Chrysler’s Wahl-Meyer Makes “50 Women To Watch” List
November 26, 2007

The Wall Street Journal published its 2007 50 Women To Watch list. Only one can be considered strictly an automotive executive, that being Chrysler’s Deborah Wahl-Meyer.

Ranking No. 39 on the list, Wahl-Meyer left her post as head of marketing post of Toyota’s Lexus last summer to become Chrysler’s chief marketing officer. The newspaper points out that the 44-year-old Detroit native, who worked for Ford before joining Toyota, is among a string of executives to join Chrysler as it struggles to make a comeback.

Jeong-eun Hyun, chairwoman of the Hyundai Group, a conglomerate that, among other things, builds cars, ranked No. 36 on the list, though not because of automaking. Instead, the newspaper said of her: “The person with the best chance to persuade North Korea to open up its economy and the person who could do the most to prolong the dictatorial regime may turn out to be one and the same.”

In general, the Wall Street Journal said the number of women in top executive jobs has “barely budged” in recent years. The paper reports women still hold just about 16.4 percent of Fortune 500 corporate-officer jobs -- positions of vice president or higher that require board approval. Catalyst, the New York research group, says that’s an increase of just 0.7 percentage point from 2002, and women comprise just one-sixth of corporate directors.

The silver lining, the paper points out, is that the pipeline is filled with female talent at a growing number of big corporations. Moreover, some women who've made it to the top are grooming women right behind them to be their successors.

Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:32 AM under Chrysler , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine