Brian Harlow grew up on a family farm near Kokomo, Indiana. When he left home to attend Purdue in the mid-1970s, he never dreamed his journey would take him much beyond that farm. Forty years later, he is the vice president - manufacturing for the North American arm of the seventh largest automaker in the world, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).

Harlow was one of about 80 graduates from his high school, and at Purdue University he found himself in a place he could not have imagined, learning things of which he previously only dreamed. His affinity for flowing water originated from boyhood when he used to play in the irrigation sluices that watered his great-grandmother’s garden in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This led him to concentrate his studies on environmental engineering and to earn a minor in structures.

Graduating from college — the first in his family to do so — he had all but decided on a position at a “traditional” CE firm, one specializing in engineering, architecture and planning. But fate intervened when Harlow learned Chrysler needed an environmental engineer at the Kokomo Transmission Plant. He has worked for Chrysler ever since, succeeding and advancing despite corporate bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions.

Harlow credits the size and nature of the company as reasons for longevity with a single employer, saying, “In a company the size of Chrysler, I had many opportunities to grow my skill set and continue to find new
challenges.”

One of Harlow’s most significant accomplishments was helping convince management in 2009 that it would be a better business decision to develop and produce more of its own transmissions. This led to the retooling of the four Kokomo facilities, plus the addition of a new plant in Tipton, with a total infusion of nearly $2 billion and job security for more than 8,000 workers.

“When I am asked about lessons learned in this industry, my answer is that everything is people-oriented,” Harlow said. “Successful leaders must be able to communicate ideas to people, get along with people, have the ability to convince people of a course of action — and throughout all of that, have integrity in everything they do.”