Claudia Marquez at Hyundai Media Event. November 2019, Mexico City.
“I’ve had the opportunity to lead the redefinition of our mission, vision,
strategies and most importantly our corporate and living values,” she shares. “To
achieve our expected results, we needed to start from the beginning in
terms of values with high emphasis on our integrity, transparency, respect,
accountability, engagement, commitment among others and at the same time,
work on the right competencies and skills like customer focus, results-driven,
teamwork, strategic thinking, people development, and leadership.”
With an associate degree in Business Administration from Alexander von
Humboldt in Germany and a BA in Marketing and Commerce from La Salle
University in Mexico, Márquez was raised in Mexico but with a German-oriented
education, which she strongly believes defines her today.
“On one hand, I had the human touch of Mexican values, friendliness,
kindness, warmth, humbleness, combined with life skills I learned growing up
about the importance of discipline, structure, reason, and logic,” she shares.
Márquez is no stranger to a high-pressure day and decision making, even
through a pandemic. Her drive, passion, and energy at a young age were
brought together today to keep going. She recalls it was the day she started
working for the first time, without clear expectations that drove her to pursue a
corporate career. It was only then, being at the workplace when she felt the
energy and power a corporate office provoked in her.
“I felt good, empowered, strong and independent; there were suddenly
many possibilities in front of me,” she shares. “Now it was on me to learn, ask
questions, seek solutions, understand and finally to find what I really wanted to
create for myself, for my future.”
Eight years ago, she was approached by a Japanese brand and there she
had the opportunity to meet one of the automotive industry's greatest leaders,
José Muñoz, President and CEO, Hyundai Motor North America.
She had the opportunity to join his team, work closely under adverse
and high-pressure conditions and learn more about herself and the industry.
Years later, he joined Hyundai Motor Company in May 2019. Shortly after,
he invited Márquez to join the Hyundai family and be a part of his strategic
leadership team.
“Claudia and my professional paths crossed many years ago. She is a
strong, intelligent, independent, and skilled executive who is committed to
achieving excellence in everything she does. Claudia has a proven record
of success and is an inspiring and charismatic leader,” shares Muñoz,
“Claudia is passionate about achieving results and is an expert in the Mexican
automotive market. In these challenging times, she has already delivered
positive results in sales growth and profitability for the brand. We are fortunate
to have her in the Hyundai family.”
Before joining Hyundai, she built her career through various leadership
positions for both the Nissan Motor Company and the BMW Group. Most
recently, she was vice president of vehicle sales and operations at Nissan North
America, where she was responsible for these same areas in the United States,
including fleet and certified pre-owned sales.
For Márquez, not everything came easy. Similar to many Latinas in
high-ranking executive jobs, she had to overcome many intrapersonal and
interpersonal obstacles. She recalls a time when she faced three important
historical challenges within a corporation and took on the challenge, which
challenged her own self.
“I was young, I was a woman and I was Latina,” she shares. “The method
I used to overcome them was very simple but also very complicated. I had to
believe in myself, work on my mindset, be excellent, and outstanding in every
possible way. Low margin of error.”
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