Lou Whitlock

Vice President of Quality - United States

Lou Whitlock joined Lear Corporation in July 2011 as Vice President of Global Electronics Operations and in six months took on the new role of Vice President of Quality - Electronic Power Management Systems. Though the timing varies, Lear team members can find their efforts rewarded and enthusiasm magnified as they demonstrate their abilities to move to new, challenging and rewarding positions.

Perhaps Lou always demonstrated the desire and determination to get where he was going, starting when he surprised his career U.S. Air Force father by being born in an elevator en route to the delivery room at Travis AFB in California.

There are many people with an educational and career background like Lou, who studied at the University of Detroit and went on to become a Plant Manager in the automotive field. What drew him to Lear, and Lear to him, was Lou's passion for making sure people in a plant were taken care of, his emphasis on safety and concern for the highest quality.

There are many people with an engineering background but fewer who can articulate their passion for people as well as operational excellence. As Lou says, "A plant is like a city, and the plant manager is like a mayor taking care of various constituencies."

Lear encourages that type of thinking since a long-term winning strategy requires real vision. Spreadsheets can report how many products are made per hour at what cost. Leaders like Lou inspire by reporting their experience that "great things happen when what people care about is bigger than the part they're working on."

Before he joined Lear, Lou saw our company's competitive advantages, such as our innovative Solid State Smart Junction Box™. We saw in him yet another example of someone at Lear whose passion for excellence made an impact in a hurry.