Bonus: Building MB Future–Nicolette Lambrechts, Juanita and Grene Baranko

Episode Summary

This bonus episode of Encyclopedia Wamanica, brought to you by Mercedes Benz, highlights women excelling in leadership roles at the auto company. The first woman profiled is Nicolette Lambrecht, who has worked at Mercedes Benz for over 20 years and risen through the ranks to become the vice president and managing director of sales and marketing for Mercedes Benz Vans USA. Lambrecht credits the opportunities she's been given at Mercedes Benz to hard work and making sacrifices. She also notes that the automotive industry still needs to do more to promote opportunities for women and diversity. Lambrecht encourages women to speak up and take control of their careers. The episode then profiles Juanita and Grenay Berenko, a mother-daughter team that owns two Mercedes Benz dealerships in Atlanta and Louisiana. Juanita opened her first dealership with her husband in 1978. Her daughter Grenay joined the family business in 2004 as a sales manager. Grenay discusses the challenges and rewards of running a family business, including crises they've faced like shortages of gas and rebuilding after a fire. Juanita has focused on succession planning and envisioning herself beyond any crisis, which helped her dealerships successfully navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Juanita is also dedicated to encouraging more women to pursue careers in the automotive industry through public speaking and mentoring. The episode highlights how Mercedes Benz supports women in leadership, technical, and sales roles across the company. It's an example of an organization that respects and creates opportunities for women to excel.

Episode Show Notes

This Women’s History Month, Encyclopedia Womannica is brought to you by Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz is celebrating women in high powered roles around the world and within their own company. Tune in to hear the story of Nicolette Lambrechts, the Vice President and Managing Director of Sales and Marketing for Mercedes Benz Vans USA. Then we’ll travel from the boardroom to the showroom floor to highlight a mother daughter team -- Juanita and Grene Baranko -- who run a family-owned Mercedes-Benz dealership.

Episode Transcript

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Join us as hosts Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber look back on their journey together as the iconic characters we all love, Stephanie Tanner and Kimmy Gibbler. Here's a quick preview brought to you by the Hyundai Tucson. We spent our entire childhoods SPEAKER_02: on a little show called Full House. Playing frenemies, but becoming besties whenever the cameras weren't rolling. And now 35 years later, it's our biggest adventure yet. SPEAKER_09: You can listen to How Rude, Tanneritos on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by the Hyundai Tucson. It's your journey. SPEAKER_03: Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Wamanica. This bonus episode is brought to you by Mercedes Benz. Every Saturday this month, we're sharing the stories of women who excel in their fields and strive to push their industries forward. Today we're highlighting women in two very different roles within Mercedes Benz. We're talking about Nicolette Lambrecht and the mother daughter duo, Juanita and Grenay Borrenco. First up, meet Nicolette Lambrecht. Nicolette first joined the Mercedes Benz family in 2001 as a graduate trainee. One year later, she became a sales planner and two years after that, she was promoted to the distribution and logistics manager. Nicolette continued to rise within the company, holding several management positions between 2008 and 2014. Nicolette went on to hold key positions at Mercedes Benz South Africa, Canada and USA. Nicolette is currently the sales director of Mercedes Benz Vans USA, and she will soon be taking over the position of vice president and managing director, sales and marketing of Mercedes Benz Vans USA. Nicolette has had great success in her 20 year career at Mercedes Benz. She credits it all to hard work. SPEAKER_05: It's taken a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices over the years, but it's been an absolute amazing journey. This company has given me so much. I've seen the world experience so much and learn so much through this organization. And I'm really proud to be able to say that I've achieved the next part of my journey with this organization. It's been a wild ride and it will continue to be a wild ride. SPEAKER_03: While Nicolette has been given a lot of opportunities at Mercedes Benz, she says there's still work to be done in the auto industry more broadly to support and promote women. SPEAKER_05: I don't think the automotive is very unique, but I do believe it's an area where we still have to promote the industry a lot more for women, for diversity, to show what you can accomplish in this organization. And I believe because people will look at the auto industry and say, well, where do I go? I don't want to go into accounting. You immediately think of these back off this kind of options when you think about the auto industry. But I know of so many amazing women that is in the after sales business, that is in sales, that is in product, that is in engineering. The spectrum in the auto industry is really broad and we need to do a better job in marketing the opportunities they are for everybody. SPEAKER_03: In spite of those impediments in the auto industry, Mercedes Benz fostered an environment where Nicolette was able to succeed. SPEAKER_05: I've been very fortunate in my career that being in the commercial vehicle environment, which is historically very male dominant, I've had fantastic mentors and men that supported me in my career. And I think as an organization, we have to constantly challenge ourselves to say, what programs do we have that creates those opportunities for women in the auto industry? And with Mercedes Benz. Within Benz, we have a forum called Women in Benz, where once a month we all get together, we share stories, we share leadership challenges, and we have to continue to build on programs within our organization to drive diversity. SPEAKER_03: Nicolette understands the power of speaking up. SPEAKER_05: There's something that I always refer to that has stuck with me for so many years. There's a poem called Invictus by a gentleman by the name of William E. Henley. And the last two sentences in that poem is, I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. And that is something that I have always treasured and has been my kind of, you know, motivation that I am in charge of where I go. And we have to constantly look for opportunities and speak up. We have a voice and we have to use our voice and we have to use it and find those opportunities to use it. Don't be afraid to take that leap, to take that risk and be in control of your fate and your path. SPEAKER_03: Women have succeeded at Mercedes Benz in all corners of the company, from the boardroom to the showroom floor. Next up, meet Juanita and Griney Berenko, a mother-daughter team that owns two Mercedes Benz dealerships located in Atlanta, Georgia and Covington, Louisiana. Juanita opened her first dealership with her husband in 1978. While Juanita studied in law school, her husband went to the General Motors minority dealer development program. The couple ran successful dealerships throughout the decades. In 2003, they acquired a Mercedes Benz dealership. A year later, Griney joined the family business as a sales manager. For Griney, running a dealership has its fair share of challenges and rewards. Well, I guess the highs and the lows SPEAKER_07: are working with your family. We're just all immersed in the same business, so we like to talk about it in any business, but maybe particularly a dealership, there's always something. For about two weeks, several years ago, there was no gas anywhere in the state. So we had to drive to Alabama with big tanks and get gas to bring to the dealership. We had a bridge that burned down a few years ago. We had a big remodel a few years ago that we worked through. You know, there are a lot of highs. As far as the successes of the dealerships, when you have a happy customer, just when things come together, I love working with people here. It feels like a family, but there's no better high than getting through what would seem like an insurmountable situation. SPEAKER_03: Juanita stays centered by thinking beyond the latest crisis. That mentality was vital over the past year. There is always going to be something happening, SPEAKER_06: something very positive, something's not so positive, and everything you could imagine in between. So the key is to envision yourself beyond this moment of crisis. When COVID-19, when that first hit, there was a lot of, oh my God, what are we going to do? Fortunately, we were considered an essential business, so we were able to stay open throughout the entire time. But even that presented its challenges. And how do you get up, get through that? I always like to have a backup plan. I didn't predict COVID, no. But when it came, we were ready, because we always have succession planning too. That's something I picked up from corporate America, frankly, that you always have to engage in succession planning. Who's the next, who's up next? And so that's how we get through crises, and that's how we get through it. SPEAKER_03: Not only has Juanita been successful in her career, she's dedicated herself to helping other women get in the driver's seat too. SPEAKER_06: Supporting women and encouraging women is one of my missions in life. I have done a fair amount of public speaking to women's groups, and a lot of the questions are similar, regardless of what the career path is. A lot of women want to know, how do you balance family with work? The work balance question. There are a lot of very similar questions that you get from women who are trying to, quote unquote, do it all. And frankly, that's one of the first things I say, you cannot do it all. You do have to prioritize, you do have to figure out where your priorities are. But we can have successful careers and be a part of a wonderful family as well. And now I am focused on the automobile business because we find ourselves needing more and more women to be involved in the automobile business. But at the same time, conversely, women oftentimes do not seek careers in the automobile industry, particularly the retail side of things. But there's lots of opportunity. In fact, I have an application on my desk from a woman who just finished a vocational school. She wants to be a technician. And I'm like, get in here, girlfriend, because we really need you. And we do have females throughout every aspect of the business, but not enough. And I am encouraging them. I am a firm believer in diversity. And a part of that diversity is women. And I have found that organizations that respect women, encourage women, and frankly, desire to have women in the workforce, those organizations tend to do better. SPEAKER_03: For Grune and Juanita, Mercedes-Benz's motto has a lot in common with their own. SPEAKER_07: The best or nothing. I mean, that's their motto. That's my motto as well. I don't like to be number two, except nothing, nothing less. SPEAKER_03: Mercedes-Benz supports women at all levels of its organization. This month, Mercedes has partnered with us at Encyclopedia Wamanica to celebrate all those who are driving forward progress. For all of March, we're talking about women in the driver's seat. 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