“Pivotal moment in time for women” as Aston Martin appoint first female president
Aston Martin which has 2, 500 employees around the world, has appointed its first female president Laura Schwab in the British luxury car maker’s 105-year history on 31st August 2018.
Ms Schwab, head of Aston Martin the Americas, says her promotion signals “Pivotal moment in time for women- not just the auto industry, but all around the world. I am desperate for more women to apply for jobs in automotive industry.”
The journey of risk taking that defined her career and that took her from jumping rope as a girl in Louisville, to the tennis team at Notre Dame, to law school, to working three jobs to make ends meet at age 27, all the way to the top of the iconic British car company. She also got most out of being in the right place at the right time.
After 15 years at Jaguar Land Rover, Schwab was poached by Aston Martin in October 2015 to helm its American operations. Then, five weeks later after accepting the president’s position she found out she was pregnant, and was nervous to tell Andy Palmer, the company CEO who hired her, although the workplace was super supportive throughout the entire pregnancy.
Now, with one-year-old daughter, she is willing to spend weekends and nights away from her toddler daughter in order to convince young women that a career in the auto-industry could be gratifying and highly rewarding.
“A lot of barriers or perceived barriers have started to be removed. I think automotive industry specifically still got a job to do. I never thought of myself as a role model but now that I am in this role, women are looking to me and saying, “I can do it” and if I can play a small part in encouraging women that automotive is a wonderful place of work and an inspiring and exciting place, then I’ll take on that role for sure.”