Anne B & #233;lec figures large in Ford Motor Co.’s revival plan.
The Irvine-based chief executive of Volvo Cars of North America LLC runs the biggest piece of Ford’s European auto collection, which also includes Jaguar, Land Rover and a stake in Aston Martin.
Like the rest of Ford, Volvo is in a slump. But expectations are high this year and next with four new models and a marketing push in the works.
B & #233;lec’s charge: Expanding the Swedish brand’s image beyond safety to focus on Scandinavian design and performance.
“My greatest challenge at the moment is to change the perception of Volvos in North America and get more people to put the brand on their consideration list,” B & #233;lec said.
Reversing the slump won’t be easy. In April, Volvo’s U.S. sales were down 17% from a year earlier. For the year so far, they’re off by 8%. The hope for 2007 is a 3% gain to 120,000 autos sold.
One of a few women to run operations of a major automaker, B & #233;lec was among five people honored at the Business Journal’s 13th annual Women in Business awards luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Irvine on May 24.
B & #233;lec’s role and challenge at Ford makes her one of the top women in business in Orange County.
“It is important, and, in fact, the responsibility of every female leader to promote and support female leadership,” she said.
But B & #233;lec said she got where she is by being herself.
“I don’t dwell too much on gender differences,” she said.
The auto industry can be a fulfilling career for women, according to B & #233;lec.
“I had the opportunity to work in advertising, PR, finance, product development and marketing operations during my 23-year career,” she said. “I can honestly say I have not had a boring day since I started working in the auto industry.”
Take last week. Volvo made global headlines on word that Germany’s BMW AG could be interested in buying the automaker from Ford, which recently sold a majority stake in Aston Martin.
B & #233;lec declined to comment on the story via e-mail from Sweden last week. Ford dismissed the news as speculation.
Despite slumping sales in recent years, Ford has been committed to boosting Volvo, which it bought in 1999 for about $6.5 billion.
B & #233;lec’s been in charge of Volvo’s U.S. operations since 2005, when she took over from Victor Doolan. She’s had a hand in gearing the automaker toward women.
About 55% of Volvos are sold to women in their 30s to mid-50s, B & #233;lec said.
But marketing isn’t about an age or gender, she said. It’s more about appealing to a lifestyle.
“I prefer to think about what motivates people, what their values are and how our brand aligns with these values and motivations,” B & #233;lec said.
Buyers Mostly Women
Still, the industry would benefit from more women in leadership positions because the majority of buyers are women, according to B & #233;lec.
“It only makes sense to have more women be part of the design, development process and marketing of our products and services,” she said.
There are a number of women business leaders B & #233;lec said she looks up to, but they’re not the types that make magazine covers.
“They are everyday leaders I have had the privilege of working or interacting with,” she said.
Women still have to prove themselves, according to B & #233;lec.
“Women have to work harder at being heard,” she said. “Men are not faced with this same challenge. If they are in a leadership position, it is assumed that they’ve earned it and are good at it.”
She added: “I don’t emulate my male counterparts because I’ve found being different has its benefits.”
B & #233;lec describes her management style as informal.
“I think I am approachable and easy to talk to and I don’t subscribe to leadership by fear,” she said.
At Volvo, B & #233;lec hopes to expound on the brand known primarily for boxy safety by trying to persuade the masses,or at least a sliver of them,that safe cars can be fun and sporty.
Safety has been Volvo’s “soul” for the past 80 years, she said. But now safety has vastly improved for all automakers. So Volvo is upping the ante, developing niche technologies such as a collision warning system.
Part of the problem: Swedes aren’t braggers, B & #233;lec said, and Volvo could use some more boasting.
“It is important in the competitive environment we operate in that we communicate our accomplishments and our focus,” she said.
She seizes the moment: “Did you know Volvo invented the three-point safety belt in the automobile? Or that Volvo invented the side airbag?”
Volvo’s newly designed C70 hardtop convertible, with curves, aims for a broader market. And this fall, Volvo is launching its new and smallest “unboxy” C30.
“It’s targeted toward the young professional,” she said.
Chance Start
B & #233;lec, who was born in St. Paul, Minn., and grew up speaking French in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, got into the auto industry by chance.
“I was not particularly a car fanatic, and I did not have an engineering background,” she said.
Above all, the auto industry is a “people” business, and that’s what attracted her, B & #233;lec said.
“The automobile is an emotional purchase for most consumers and I found that extremely appealing,” she said.
B & #233;lec found her way to the auto industry after graduating from the University of Ottawa in 1983. The school had a program that matched graduates with business alumni. She was paired with a regional manager for Ford in Canada.
Ford wasn’t hiring at the time but was a year later.
“I got hooked on the business and the rest is history,” she said.
B & #233;lec’s first job was at a Ford assembly plant, analyzing dealer orders to make sure the requests could be built. She said she checked out the assembly line during her lunch hour.
“I learned a lot in that first job and it provided a good foundation for future assignments,” B & #233;lec said.
Several years later, a hallway conversation with the human resources director led her to U.S. marketing of the Ford Mustang and Thunderbird.
She first came to OC when Ford temporarily shifted its Lincoln Mercury headquarters to Irvine, where B & #233;lec was network business development manager and later general marketing manager for Lincoln Mercury.
In 2003, she became a sales vice president for Volvo in Sweden before returning to Irvine to run the automaker here.
When B & #233;lec’s not working, she said she relaxes by walking with her sister or a friend. Or she takes her dog Murphy hiking on trails near her home. She’s also a big reader,novels, mysteries, biographies,and likes to cook.
