Brian D. Harlow

Brian Harlow
BSCE 1978
Vice President, Head of NAFTA Manufacturing
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

 

"Seek to follow God's will and embrace the opportunities this brings with hard work, dedication and a sensitivity to the importance and needs of others."

Brian Harlow was born and raised in Tipton, IN, where he was taught to put his faith first while helping on the family farm until graduating from Tri-Central High School in 1974. Based on an affinity for math and science — and a desire to see improvements in the environmental conditions in the United States in the 1970s — he chose to attend Purdue University to study civil engineering with a focus on environmental engineering. He and his wife, Rachelle, were married December 23, 1977, just prior to starting his last semester at Purdue.

Upon graduation in May 1978, he was hired by Chrysler Corporation in Kokomo, IN, as a plant engineer and began a career that spanned nearly 40 years. From 1978 to 2000, Brian’s responsibilities included various positions in production, maintenance, quality, manufacturing engineering and product engineering in the Kokomo plants. Since February 2000, Brian has been based out of the Company’s headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI, with various leadership roles in manufacturing engineering and operations.

Brian was named to his current role of Vice President - Manufacturing, FCA - North America in October 2014 and is responsible for all assembly, stamping and powertrain manufacturing operations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with more than 65,000 employees in 35 manufacturing facilities.

Brian earned a Master of Management in 1998 and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Industrial Management in 2015 from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Brian and his wife of 40 years have three children. The oldest, Adrianne, coaches the North Alabama University women’s basketball team. Their son, Benjamin, is a veteran of the 82nd Airborne with deployments served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ben and his wife, Jenée, live in Tipton, IN, with their two daughters, Zooey and Marley, where he works for FCA. Their youngest daughter, Shanna, lives in Fort Wayne with her husband, Nate Conner, a Purdue BSME graduate working in the bio-medical Industry, where they are raising their three sons, Levi, Machiah, and Seth.

Brian enjoys playing golf, making leather goods, and playing the piano, which he did for many years at his church.