Bobbie Gaunt climbed corporate ladder

When Bobbie Gaunt took the position of President and CEO of Ford of Canada, the company was… When Bobbie Gaunt took the position of President and CEO of Ford of Canada, the company was losing $325 million a year in the United States.

In four years, she turned that deficit into a $50 million profit.

Gaunt, who gave a speech yesterday afternoon titled “Core Competencies: Tapping Your Talents for a Career in Business — No Matter What Your Major,” graduated from Pitt’s School of Education in 1972, the same year she became the first woman to join Ford’s Sales and Marketing Management program.

Gaunt said that she wanted to work in the automotive industry because she “became fascinated with the relationships people had with their vehicles.”

She also said that the industry paid well, which helped her to pay off her college loans.

At that time, other major automotive manufacturers were not admitting women into their management programs.

Ford hired Gaunt for a clerical position. The company told her that they were trying to get approval for women to become part of their management team.

Three months later, Gaunt became the first woman employed in management at Ford.

Throughout her 29 years of employment with the company, Gaunt held approximately 22 different positions. Eventually she worked her way up to the position of corporate vice president and president and CEO of Ford of Canada before retiring five years ago.

Since then, she returned to the corporate world from June 2004 through October 2004, assuming the position of Interim CEO at ADVO, Inc., the nation’s largest targeted home-delivered print advertising company.

Gaunt also serves on the boards of The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, ADVO, and the Board of Visitors of the Katz Graduate School of Business here at Pitt.

Gaunt’s story is an instance that shows that an undergraduate degree in business is not necessary to become a successful corporate executive.

“I did fully intend to teach when I was studying education,” she said. “That was my passion.”

Gaunt believes that studying education in college helped her to prepare for her corporate future.

“I learned to compete by applying the disciplines I learned in the education program,” she said.

Gaunt told the audience that many women CEOs do not major in business in college.

She used the example of Stephanie Molnar, the executive vice president of sales and customer service of ADVO, to further illustrate her point. Molnar graduated with an undergraduate degree in home economics.

Gaunt said that when it comes to the workplace, there is no substitute for intelligence. She said that there is something to be learned about your job every day.

“You must be willing to speak up for your values and your company’s values,” Gaunt said.

She said that it is important to have integrity in the workplace. Gaunt said that it is important to have alignment between your values and your company’s values.

Gaunt said that balance between having a successful career and a family does exist — though sacrifices must be made in order to achieve it.

“You can have it all, but not at the same time,” she said.

She advised the audience members to look for companies that are friendly about sacrifices that you don’t want to make.

Personally, Gaunt found that always keeping one weekend day free for her family helped her to achieve balance in her life.

Gaunt advised listeners to make sure their resumes contain other things besides just work experience. She said companies like well-rounded people.

When going on a job interview, Gaunt said to research the company and know a little about it beforehand, because prior knowledge will impress the interviewer.