Women in Leadership: Where Confidence and Competence Intersect

As a Detroit native, Tracy Mack-Askew has built an impressive career within the automotive industry. With more than 20 years of industry experience, she offers expertise in the areas of innovation, business scalability, revenue generation, and organizational leadership. She leverages her extensive experience along with her strong engineering foundation to raise the bar of excellence and set the standards for new product and consumer trends.

Since 2014 Tracy has made a name for herself at Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), a $25B heavy-duty (HD), class 6-8 OEM truck and tractor manufacturer. She was first hired as the vice president of engineering of the Thomas Built Buses (TBB) OEM subsidiary of DTNA, where she established the strategic mission, vision, and engineering culture of the organization. Under her leadership, TBB introduced a suite of safety technologies into the product portfolio that became a significant enabler in driving increased revenue. Her next role was as general manager of the HD vocational platform, where she was responsible for delivering $220M in annual contribution. In this role, Tracy streamlined a $600M bottom-up budget and cut the production timeline by two years.  Her success in this role led to her 2021 promotion to Chief Engineer of Chassis and Vocational Engineering, leading the team that designs, develops, and integrates battery electric trucking solutions while concurrently ensuring continued dominance in traditional diesel technologies and niche vocational segments.

Prior to joining DTNA, Tracy called General Motors Company her home for 16 years, advancing through the ranks in roles that began as project and design engineer, with increasing roles of responsibility, to her success as vehicle line director of the Chevrolet Malibu, chief interior engineer for midsize crossovers, and global commodity leader. Her contributions to the GM brand include overseeing global procurement on chrome and functional black plastics and delivering the Chevrolet Malibu to market six months ahead of schedule, subsequently selling 200K+ vehicles throughout the US and Canada, contributing $5B in annual revenue.

A results-driven servant leader, Tracy is a consummate professional who inspires confidence in everyone around her, from her peers and colleagues in the senior executive ranks to her direct staff and cross-functional staffs across the entire organization. In addition to providing direct leadership within DTNA, Tracy is also an avid philanthropist, speaker, writer, and board member.

Tracy is an independent member of the Board of Directors of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ: COLB), serving on the Audit Committee and the M&A Committee. At Daimler Trucks North America, Tracy is the co-chair of the Executive Women’s Round Table, executive sponsor of the African American Employee Business Resource Group (EBRGs), and sits on the Corporate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.

Tracy received a master’s degree in management from Harvard University, a master’s degree in engineering from Purdue University, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She published an anthropological study on social group relationships (Kindle Publishing, June 2014) entitled “What Can You Learn From A Rainbow?” and was the featured leader for a media campaign (2012 Chevrolet Malibu Mom). She holds a certificate in mergers and acquisitions from Harvard Business School, and is certified by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) as a governance fellow. 

In addition to being a powerhouse professionally, in her personal time, Tracy enjoys learning about culture and politics, and traveling—she has been to six of the seven continents so far. Family is also incredibly important to her as she describes herself as a proud wife and mother to her three children.

Jennifer Hoffman is currently the Director of Agent Services for Trinity Logistics.  Trinity is the number 20 freight brokerage as listed by Transport Topics and a certified Great Place to work. In her role, Jennifer works with the 100 plus Independent Agent offices that contract with Trinity. Leading a direct corporate support team she works on initiatives in recruiting, support, and retention.

Jennifer joined Trinity Logistics in 2016 with a background in small business management. Her devotion to growth has been a key contributor to multiple projects within the company as well as the employee led non-profit organization, the Trinity Foundation.

Because of the overall virtual experience in her role working with Agent offices across 4 countries, Jennifer was able to pivot multiple initiatives virtually and maintain record growth for the team and company during the pandemic. This and her commitment to continuous learning earned her a nomination to Women In Trucking’s list of Top Women to Watch in Transportation for 2021.

Melissa Jass is a values driven leader on a mission to passionately advocate for the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women and all underrepresented groups; to motivate leaders at all levels to create a culture of inclusion, equity, belonging, recognition, and appreciation; and to courageously collaborate with honesty, integrity, and relentless enthusiasm. She is a coach, mentor, advocate, and sponsor for everyone she engages with and believes her superpower is helping others to see how truly amazing they are. Recently, Melissa was recognized by Women in Trucking as one of the Top Women to Watch in Transportation in 2021 and at Yellow with the CEO’s Award.

Reghan Grasty serves as General Counsel and Senior Compliance Officer at Apex Capital Corp, where she provides in house legal counsel in a variety of ways in the areas of factoring and finance, business transactions, and transportation. She is responsible for managing all contracts, litigation, and corporate compliance. Additionally, Reghan created and lead’s Apex’s Startup Program, which helps startup trucking companies create their businesses from the ground up. Reghan also serves on the Texas Trucking Association’s Board of Directors. 

Reghan graduated from Baylor Law School where she concentrated in business transactions. Reghan also attended the University of Texas in Austin, where she double majored, earning her BBA in Finance at the McCombs School of Business and her BA in Government.

Lindsey Grammel has worked in the transportation industry for 11 years. She is the Vice President of Global Brand Development at TrüNorth Global, the leading aftermarket warranty provider for commercial equipment, and has been key player in changing the commercial warranty landscape within the industry. As part of the TrüNorth Global team, Lindsey has worked hard to make TrüNorth Global the leader it has become through new program development and listening to the needs of the marketplace from dealers to drivers. She resides in Huntersville, North Carolina with her husband, daughter, and 2 well-loved dogs.