Recruiting To Build EVs - Telva McGruder, General Motors Chief Diversity Officer

Jul 12, 2022

"It takes work and it takes commitment to really screen in versus screen out....We are approaching this in many ways...We don't simply need an electrical engineer or a mechanical engineer, or a person with a computer science degree. What are the skills that we're looking for? What are the interests that we need in the talent that's coming in? And we're helping the leaders in the organization write job descriptions in a different way than we have written them before." Telva McGruder on Electric Ladies Podcast

General Motors announced it would phase out traditional internal combustion engine vehicles and only focus on electric vehicles by 2035. But how? What does that mean for the plants? For talent and recruiting?

Listen to Electric Ladies Podcast host Joan Michelson's engaging and fascinating conversation with Telva McGruder, Chief Diversity Officer of General Motors, who has spent 28 years at GM, starting as an engineer.

You'll hear:

• How their recruiting has changed for the new auto sector focus on alternative fuel vehicles.
• How GM is converting their 100+ year old manufacturing system for these new vehicles.
• How GM quickly pivoted some of their plants to manufacture ventilators during the height of the pandemic.
• The differences between male-dominated leadership at GM and female-dominated leadership there.
• Plus, insightful career advice, especially for women...

"Mid-career women are great at getting results....But if we say making a difference is making a difference for the people around you and making a big difference for the business you're in. And, and maybe for the communities that you move in, that takes practice, and it takes really sitting back and looking at how should I behave every single day, so that I'm making a difference for people." Telva McGruder on Electric Ladies Podcast

You’ll also want to listen to (some were recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Sue Ozdemir, Exro Technologies – on the technology behind electric vehicles
• Maureen Kline, Pirelli Tires, Sustainability head – on sustainable, smart tires
• Neha Palmer, CEO/Cofounder of TeraWatt Infrastructure – on building charging for EV trucks, fleets
• Lisa Brown, Ph.D., Regional Marketing Lead, Volkswagen of America - on how to get more women in automotive leadership
• Katie Sloan, Southern California Edison, eMobility – on how to increase EV adoption at scale
• Jackie Birdsall, Toyota, Senior Engineer, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles – on how fuel cell vehicles work

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