Ilitch School Board of Visitor Member Lottie Holland '06 credits career success to continually seeking discomfort

Lottie Holland '06 has held many jobs over the course of her career. She has worked as a project manager, a real estate asset manager, an automotive purchasing manager, and she now serves as the Vice President for Diversity, Inclusion, Engagement and EEO Compliance for Stellantis North America. Her quick rise through the corporate structure, and the variety of her experiences, she credits to her perpetual desire to seek discomfort.

"I learned very quickly that in order for me to grow, I had to be uncomfortable," said Holland. "It's great if you always want to do what you're doing, but I knew one thing about me and that was that I wanted to be a leader. A leader of people and a leader of change."

Holland's path to leadership began with earning a Bachelor of Science in Packaging from Michigan State University. After that she accepted a project manager position at Ford, supporting the scheduling and program direction of several vehicles. A few years into this position, she felt herself becoming comfortable in this role and realized it was time to make a change.

An Ilitch Business M.B.A.

"Everyone told me that in order to move up in your career, you have to get your M.B.A.," said Holland. "That it would make you that much more valuable to your employer. So, during that time I thought this would be the perfect option for me."

She began her M.B.A. at the Mike Ilitch School of Business in 2004, after receiving recommendations for the program from colleagues. Holland earned her degree in two years, while working full time, and forming lasting relationships with her classmates.

"I met two of my closest girlfriends while working on our capstone projects in business school," said Holland. "Twenty years later and we're still going strong."

Holland found community at the Ilitch School, and a support system that she feels was designed to help her succeed.

"It felt like home. It felt like family. It felt like the university cared," said Holland. "I remember it being a very welcoming environment, and something that I honestly needed at the time. It allowed me the opportunity to be in a classroom with other individuals like me, who were starting out in their careers, as well as those who were very experienced in their careers."

She was also impressed by the diversity, of both identities and ideas, that she found at Wayne State.

"I was blown away by the diversity," explained Holland. "All different identities that were coming together in the classroom, how we were able to work together and build upon one another's insights and perspectives was an invaluable experience"

A New Career Direction

When it came time to graduate, Holland knew that the sky was the limit for her career.

"After I graduated with my M.B.A. from Wayne State, several doors opened up for me," said Holland. "I believe when you're in that environment and you are surrounded by diversity, where it's not just a homogenous group of people, it teaches you how to work within groups who are quite different. That wasn't always the case in my previous educational trainings or environments."

The breadth of material covered in Holland's M.B.A., with a concentration in finance, allowed her to take on new challenges outside of the automotive industry. She took a leap and began working in the real estate asset management industry.

"I was recruited by one of the largest minority-owned real estate advisory firms in the city of Detroit," explained Holland. "I was confident I would do well given the preparation and experiences that came along with obtaining my M.B.A. I was able to galvanize a team of people from all different backgrounds and perspectives, understand the objectives and quickly chart a path to execute successfully.

"There was nothing that shocked me because I was working in a similar environment where I was doing coursework every day."

This role provided Holland with the opportunity to give back to Detroit by overseeing the development of properties that were shaping the city's future.

"Operating in that capacity afforded me the opportunity to work closely with the Detroit Police and Fire retirement systems and the Detroit City Council," said Holland. "Learning what was important to the city, the plans for the future and understanding that I could somehow have an impact on it."

Holland was managing hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate assets and managing a team to assist her with this monumental task. After spending several years in this position, she found herself becoming too comfortable once again, and decided it was time to make a change. Holland re-entered the automotive industry, this time working for Fiat Chrysler as a powertrain program manager.

Returning to Automotive

Back in the automotive industry, Holland had new tools and experiences to help guide her as she navigated this new role. The experiences she gained at Wayne State and in her asset manager role to motivate and work with a diverse workforce once again became a real strength.

"Stellantis spends anywhere between $6-8 billion annually with minority owned suppliers, so now I am able to leverage my knowledge, my platform and voice in the company to be very intentional and inclusive with whom we are doing business and who we are creating opportunities and jobs for."

Given her experience working with diverse suppliers and leading several departments within the Purchasing organization, Holland was then tapped to serve as Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and EEO Compliance at Stellantis, and after a year she was promoted to Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and EEO Compliance for Stellantis.

"I'm responsible for driving the company's diversity and inclusion objectives with a focus on improving its pipeline of diverse talent and building an inclusive work culture where all employees and perspectives are respected and valued," explained Holland. "I tell people it's because of the power of an M.B.A. that I could go from powertrain engineering, to purchasing and supplier operations, to now human resources. I couldn't do that with a packaging degree alone. It's the broadness of the M.B.A. and the experiences that I've been able to amass that have afforded me these opportunities."

A seat on the board

As a distinguished alumnus, Holland was invited to join the Ilitch School's Board of Visitors, a group of senior business leaders who meet regularly, and advise the Ilitch School on their direction and bring a cutting-edge industry insight to the programing offered at the Ilitch School. For Holland, accepting this position was an easy decision.

"I feel like I have a greater responsibility to Wayne State, and when the opportunity came for me to leverage this position there was no way I can turn that down," said Holland. "I have a huge voice within Stellantis and I wanted to lend that voice to benefit Wayne State and its students."

Dean Virginia Kleist was happy to welcome Holland to the board, indicating that "Lottie Holland is a presence. She enters a room, and people immediately pay attention to her and to what she conveys. I am impressed by Mrs. Holland and very proud that she is an M.B.A. alum of our school. I am also thankful to her, as she gives back by applying her considerable talents when she visits us, teaching and mentoring our Ilitch School students."

In addition to the board seat, Holland has mentored students participating in the Corporate Mentorship Program, a long-standing initiative of the Ilitch School to pair first-generation students with mentors in prestigious industry positions. She hopes that she can inspire students to develop their careers and seek new opportunities.

"I hope students will hear the story of my career and believe in themselves to accomplish their professional aspirations. I also want them to know that to whom much is given, much is required," said Holland. "It may not feel like it now, but Wayne State really prepares you for a successful future and when you get there remember to pay it forward."

-Patrick Bernas, Information Officer III

The Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business prepares students for challenging and rewarding careers, advances the boundaries of scholarly and practitioner knowledge, and enhances the economic vitality of the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan and beyond through its programs, research and community engagement. Established in 1946, the business school was renamed in 2015 in recognition of a $40 million gift from Mike and Marian Ilitch. Thanks to this lead investment, the school moved to a new state-of-the-art building in the heart of the District Detroit in 2018, and academic programming and collaboration with city businesses are expanding. For more information, visit ilitchbusiness.wayne.edu.