Auto part supplier exec honored for ongoing success
By Wang Lihui and Xu Wei |
October 31, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE local government recently honored foreign nationals who had made outstanding contributions to the city's development with the 2011 Shanghai Magnolia Award.
Among the recipients was Nancy S. Gougarty, the only female award winner this year.
Gougarty was appointed president of TRW Asia Pacific Co Ltd in January 2008. She is in charge of the operation of over 25 factories in the Asia Pacific region. She is mainly responsible for the development and implementation of the company's strategic plans and maintaining a long-term cooperative relationship with the company's clients and shareholders of the joint ventures in the Asia Pacific region. Under her leadership, TRW Asia Pacific has become an outstanding performer among all the American automobile parts suppliers.
During the interview, Gougarty was clad in white shirt and a jasmine sweater, and the reporter was impressed with both her splendid capability and female charisma - and contagious laugh.
In the eyes of her assistant Zhao Dan, Gougarty is not only a reliable leader but also a woman who knows how to enjoy life. And her life in Shanghai stretches back many years.
"In the spring of 1997, on my first visit to Jiading, most of the automobiles running on the streets of Jiading were the old-style black Santana cars or farmers' blue tractors," Gougarty recalls.
Tremendous changes have taken place in Jiading over the past 10 years. Today, the Anting Town of Jiading District has evolved from a village to a town supported by high-tech industries.
Despite a slight decline in car sales at present and an end to incentive policies for auto sales, Gougarty is still optimistic about the prospects of China's automobile industry. However, she also notes that it is important for Jiading District to provide more resources and technology that will enable local companies to develop their own automobile brands.
This year TRW Asia Pacific will open a new factory and a R&D center in Anting Town. The new factory is focused on the production of electric power steering system and once completed, it will be the company's first professional steering system factory in China.
The R&D center currently under construction will have 1,000 employees. Vehicle component experiments and complete car road tests can be conducted at the facility. At first Gougarty wondered whether the new center's location in Jiading would make it unattractive for the talented employees. However, to her surprise the center's location appeals to many young engineers because of low housing costs in the area.
Making the company more independent is the most important goal of TRW Asia Pacific. During the early phases of the company's business in China, it depended heavily on the support of its North American and European technical teams. However, over the past years, Gougarty has been devoted to nurturing local professionals.
Today, the company's R&D center on Hongcao Road in Xuhui District employs mostly skilled locals. Compared with foreigners, talented local researchers are more familiar with China's domestic market, and can better understand client needs.
Gougarty hopes that some day the local staff can pay the dominant role in the auto technology after they have firmly grasped those advanced overseas technologies introduced to China.
"In the future, we will have a lot more collaborations with the complete vehicle production companies of Chinese local brand," she says. "We try to achieve a win-win mode by offering these companies more safe and energy-saving components."
New energy vehicles have a huge market potential. So far TRW Asia Pacific has worked out a series of products and technologies specifically for new energy vehicles such as electric power steering and the electric power brake systems. Besides, the company considers China a major market for their business in the new energy automobile field.
The city of Shanghai provides the American lady a grand stage to realize her dream, and vice versa, Gougarty is also contributing to the city in her own way.
Since she started working in Shanghai, Gougarty has financially and technically supported local poverty-stricken villages to build up their own enterprises, and provided the Xiangyang Village of Anting Town with processing business. She has also taken an active part in the charity work of the city - offering work opportunities for disabled persons, advocating a volunteer program for child road safety and promoting the importance of highway traffic safety.
"As to an expat who works and lives in China, it is very necessary to know about the Chinese culture and the values and philosophy of local people," says Gougarty, a mother of two daughters.
Among the recipients was Nancy S. Gougarty, the only female award winner this year.
Gougarty was appointed president of TRW Asia Pacific Co Ltd in January 2008. She is in charge of the operation of over 25 factories in the Asia Pacific region. She is mainly responsible for the development and implementation of the company's strategic plans and maintaining a long-term cooperative relationship with the company's clients and shareholders of the joint ventures in the Asia Pacific region. Under her leadership, TRW Asia Pacific has become an outstanding performer among all the American automobile parts suppliers.
During the interview, Gougarty was clad in white shirt and a jasmine sweater, and the reporter was impressed with both her splendid capability and female charisma - and contagious laugh.
In the eyes of her assistant Zhao Dan, Gougarty is not only a reliable leader but also a woman who knows how to enjoy life. And her life in Shanghai stretches back many years.
"In the spring of 1997, on my first visit to Jiading, most of the automobiles running on the streets of Jiading were the old-style black Santana cars or farmers' blue tractors," Gougarty recalls.
Tremendous changes have taken place in Jiading over the past 10 years. Today, the Anting Town of Jiading District has evolved from a village to a town supported by high-tech industries.
Despite a slight decline in car sales at present and an end to incentive policies for auto sales, Gougarty is still optimistic about the prospects of China's automobile industry. However, she also notes that it is important for Jiading District to provide more resources and technology that will enable local companies to develop their own automobile brands.
This year TRW Asia Pacific will open a new factory and a R&D center in Anting Town. The new factory is focused on the production of electric power steering system and once completed, it will be the company's first professional steering system factory in China.
The R&D center currently under construction will have 1,000 employees. Vehicle component experiments and complete car road tests can be conducted at the facility. At first Gougarty wondered whether the new center's location in Jiading would make it unattractive for the talented employees. However, to her surprise the center's location appeals to many young engineers because of low housing costs in the area.
Making the company more independent is the most important goal of TRW Asia Pacific. During the early phases of the company's business in China, it depended heavily on the support of its North American and European technical teams. However, over the past years, Gougarty has been devoted to nurturing local professionals.
Today, the company's R&D center on Hongcao Road in Xuhui District employs mostly skilled locals. Compared with foreigners, talented local researchers are more familiar with China's domestic market, and can better understand client needs.
Gougarty hopes that some day the local staff can pay the dominant role in the auto technology after they have firmly grasped those advanced overseas technologies introduced to China.
"In the future, we will have a lot more collaborations with the complete vehicle production companies of Chinese local brand," she says. "We try to achieve a win-win mode by offering these companies more safe and energy-saving components."
New energy vehicles have a huge market potential. So far TRW Asia Pacific has worked out a series of products and technologies specifically for new energy vehicles such as electric power steering and the electric power brake systems. Besides, the company considers China a major market for their business in the new energy automobile field.
The city of Shanghai provides the American lady a grand stage to realize her dream, and vice versa, Gougarty is also contributing to the city in her own way.
Since she started working in Shanghai, Gougarty has financially and technically supported local poverty-stricken villages to build up their own enterprises, and provided the Xiangyang Village of Anting Town with processing business. She has also taken an active part in the charity work of the city - offering work opportunities for disabled persons, advocating a volunteer program for child road safety and promoting the importance of highway traffic safety.
"As to an expat who works and lives in China, it is very necessary to know about the Chinese culture and the values and philosophy of local people," says Gougarty, a mother of two daughters.
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