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2026 is already testing leaders’ ability to prioritise, decide, and act with intent. Across automotive and mobility, tighter margins, geopolitical pressure, and faster decision cycles mean incremental change is no longer enough. This virtual session brought senior leaders together to explore where focus matters most, and how to lead with clarity and consistency amid sustained uncertainty.
Hosted by Stephanie May, the session featured Melanie Schuttenberg, Member Board of Directors at TAJCO and long-standing Women Automotive Network contributor. Drawing on more than 25 years in the automotive industry, Melanie shared experience-led insight shaped by leadership roles across sales, product responsibility, automotive electrification, and computing within global organisations.
Above: Women Automotive Network January Virtual event graphicTwo live polls captured how attendees are currently assessing 2026. While the results reflect perspective rather than prediction, they closely aligned with the themes explored throughout the session.
Together, these responses point to a clear sentiment from the community: 2026 is not a year for incremental adjustment. Leaders believe deeper organisational change, faster decision-making, and sharper focus are required to operate effectively in an increasingly unpredictable environment.
Many of the challenges discussed are not new, but they are now closer, louder, and harder to ignore. EV strategy, geopolitical tension, tariffs, supply chain dependency, and volatile demand are no longer future risks. They are active constraints shaping leadership decisions today.
Melanie spoke directly to leaders by echoing 'What won't go away is volatile demand. Leaders need plans that work under certainty'.
These aren’t separate workstreams. They hit decisions on cost, speed, talent, and communication at the same time.For leaders, this means strategies must be built to withstand instability rather than assume it will pass.
On competition, particularly from China, Melanie was clear: significant pricing gaps cannot be closed through small efficiency gains. Optimising existing vehicle architectures may deliver limited improvement, but it does not solve the structural challenge.
Instead, leaders need to rethink the system as a whole, including:
This directly echoed the community poll result prioritising reinvention over restructuring.
“You can’t optimise your way out of a structural gap. You need a completely different approach.”
China’s advantage, Melanie explained, is not only technological. It is also organisational. Faster decision cycles enable shorter development timelines and quicker market response. In contrast, many legacy organisations remain slowed by layered governance and bureaucracy. Reducing time-to-decision requires trust, fewer approval loops, and leadership comfort with informed risk. For leaders in 2026, speed is not just an operational metric. It is a competitive advantage.
With leadership as one of three core themes, the 2026 Detroit Summit builds on the leadership priorities shaping the year ahead.
Learn moreOne of the strongest leadership messages from the session was that software, data, and electronics cannot sit as technical topics alone. These must be treated as strategic cores, owned by the executive team.
“This is not something you delegate. It has to be driven by the executive leadership team.”
Without senior ownership, organisations risk fragmented execution and slow response as technology reshapes products, cost structures, and talent requirements.
The discussion on talent moved beyond hiring to capability integration. Melanie highlighted the importance of pairing deep organisational experience with emerging skills, particularly in AI and software-driven domains. Her example of combining long-tenured engineers with AI specialists illustrated the friction, learning, and eventual acceleration that can follow when organisations invest in mixed-capability teams rather than silos. This reinforced why partnerships and collaboration ranked highly in the community poll.
In an industry dominated by negative headlines, Melanie challenged leaders to be intentional about communication. Vision needs to be shared clearly, revisited often, and framed with honesty about uncertainty. Flexibility, she argued, should be positioned as strength, not failure.
She also cautioned against micromanagement, particularly in innovation-driven environments.
“This is the time to step back from micromanaging and give accountability back to the experts.”
The session closed with a clear framing for the year ahead:
'2026 is not a year of perfection, It is a year of positioning'.
With that said, that idea only matters if it changes what you do next. Here are three practical moves leaders can make this week to strengthen positioning through action.
If you’d like to hear the full conversation and Melanie’s reflections in her own words, you can rewatch the interview in full.
If you found value in this session and want to keep learning alongside the WAN community, our virtual program continues throughout the year with monthly sessions designed to give you fresh perspective and practical insight.
Our next event takes place on Thursday 19 February, where Irina Grak will lead an AI Masterclass, exploring how AI is reshaping how organisations think, decide, and operate.
With a 50,000+ global community across 139 countries worldwide, and flagship summits in Europe, the US, Mexico & Japan, the Women Automotive Network (WAN) is a trusted global platform for organisations across the automotive and mobility ecosystem.
We partner with leading OEMs, Tier 1–2 suppliers, and technology companies to support leadership development, employer brand visibility, and meaningful engagement with senior industry talent.
For all enquiries, get in touch here.
This year is already testing leaders’ ability to prioritise, decide, and act with intent.
My journey into the automotive industry happened quite unexpectedly, sort of by chance. At the time, I was actually on the lookout for a new job in Marketing, which had always been my dream career.
Last year, the Women Automotive Network grew by 21.4%, becoming...
