Genesis’ North American division has named Claudia Marquez as its new Chief operating officer.
She will begin her new tenure on October 1, 2021, reporting to José Muños, Global Head of Operations at Hyundai Motor Company and President and CEO of Hyundai Motor for North America. “We are pleased to have Claudia on board to guide Genesis through its next phase of growth,” said Muños in a press release. She will lead the planning and execution of all sales, marketing and growth strategies for Genesis, after joining Hyundai in November 2019 as head of brand development in Mexico and general manager.
Originally from Mexico, Claudia Marquez also studied in Germany. With a degree in business administration from Alexander Von Humboldt University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from La Salle University in Mexico, she is fluent in English, Spanish and German. These skills opened the door to her first position in the automotive industry. In 1995, as BMW expanded into Mexico, she began her career as Regional Director of Marketing and Sales for Central America. She stayed with the company for 17 years before moving to Nissan as marketing director for Mexico and Latin America, wanting to move to a volume brand rather than a luxury brand.
Supporting Women
In a 2020 interview with Automotive News, she recounts the dual challenges she faced as a non-American and a woman in a very male-dominated environment when she came to the U.S. in 2015 with Infiniti. She also mentioned that women need more support from companies to encourage them to enter the industry. “It’s a very demanding industry. We see many women who start and then give up, simply because of the number of hours they have to put into their jobs.”
When asked about her leadership style, Claudia Marquez explains that “as I rose to higher positions and became more confident, I decided that when I would be in a position to lead a team, I would treat my team the way I would have liked to be treated in the past – developing people, supporting them.” This human approach seems welcome as a second automotive revolution is on the verge of changing our relationship with automobiles. “With our growing product lineup, our foray into electrification and a growing network of retailers and standalone facilities in communities across the region, there is no better time to be joining the Genesis brand,” the future Chief Operating Officer concludes in the press release issued by the automaker.
