Barbara Garcia, Head of Manufacturing Programmes at Lotus, Wins the Autocar Great Women: Rising Stars Award for Manufacturing

Barbara Garcia, Head of Manufacturing Programmes at Lotus, has won the Autocar Great Women: Rising Stars Award for Manufacturing.

As part of the prestigious Great Women in the British Car Industry Top 100, run by Autocar magazine and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the awards celebrate female talent from across the motor industry.

The Manufacturing category was one of the most competitive, and was open to anyone whose role encompasses manufacturing for a car manufacturer or a supplier, covering small or large-scale manufacturing and ranging from prototype to full-scale assembly.

In announcing Barbara Garcia as the overall winner in the Manufacturing category winner, the judges said: “In a really strong category, Barbara impressed us with the way she’s already made such an impact at Lotus, despite only being there for just over a year. Her ambition stood out, as well as her ability to work outside her immediate sphere of responsibility to deliver innovative solutions, while remaining within budget, a vital skill for the manufacturing sector.”

Charlie Overton, Director, Manufacturing Engineering, Lotus, and Barbara Garcia’s manager, said, “This award is 100% deserved, and recognition for the outstanding job that Barbara has done as we move towards production of the Emira in an all-new factory at Hethel in Norfolk.”

Barbara Garcia said: “First of all, I was delighted even to be nominated for the award, but to win the Manufacturing Category overall was a complete surprise, especially in such an important and competitive category. I am thoroughly enjoying being part of the much bigger team across the business who are all working so incredibly hard to put the new Lotus Emira into production, and the recognition that this award gives is greatly appreciated.”

In addition, four other Lotus colleagues were shortlisted in the awards. They are Sharon Suresh Kumar, Senior Commodity Manager (Manufacturing category); Clare Sisson, Group Financial Controller; Gillian Maclean, Head of Engineering Finance; and Kennedy Spaxman, Engineering Financial Analyst (in the Operations category). This is a great celebration of the female talent at Lotus and highlights the wonderful work the Women’s Community is doing to support Lotus to be more representative of the communities in which it operates.

Autocar magazine and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) launched the Autocar Great Women: Rising Stars Awards to celebrate female talent from across the motor industry. The categories are Aftersales and Workshop, Design, Manufacturing, Marketing, Mobility and Digital Solutions, Operations, People Development, PR and Communications, Purchasing, Sales and Vehicle Development.

To find out more about the Autocar Great Women: Rising Stars 2021 awards, visit the www.autocar.co.uk/greatwomen/2021/winners