Igniting Innovation within VSM Canada

THOUGHT LEADER SPOTLIGHT




MARK RAINEY, Regional Director, Sales – Western Region shares his thoughts on significance of innovation for GM Canada.
  1. As a leader with experience in both the US and Canada, what opportunities do you believe exist in Canada to be champions/leaders in innovation?

    Working at GM Canada, I appreciate the collaboration that I’ve witnessed and experienced first-hand since joining the team in September 2021. Our smaller organization means that we often wear more hats than our US counterparts. This is empowering from my view. Our smaller team also allows us to be nimbler and more responsive to market conditions. We can pioneer business solutions that are uniquely Canadian rather than relying on the US to take the lead.

    I encourage the Canadian team to continue to innovate and lead where we can and not rely on the US team to pilot programs on our behalf. We are not a small market. Canada is the third largest global market for GM.

  2. What does GM’s “innovate now” behaviour mean to you as a leader?

    Innovation can come in many forms. To me, GM’s Innovate Now means having a mindset to identify workplace inefficiencies and opportunities, and ultimately find creative solutions within your control to improve the effectiveness of your individual or team’s performance. Innovation is a choice, and everyone is empowered to contribute.

  3. Overall, what innovation(s) do you believe will have the most meaningful impact on the automotive industry today and in the future?

    I believe that innovation is not just one act that revolutionizes the industry. Innovation can consist of many small advances that collectively transform the image of a company or change an industry. In the current environment where customers are knowledgeable and information is readily available to the public, the accuracy and reliability of pertinent information is critical to earning customer’s trust and meeting customer demand. In my opinion, the leaders in this area can distinguish themselves from others.

    Accurate and reliable information can elevate a brand on a customer’s consideration list when those needs are not met by their preferred brand. Customers seek frictionless transaction experiences and the car buying experience is no exception. Therefore, I believe the innovations made around information technology to build consumer confidence and provide frictionless purchasing experiences will be a significant game changer. GM’s “winning with simplicity” initiatives can help in this area by eliminating unnecessary business complexities that can complicate the smooth flow of accurate information.

  4. What do I enjoy most about being a Regional Director?

    The Regional Director role allows the opportunity to lead long term strategies, short term strategies and immediate results-oriented strategies to achieve a variety of business results. The regional team is given the responsibility of executing national and regional strategies with the dealers. No two days are the same.

    What I enjoy most are the team building and culture building responsibilities of the Regional Director role. I aim to create a competitive “One Team” and “It’s on Me” environment to achieve our business results. My goal is to build and maintain a high performing team based on trust. I use open, clear, and transparent communications to allow our team to know as much information as possible to ensure everyone understands their role on the team. I also encourage our team members to bring their authentic self to work. We spend significant hours daily and weekly as the face of GM to our dealers and the public. It would be exhausting if we couldn’t bring our authentic self to work.

    Over my career I’ve learned from effective leaders and from some incredibly poor leaders. Being exposed to various leadership types has helped me develop my personal leadership style, allowing me to bring my authentic self to work. I encourage my team to do the same.