Ford Europe’s vice-president, Birgit Behrendt, was proclaimed as Europe’s “Woman of the Year”. Oh yeah, it’s totally girl power! The recognition was announced by the magazine Automotive News Europe.
At 48, Birgit Behrendt is in charge for management purchasing for the Ford brand across the European regions. According to the Auto Channel, Behrendt was chosen for this arrangement almost four years ago in February. The 2008 Women of the Year recipient is also accountable for the second major financial credit within Ford purchasing following the Americas. Her team consists of 500 people and thirty-five percent of which are women.
“Every year we identify outstanding women in the European auto industry. We selected Birgit for her contribution to the growing success of Ford of Europe’s operations as well as her work in the supplier OEM relations arena,” says Arien Bongard, the editior-in-chief and head of Automotive News Europe judges.
“Suppliers are becoming more and more important to automakers. If you see how much of the car cost comes from suppliers and how much of the innovation in the car comes from suppliers, it is crucial that an OEM like Ford works well with suppliers. The other reason we are honoring Birgit with this award is that she played a key role in helping the company grow. And of course that’s always a team effort, but Birgit is the only woman on the Board of Ford of Europe and is actually the only woman on the Board of any automaker in Europe,” Bongard concluded.
The Car Fanatic 