Steering Change in Automotive Sales with Vision Courage & Insight

Megan Fisher is an accomplished leader specializing in sales, program management, and purchasing. With over two decades of experience, she excels in building global relationships, leading diverse teams, and guiding impactful strategies. Passionate about mentorship, Megan is dedicated to helping others achieve their career aspirations.

In an insightful interaction with Global Woman Leader Magazine, Megan shares her insights on the evolving role of automotive sales leadership, highlighting agility, resilience, strategic partnerships, and inclusive decision-making as essential skills for navigating disruption, building credibility, and leading global teams in today’s dynamic automotive landscape.

To explore Megan’s full perspective on modern sales leadership and women in automotive, read the complete article below.

As customer expectations, cost pressures, and decision cycles shift globally, what new capabilities have become non-negotiable for a modern automotive sales leader?

Customer relationship building and communication have always been foundational for automotive sales leaders.  What has changed is the environment in which we operate in, utilizing those skills. Today’s customers expect faster decisions, greater transparency, and more flexibility - while volumes, market shares, and regional dynamics are constantly shifting.  Agility and resilience are becoming more critical for sales leaders.  Since COVID we have faced continuous disruption, such as supply chain shortages, the chip crises, electrification strategy changs, and many more.  These types of challenges require strong leadership not only in front of the customers, but also with internal teams.  Modern automotive sales leadership is no longer just about driving revenue; it’s about leading through disruption with clarity, confidence, and a shared sense of direction.

As sourcing models, localization, and risk-sharing evolve, how have you reframed sales leadership to move beyond transactions into strategic, co-creation partnerships with OEMs?

This is part of the industry transformation that we see happening now.  It’s no longer sufficient to simply say that your supply base are your “partners”, true partnership has become essential for survival and growth in the current environment.  Customer focus is the first pillar of Autoliv’s overall global strategy, and that mindset goes far beyond the sales function.  While sales leaders own and drive the relationship, it requires cross-functional collaboration to drive true value for both parties.  The expectations of sales leaders have evolved, it’s not only important to create a relationship with the purchasing counterpart, but to drive a holistic enterprise‑level partnership.

Sales leadership today demands faster judgment with incomplete data—how do you balance decisiveness with inclusion, especially as a woman leading diverse global teams?

Each organization should have a clear understanding of its risk tolerance, because that ultimately determines how much data is required to make decisions in a fast but effective way.  This is not an easy challenge.  On one hand, we have greater access to data than ever before.  On the other, we are still early in leveraging digitalization and AI to synthesize information in a clear way that enables decision making.  Sales leaders must develop confidence to know when the data is sufficient—and when deeper analysis or broader engagement is required.  This also means we must trust and support our leaders to make those decisions.

With digital tools, data visibilities, and remote selling redefining influence, how do women leaders assert credibility and authority without relying on traditional power dynamics?

We have made good progress in this area, both in the automotive industry and society overall.  Influence today is less about hierarchy and more about relationships, credibility and impact.  What I see, and actively encourage, is greater confidence among women at all levels to speak up and lead, regardless of the gender dynamics in the room.  I’m happy to see the progress we have made with gender diversity in the industry, but we still have a way to go – it takes time to build up. When different voices and backgrounds are present, decision‑making improves, and the collective strength of the group increases.

When performance pressure increases and visibility as a woman leader grows, how do you set boundaries, maintain authority, and model sustainable leadership for teams?

My personal experience is that work-life balance isn’t a fixed concept, it evolves over time based on changes in your personal life.  I have a global position based in Detroit which requires a lot of early and late meetings, and frequent international travel.  I am very open that this is not a role I would have taken on in a different stage of my life when my children were younger.  Even now I utilize technology to take the first or last meetings from home, take a day off when I have traveled over the weekend, and always prioritize family events when I am not traveling.  Today, it works because I use flexibility and technology deliberately: taking early or late meetings from home, building in recovery time after weekend travel, and prioritizing family when I’m not away from home.  I speak only about this with team members, and also accept and encourage them to consider what the work-life balance that they need is at the point they are at in their journey.

LAST WORD: Mindset Shifts for Women to Lead Global Sales in Automotive & Manufacturing

Looking forward, to lead a global sales organization in automotive, it will continue to be important to have strong skills in agile decision making, business and financial acumen and clear communication.  In addition, commercial understanding beyond sales is extremely important – a sales leader needs to understand all aspects of the business and how each part impacts the customer and the business performance. 

The most effective sales leaders speak the language of engineers, CFOs, and manufacturing teams with equal confidence – which is quite different than functional competence.    Just as important are the risks women are willing to take. Too often, we as women wait until we feel fully ready before stepping into a larger role. The next decade will reward those who embrace challenges and gain confidence through doing.