Olga Talks About Driving Your Own Career at Automotive Women’s Alliance Foundation Event
November 15, 2016

Olga Alavanou, YNCA's Executive Vice President of the U.S. OEM Business Unit, was honored as the Automotive Women's Alliance Foundation's keynote speaker at Pumps and Power, a recent networking event for the organization. While addressing a crowd of female automotive professionals, Olga spoke of owning your own career path. She highlighted the key to reaching your professional goals is consistency and confidence. "I like to stress the importance of taking your own career into your hands. Really driving your career," said Olga. "And to really own your career you have to have confidence in yourself and keep pushing yourself ahead."

Among the attendees were several of Olga's colleagues from Yazaki, who came to show their support.

"Personally, I really identified with Olga's message," said Michelle Murray, Account Manager in YNCA's General Motors Business Unit. "She reminded me that regardless of how busy you are—at home and at work—you owe it to yourself to keep reaching for your goals. It's about making yourself a priority and working hard."

"Olga shared a lot of her personal history and how it impacted her journey, including her story about coming the U.S. and building a career while raising a family," said Sherilyn Smith, Account Manager in YNCA's General Motors Business Unit. "Her story and her motivation to keep exceling is quite inspiring."

AWAF's annual Pumps and Power event was held at Sundance Shoes in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, where attendees first heard from Olga before enjoying evening filled with networking and shoe shopping.

Started in 2002, the Automotive Women's Alliance Foundation (AWAF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of women in the global automotive industry. AWAF believes giving opportunities for young women just starting their careers to meet experienced top-level professionals is just as important as the opportunity for those top-level professionals to inspire the future of the industry. Today, AWAF has awarded over $274,000 in scholarships to women pursuing careers in the automotive industry. For more information visit www.awafoundation.org.