Celebrating the women of Solera
Jeanette Dorazio
“It’s important for women to be able to tap into a network of trusted advisors and continue expanding their network as they take on new missions in their careers.”
Q: Do you have a mentor who’s been guiding you through your career?
A: I’ve been fortunate to have several mentors guide me throughout my career and each one has coached me differently depending on what skill set I needed at the time. It’s important for women to be able to tap into a network of trusted advisors and continue expanding their network as they take on new missions in their careers.
Q: If you could grab coffee or a bite to eat with any person alive or dead, who would it be and why?
A: Sheryl Sandberg, COO at Facebook and founder of Leanin.org. Sheryl’s success in the technology industry is an inspiration to women looking to pursue their passion in STEM related careers. Sheryl’s career path is similar to mine as we both started our careers as product managers building technology solutions to solve market problems. Those jobs ultimately prepared us to take larger roles as leaders in technology companies. What I truly admire about Sheryl is that she created Leanin.org, which has taught women to be confident, lead and claim your “seat at the table.” I encourage all the women that I’ve mentored the past few years to #leanin when they encounter a difficult situation or problem to solve.
Q: What’s your favorite part about working for Solera?
A: I’m an output driven leader who thrives on implementing operational excellence—that’s what the Solera principles are all about. I’ve been able to lead and successfully complete missions by owning the execution and delivering better than expected results. The automotive industry is a technology laggard and all the assets we have at Solera allow me to focus on providing best in class data, solutions and services to our customers.
Gloria Guntinas
“The “village” tells you the truth, supports you through opportunities and helps you celebrate the accomplishments.”
Q: Do you have a mentor who’s been guiding you through your career?
A: Earlier in my career I was fortunate to have a mentor who showed me the benefit of having a village to help you grow. The idea of a single mentor would give you a narrow point of view. Different points of view from various backgrounds and expertise has been very valuable. I have many different mentors—some who have achieved success in areas I lack experience or exposure; peers and direct reports who help overcome gaps; and endless personal supporters, the believers who help me see I can rise to the occasion and overcome present challenges. The “village” tells you the truth, supports you through opportunities and helps you celebrate the accomplishments.
Q: If you could grab coffee or a bite to eat with any person alive or dead, who would it be and why?
A: Sergio Marchionne, former CEO of FCA & Ferrari. I didn’t know much about him before he took over FCA, then I read this quote by him: “The true value of a CEO should be measured in term of his or her human impact on the organization, on his or her ability to develop leaders who have the courage to challenge the status quo, to pioneer uncharted paths, to break away from competition and go beyond the tried and tested.” I immediately wanted to learn from him; I want to embody those principals!
Signore Marchionne was open and flexible to change, drove a positive culture and defined an environment that people wanted to be in. I also related to him because he was a workaholic and drank espresso to keep up with the long days! But he loved the feeling of being around others while working, and he believed in FIAT employees when no one else would.
Q: What’s your favorite part about working for Solera?
A: Being a volunteer at Solera gives me a great sense of empowerment, I feel directly connected to outcomes through my mission. This is the only place I ever worked where you can meet people from very different backgrounds and very quickly align towards a common mission: deliver value to the market.
Dara Goroff
“My favorite part is working with other strong women who take the 20% given to them and respond with 80% of the output—they lead, operationalize their teams and challenge the status quo on a daily basis. “
Q: Do you have a mentor who’s been guiding you through your career?
A: I was fortunate to be raised in an entrepreneurial household where I was able to observe my parents working to start and grow a business. I began working for them at 13 years old. Working at a young age where I had “skin in the game” taught me accountability and I found a lot of personal satisfaction in that.
Q: If you could grab coffee or a bite to eat with any person alive or dead, who would it be and why?
A: Margaret Thatcher – the second iron lady of politics. She was the longest serving British Prime Minister of the 20th Century and was powerful, strong and secure in her opinions. It would be fascinating to speak to someone who experienced and shaped so much of a country’s history and introduced policy that “wrenched a nation from the path of demoralization, diminishment and decline.” She was known to be a champion of individual liberty with a legacy that still resonates with many today.
Q: What’s your favorite part about working for Solera?
A: My favorite part is working with other strong women who take the 20% given to them and respond with 80% of the output—they lead, operationalize their teams and challenge the status quo on a daily basis.
Cécile Persiaux
“Pay attention to the strengths [people] have and you can learn from the best. And observe them when they go through challenges and you’ll learn twice as much.”
Q: Do you have a mentor who’s been guiding you through your career?
A: I’ve had the chance to have several mentors throughout my career. My view is that the more people you have to guide you, the easier it is to raise the bar. Pay attention to the strengths they have and you can learn from the best. And observe them when they go through challenges and you’ll learn twice as much.
Q: If you could grab coffee or a bite to eat with any person alive or dead, who would it be and why?
A: There are women who completely changed their field, like Marie Curie. She was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize and still remains the only female to have received two. I particularly admire that she was able to have her name celebrated as much as her husband’s when they were working together, when the recognition of women was not common practice or even supported.
Q: What’s your favorite part about working for Solera?
A: I’ve been working for Solera for more than 15 years now and it’s like my family. I care about Solera and I love being part of it. What I like most is the entrepreneurial spirit of the organization—I’m never afraid to bring up ideas and thrash them with great people.
Audrey Rivier
“Communicating with other teams is important—you understand their pain points better and, in challenging times or not, you have the opportunity to synergize and connect.”
Q: Do you have a mentor who’s been guiding you through your career?
A: I regularly check in with my boss, but also my direct reports. Communicating with other teams is important—you understand their pain points better and, in challenging times or not, you have the opportunity to synergize and connect.
Q: If you could grab coffee or a bite to eat with any person or dead, who would it be and why?
A: Marissa Mayer, I admire her ownership of designing her own career path in a male-dominated industry. She also isn’t intimidated to take on new challenges while keeping a grounded attitude and an open mind with whomever she meets.
Q: What’s your favorite part about working for Solera?
A: The diversity of projects you can work on and the impact we can make. Also, every day is different and there’s information being shared across the world between colleagues.