The Automotive Leaders Podcast

Everyone in Detroit is talking about China speed. Very few leaders want to look at what’s slowing them down, and it isn’t the engineers. It’s the gates, the sign-offs, the PowerPoint reviews, and the “come back next week with more data” that turn a simple problem into a managed risk before anyone sits down to solve it.
Ganesh Iyer has seen both sides. He worked directly with Elon Musk at Tesla, the company that tore up the old automotive playbook, and today he’s the CEO of NIO U.S. We sat down straight off the stage at Reuters Events: Automotive USA 2026 in Detroit, and he didn’t hold back.
His view of leadership is simple. Every person is a leader, and his job is to work for his team and clear the path so they can get things done. At NIO, hitting your number is only half the evaluation. Every employee, from the chairman to the receptionist, is measured on Honesty, Vision, Care, and Action, and peers weigh in on how the work got done. Deliver the result while leaving a trail of dead bodies behind you, and you haven’t done your job.
Ganesh makes the case that process should never become the product, that your customer doesn’t care about your balanced scorecard, and that OEMs could take serious cost out of this industry by collaborating instead of reinventing the same wheel. Standardize the battery pack and suppliers move faster at a fraction of the cost, and the end user wins.
Then he gets to the heart of China speed. Decisions get made fast. Problems go straight to the people who can solve them instead of climbing up one hierarchy and back down another. Teams act on what they know today and iterate tomorrow, and they don’t let the fear of the unknown run the business.
If you lead in a legacy automotive organization, this conversation is a mirror. The talent to move faster is already in your building. What’s missing is a culture that gives it permission to move.
Let’s go get it done.

Themes Discussed in this Episode
Servant leadership in a command-and-control industry
Why every person is a leader
Process should never become the product
Measuring how results get delivered, not just the results
The car as physical AI
OEM collaboration and battery pack standardization
China speed and shortest path communication
Speed and scale as the competitive edge

This episode is sponsored by Lockton, click here to learn more

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@jangriffithsautomotiveleaders

Featured Guest: Ganesh V. Iyer, CEO of NIO U.S.
Ganesh V. Iyer joined NIO in April 2016. He has served as the chief executive officer of NIO U.S. since December 2018. Mr. Iyer has over 35 years of experience delivering results in various industries, including autonomous technology, hi-tech, manufacturing, and telecom. Mr. Iyer worked as vice president of Information Technology at Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) until 2016. Prior to Tesla, where he served as vice president of Information Technology, Mr. Iyer joined VMWare (NYSE: VMW) in 2010 and held senior information technology leadership roles at VMWare. Prior to VMWare, Mr. Iyer served as director of information technology at Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) and WebEx and worked in consulting primarily at Electronic Data Systems. Mr. Iyer received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Calicut in India.

About Your Host – Jan Griffiths
Jan Griffiths is the champion for culture change and the host of the Automotive Leaders Podcast. A former automotive executive with a rebellious spirit, Jan is known for challenging outdated norms and inspiring leaders to ditch command and control. She brings honesty, energy, and courage to every conversation, proving that authentic, human-centered leadership is the future of the automotive industry.

Mentioned in this Episode:
21 Traits of Authentic Leadership
UHY Cost Engineering Study | May 2026
Reuters Events: Automotive USA 2026
Stefan Krause, former CEO of Canoo

Episode Highlights
[01:56] A different lens on problem-solving: Ganesh shares how almost 35 years in tech led him into automotive at Tesla, and what working directly with Elon Musk taught him about solving problems.
[02:48] The car is now a physical AI: Ganesh explains why the vehicle has stopped being a people mover, and why that makes him question whether we’ll still need steering wheels or even driver’s licenses.
[03:19] Every person is a leader: Ganesh rejects the idea that your leader is just the person who approves your expense report, and he sees his own job as clearing obstacles out of his team’s way.
[05:31] Process should never become the product: The traditional 10- or 12-step gated process brings structure to the madness, but Ganesh explains why Tesla had to break it and why outcomes, not process, have to lead.
[07:40] It’s how you get there: At NIO, results are only half the evaluation, because every employee from the chairman to the receptionist is also measured on Honesty, Vision, Care, and Action, with input from their peers.
[09:35] Your customer doesn’t care about your balanced scorecard: Metrics matter, but you can’t run a company on metrics alone, and Ganesh shares the three things reviewed every week in the chairman’s staff meeting, including the one he calls most important: what users are saying.
[11:38] Stop reinventing the wheel: Ganesh makes the case for OEM collaboration, and Jan explains how much cost it would remove for suppliers stuck working to a different system for every customer.
[13:35] Standardize the battery pack: Cell production is led by a handful of suppliers in China, Korea and Japan, and Ganesh argues a standard pack would lower cost all the way to the end user.
[14:36] What’s behind China speed: Fast decisions, full commitment and what Ganesh calls “shortest paths communication” keep problems from turning into risks while they climb the org chart.
[16:46] Speed and scale: Ganesh names the two foundational differences between Chinese OEMs and the rest of the world, and says plainly that it has to change.

Top Quotes
[03:28] Ganesh Iyer: “Honestly speaking, I believe every single person is a leader.”
[06:21] Ganesh Iyer: “Process cannot become the product.”
[16:33] Ganesh Iyer: “You cannot just run a business or problem-solving using the fear of unknown.”

If this episode resonated, share it with a fellow automotive leader and subscribe to The Automotive Leaders Podcast, where we’re shaping the future of authentic leadership in the automotive industry.
This podcast episode is also available on YouTube. Check out our YouTube channel at Jangriffithsautomotiveleaders
Send us your feedback or questions — email Jan at Jan@Gravitasdetroit.com.

Put Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, BMW, Volkswagen, and seven more automakers in one room. They fight each other over every sale, and somebody has to get them to agree on a single position and carry it into Washington. That somebody is Jennifer Safavian.
Jennifer is the first President and CEO of Autos Drive America, the trade association that 12 international automakers created to speak for their U.S. operations. She got the job offer about a week before COVID shut the country down. She built the organization from the ground up, and then the auto tariffs landed. Her members build almost half the vehicles made in this country, and this year they’ve passed 50% of U.S. production. If you supply any of them, what they agree on matters to your business.
We talk a lot on this show about collaboration, and lately, the conversation keeps coming back to OEMs working together. Jennifer does this for a living. She explains how a room of rivals with Japanese, Korean, and German roots finds common ground, and why a trade association whose members can’t agree loses its voice in DC. She also shares how she brought automakers, suppliers, and dealers together into a coalition for the USMCA renewal. She’s direct about why Chinese OEMs aren’t on U.S. roads right now and what’s keeping them out.
Her leadership approach would make plenty of legacy automotive executives uncomfortable. She doesn’t claim to have the answers. She listens, she leans on the experts on her team, and she makes the call once every voice has been heard. That’s a different way to lead in an industry trained to play win or lose.
Her message to Washington is one every automotive leader will recognize. You can’t build a plant or change a model overnight. This industry runs on years of planning, and right now, companies are holding back investment until they can see what the rules will look like next year.
Themes Discussed in this Episode
Getting 12 competitors to speak with one voice
Building an organization in the middle of a pandemic
How auto tariffs hit the entire industry
One industry voice on the USMCA renewal
Chinese OEMs and the level playing field
Listening as a leadership skill
Leading across Japanese, Korean, and German cultures
Why the industry needs policy certainty

This episode is sponsored by Lockton, click here to learn more

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@jangriffithsautomotiveleaders

Featured Guest: Jennifer Safavian, President and CEO at Autos Drive America
Jennifer is the President and CEO of Autos Drive America, the Washington, DC trade association representing the U.S. operations of the world’s international automakers. She’s spent two decades in policy, most of it on Capitol Hill, where she served as Staff Director and General Counsel on the House Ways and Means Committee and held senior roles on the Energy and Commerce and Oversight and Government Reform committees. Before Autos Drive America, she led government affairs as Executive Vice President at the Retail Industry Leaders Association. The Hill has named her one of the “Top Trade Association Lobbyists” seven times since 2017, and she’s been recognized by the National Law Journal and Roll Call as one of the most influential people on the Hill. She started her career practicing law in Detroit, and she brings a rare mix of trade, tax, and supply chain experience to the table where the industry’s biggest competitors meet.

About Your Host – Jan Griffiths
Jan Griffiths is the champion for culture change and the host of the Automotive Leaders Podcast. A former automotive executive with a rebellious spirit, Jan is known for challenging outdated norms and inspiring leaders to ditch command and control. She brings honesty, energy, and courage to every conversation, proving that authentic, human-centered leadership is the future of the automotive industry.

Mentioned in this Episode:
21 Traits of Authentic Leadership
UHY Cost Engineering Study | May 2026

Episode Highlights
[01:08] Twelve rivals at one table: Jan sets up the challenge of getting Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, BMW, Volkswagen, and more to land on one position, and why every supplier should care what they agree on.
[02:32] Why international automakers wanted their own voice: Jennifer explains how 12 OEMs created Autos Drive America in early 2020 because they knew there’d be times they wouldn’t agree with the Detroit automakers.
[03:50] Starting up as the world shut down: Her offer came about a week before COVID closed everything, and her members were shutting down plants while she built an association from scratch.
[06:23] Tariffs hit autos first: Autos and auto parts were tariffed before Liberation Day, and Jennifer explains why the impact landed on the whole industry, Detroit automakers and suppliers included.
[07:58] What holds competitors together: Stronger U.S. manufacturing, a level playing field, workforce, and community are the shared priorities that keep 12 rivals pulling in the same direction.
[10:58] One voice on USMCA: International automakers, Detroit automakers, suppliers, and dealers formed an ad hoc coalition to push for USMCA renewal, a rare moment of total industry alignment.
[13:14] Why Chinese OEMs aren’t here yet: Jennifer lays out the case on state subsidies, the missing supplier base, and national security concerns tied to vehicle software and hardware.
[15:31] Only a matter of time: Jan raises President Trump’s comments about welcoming Chinese plants in the U.S., and Jennifer explains what stands in the way today.
[16:58] Almost half of U.S. production: International automakers build 49% of the vehicles produced in the U.S. and passed 50% this year, a number that still surprises policymakers and Jan.
[18:56] Listening is the leadership skill: Jennifer shares why she’s never claimed to have all the answers and how relying on her team helps her find common ground.
[23:00] Data that changes the conversation: The annual economic impact report gives members of Congress state-by-state numbers on what international automakers mean to their districts.
[24:40] Resilient, but planning in the dark: Jennifer explains why policy whiplash is causing automakers and suppliers to hold back on investment, and why the industry needs certainty.

Top Quotes
[08:13] Jennifer Safavian: “They are all competitors, but at the end of the day, they really do have kind of a core set of beliefs, or common priorities.”
[19:29] Jennifer Safavian: “So that’s the only way you’re gonna be able to really bring them together and find that collaboration, that commonality among everybody, is if you can listen to everybody.”
[20:20] Jennifer Safavian: “Ultimately, yes, I’m gonna have to make a decision about the path that we take. But I do so, with certainly the input from all of my members and my team as well.”

If this episode resonated, share it with a fellow automotive leader and subscribe to The Automotive Leaders Podcast, where we’re shaping the future of authentic leadership in the automotive industry.
This podcast episode is also available on YouTube. Check out our YouTube channel at Jangriffithsautomotiveleaders
Send us your feedback or questions — email Jan at Jan@Gravitasdetroit.com.

Collaboration is in every corporate deck and on every conference room wall in this industry. Look it up, and you'll find two or more people or organizations working together to achieve a shared goal. That's it. So simple. So why is it still so hard for us to pull off in automotive?
In this solo episode, Jan goes straight at the silo mentality we inherited from Frederick Taylor in 1911 and asks what it'll take to stop playing games inside our own functions and start focusing on the outcome. Her answer is leadership and an enormous mindset shift.
She starts with news she was thrilled to see. Stellantis is bringing a handful of suppliers at a time into its North American headquarters for 10 weeks to work side by side with its engineers and manufacturing teams on fascias, fenders, lighting, and dashboards, starting with the next-generation Ram 1500. Jan has lived with early supplier involvement since the '80s, and she knows exactly where these programs break down. Trust on both sides. When the sourcing decision actually gets made. And whether we keep measuring suppliers on purchase price variance after launch, which throws resilience and total acquisition cost out the window.
Then she turns to China speed. Jan shares a slide from Terry Woychowski, president of Caresoft, that stopped her cold: an HV battery thermal vent breather cap from seven Chinese OEMs that look nearly identical, next to seven from the rest of the global OEMs that barely look like the same part. The message from the Chinese OEMs, and now from Toyota and Nissan, is simple. Collaborate on the things the customer never sees.
Jan connects the dots to Tesla's concurrent way of working, the common powertrain thinking at Horse Powertrain, and why you can't put AI on a broken process. She previews her upcoming panel at Reuters Events Automotive USA in Detroit and a November conversation with the head of purchasing at one of the largest OEMs on the planet.
This isn't a project you run once and walk away from. It has to become the way we do business, and it starts with putting the right people in the right room at the same time.
Themes Discussed in this Episode
Why collaboration is still so hard in automotive
Breaking the silo mentality from 1911
Stellantis brings suppliers in-house for 10 weeks
Trust and the timing of sourcing decisions
Why PPV kills resilience and total acquisition cost
China's speed and collaboration on what customers never see
You can't put AI on a broken process
Making collaboration the operating model, not a project

This episode is sponsored by Lockton, click here to learn more

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@jangriffithsautomotiveleaders

About Your Host – Jan Griffiths
Jan Griffiths is the champion for culture change and the host of the Automotive Leaders Podcast. A former automotive executive with a rebellious spirit, Jan is known for challenging outdated norms and inspiring leaders to ditch command and control. She brings honesty, energy, and courage to every conversation, proving that authentic, human-centered leadership is the future of the automotive industry.

Mentioned in this episode
Reuters Events Automotive USA 2026 (Detroit, October 27 to 28)
21 Traits of Authentic Leadership (free PDF)
Catalyst | Detroit: When AI Meets Manufacturing Reality (September 22nd 2026 | Detroit, Michigan)

Episode Highlights
[01:08] Collaboration is in every deck. Jan looks up the definition live and asks why something so simple is still so hard for this industry.
[02:03] Silos from 1911. We're still optimizing our own functions instead of crossing over to focus on the outcome of the business.
[03:32] Stellantis brings suppliers in for 10 weeks. Jan breaks down the Automotive News report on suppliers working directly with Stellantis engineers, starting with the next-generation Ram 1500.
[04:21] The two questions that make or break it. Will the supplier trust the OEM, and when does the sourcing decision actually get made?
[06:57] PPV versus resilience. Jan's lived early supplier involvement since the '80s, and she knows why it never sticks: if we keep measuring suppliers on purchase price variance after launch, resilience and total acquisition cost go out the window.
[08:13] China speed. The Chinese OEMs collaborate with each other far better than legacy OEMs, and now Toyota and Nissan are saying the same thing.
[08:48] Seven breather caps. Terry Woychowski's slide shows near-identical parts across seven Chinese OEMs and seven completely different designs from the rest of the world.
[10:22] The Reuters panel. Jan previews her Detroit panel with leaders from Karma Automotive, NIO, and Volkswagen, where collaboration takes center stage.
[13:01] One powertrain, many OEMs. Jan's conversation with Tom Lewis of Horse Powertrain points to what common systems could look like.
[14:03] Don't put AI on a broken process. Fix the process, push decision-making down, and cut cycle time before you scale AI.

Top Quotes
[09:33] Jan Griffiths: “Why don't we collaborate on the things that the consumer doesn't see?”
[14:03] Jan Griffiths: “You can't put AI on a broken process or an old process that's too slow.”
[15:07] Jan Griffiths: “Speed gets built in the room. Make sure the right people are in it.”

If this episode resonated, share it with a fellow automotive leader and subscribe to The Automotive Leaders Podcast, where we’re shaping the future of authentic leadership in the automotive industry.
This podcast episode is also available on YouTube. Check out our YouTube channel at Jangriffithsautomotiveleaders
Send us your feedback or questions — email Jan at Jan@Gravitasdetroit.com.

Nobody outsources the engine. It's the heartbeat of the vehicle, and outside of a few niche players, no large OEM has ever seriously considered handing it to someone else. Tom Lewis is betting that rule's about to break.
Tom is President of Horse Powertrain USA, the company formed by Renault, Geely, and Aramco with 19,000 people and 18 plants across 4 continents. OEMs bet big on battery-electric vehicles and pulled investment away from combustion and hybrid systems, but now consumer demand isn't matching the plan. Many of the hybrids sold in the U.S. today still run on engines developed at the start of the millennium. Horse's answer is fully assembled engines and transmissions from an unbiased partner, some call a tier 0.5, so OEMs don't have to pour capital into technology they can't justify building alone.
The business model breaks one rule. Tom's leadership breaks a few more. He calls himself a catalyst, and he's got the stories to back it up. A purchasing leader once told him he had no chance at an inverter program and to come back next time. Tom asked what the current suppliers weren't solving, pulled together a skunkworks team, found a way to meet the power requirement with a single power module, and slid a quote across the desk without ever receiving an RFQ. His company won the business. Then there's the inflation negotiation, where everyone in the room was hunting for ways to pressure the customer, and Tom stopped the discussion to ask what a positive lever might look like. That offer went straight to the CEO, who said yes on the spot, because Tom wasn't willing to wait for every business unit controller to protect their own turf.
Jan and Tom also get into what it takes to blend French, Spanish, Swedish, and Chinese teams into one culture, why a vision has to be built by the team in the room (and never pulled from an AI tool), and what Tom's leaving behind as he builds Horse's U.S. organization as employee number one.
This one's for every leader who's been told to wait for the RFQ, follow the process, and stay in their lane, and knows the automotive industry can't afford to keep playing it safe.
Themes Discussed in this Episode
Why the rule against outsourcing the engine is breaking
The BEV bet and the return of the hybrid
Tier 0.5: an unbiased powertrain partner for OEMs
Merging Chinese and legacy automotive cultures
The leader as catalyst: ambition, vision, creativity, drive
Breaking the rules to win the customer
Positive levers in tough commercial negotiations
Leaving complex hierarchy and decision-making behind

This episode is sponsored by Lockton, click here to learn more

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@jangriffithsautomotiveleaders

Featured Guest: Thomas Lewis, President, Horse Powertrain USA
Tom is President of Horse Powertrain USA, where he's leading the company's North American expansion and building its U.S. organization from the ground up. He brings more than 20 years of automotive leadership experience from Bosch, Vitesco Technologies, and Webasto, spanning commercial strategy, business development, organizational transformation, and global customer partnerships. A Michigan native and University of Michigan mechanical engineering graduate, Thomas is passionate about building high-performing teams and leading effectively through industry disruption.

About Your Host – Jan Griffiths
Jan Griffiths is the champion for culture change and the host of the Automotive Leaders Podcast. A former automotive executive with a rebellious spirit, Jan is known for challenging outdated norms and inspiring leaders to ditch command and control. She brings honesty, energy, and courage to every conversation, proving that authentic, human-centered leadership is the future of the automotive industry.

Mentioned in this Episode:
21 Traits of Authentic Leadership
UHY Cost Engineering Study | May 2026
Episode with Terry Woychowski, Caresoft
Episode with Kate Vitasek, win-win negotiation expert
China Speed Isn't New: What a 1993 Binder Says About Automotive Culture

Episode Highlights
[01:08] Breaking the engine rule: Jan sets up the rule nobody questions, that large OEMs don't outsource the engine, and why her guest is betting it's about to break.
[02:50] Following the consumer: OEMs bet big on battery electric vehicles, demand fell short, and Horse Powertrain USA is bringing the combustion and hybrid technology consumers want at a price customers can afford.
[05:07] The case for a tier 0.5: OEM-to-OEM collaboration stalls on conflicting priorities, which opens the door for an unbiased supplier with 25 customers and serious scale.
[07:03] Old engines, new demand: Many U.S. hybrids still run on engines released at the start of the millennium, and Horse expects half of the vehicles produced in 2040 to still carry some form of combustion engine.
[12:13] Four cultures, one company: French leaders in Spain, Swedes in Gothenburg, and Chinese teams in Hangzhou Bay work together with a level of respect Tom says doesn't feel forced.
[18:15] Tom Lewis, catalyst: Ambition, vision, creativity, and drive, plus why he'd rather try something and fail quickly than sit on stale hopes.
[21:17] Build the vision together: Jan pushes back on vision statements pulled from an AI tool and slapped on the wall, because people only buy in when they do the work in the room.
[24:19] Breaking the rules to win: No RFQ, no invitation, and a purchasing leader who said come back next time, yet Tom's team found a single power module inverter solution and won the business.
[27:53] Skunkworks and internal pushback: The hardest rules to break were inside his own company, so Tom proved it was possible before asking for resources.
[30:57] What to keep and what to leave: Tom leans into creativity and empowerment and leaves complex decision-making and hierarchy behind.
[32:55] The positive lever: In a heated inflation negotiation, Tom asked what the team could do to delight the customer, and the deal went straight to both CEOs.
[37:58] Employee number one: Tom had to incorporate Horse Powertrain USA Inc. before he could be hired into it, and the new Southfield office will grow to 32 people.

Top Quotes
[08:21] Thomas Lewis: " We're doing the right thing for our customers to bring them solutions that they need at a lower cost of entry, and we're doing the right thing for the consumers because we're giving them the type of powertrain that is evolving with their needs, becoming better and better."
[24:38] Thomas Lewis: "If you can come up with a way creatively to solve an issue or to win, to bring progress, sometimes you have to think outside of the box, and people can call that breaking the rules, or they can just call that getting creative and doing something unprecedented."
[35:40] Thomas Lewis: "The rules were there for a reason, but when the answer is so obvious for something that is different, where you could move quickly for something that could greatly benefit your company, and afterward everyone would know that did benefit the company in a great way, you have to move for a quicker way to authorize that. You don't move without authorization."

If this episode resonated, share it with a fellow automotive leader and subscribe to The Automotive Leaders Podcast, where we’re shaping the future of authentic leadership in the automotive industry.
This podcast episode is also available on YouTube. Check out our YouTube channel at Jangriffithsautomotiveleaders
Send us your feedback or questions — email Jan at Jan@Gravitasdetroit.com.

This week, Jan made a call most podcasters won't make. She sat down in the studio with a leader she's wanted on the show for a long time, and the conversation was too strong to rush out in two days. Every episode goes out as both audio and video on YouTube, which takes real production time. So she chose quality over quantity, and the full episode drops next week.
That leader is Tom Lewis, President of Horse Powertrain USA. Tom doesn't accept "that's how we've always done it" from his team, his customers, or this industry. He and Jan take on the rules automotive has followed for decades: slow approvals, OEMs and suppliers keeping each other at arm's length, and the habits we protect because they feel safe even when they cost us. Tom isn't waiting for permission. He's already built a different way of working.
In the meantime, this is a good week to catch up. Start with Jan's solo episode, "We've Had the Tools for 30 Years. Why Didn't We Use Them?" It's built on binders and letters she's kept in her basement since the early '90s, and it's her take on China's speed as an operating model. Then go back to her conversations with Bryce Currie, Chief Manufacturing Officer at Ford, and Jim Voss, CEO of Tenneco. They're two leaders who practice servant leadership every day and aren't afraid to talk about it.
Jan also wants to hear about the leadership challenge sitting on your desk right now. Email her at jan@gravitasdetroit.com, because your challenges shape where this show goes next.