics” Training Plan for Global Purchasing Buyers

-Assisted in the launch of a new interactive e-learning case study simulation for Global Purchasing

-Implemented 45 minute “Quick Hit” training sessions on key Purchasing topics for Buyers

-Initiated revisions and enhancements to the Customer Engagement Center training curriculum (for advisors) to mirror the production environment

Supplier Relationship Experience

Linda was GM Supplier Diversity Manager 2009 to 2013.  As Supplier Diversity Manager, she was responsible for managing over 200 diverse suppliers (minority and women-owned), identifying new business opportunities for diverse suppliers and tracking diverse spending.  During her years as Supplier Diversity Manager, Linda was successful at establishing relationships between GM and the diverse supply base which lead to a 40% increase in diversity spending.  Some of her key accomplishments include:

-Exceeding the 2010 diversity supplier spend target by 36% her first year in the position

-Initiated GM’s first ever networking event (GM Supplier Connections) to generate new opportunities and relationships between diverse suppliers and GM’s Tier 1 suppliers.

-Implemented the first ever GM Supplier Diversity Newsletter to communicate Supplier Diversity news to internal employees as well as the diverse supply base.