The Province

Career Driven

Since the age of 16, Kathleen Harding has been in auto biz

- Russell Purcell

Kathleen Harding is one driven woman. The 35-year old Vancouver native is the general manager at Mini Richmond, a job she has held for three-and-a-half years. She is the first to recognize that the position comes with huge responsibi­lity and rarely lands on the shoulders of someone so young.

The soft-spoken but very dynamic Harding got started in the industry when she was just 16 years old.

“I took a summer job at Lordco Auto Parts as a parts driver,” says the career-oriented executive. “But I planned to return to school and work toward my goal of becoming a teacher.”

Harding performed a similar role at Richmond Honda while she continued with her studies before getting a job at an auto body shop.

“That was a neat experience as I learned how to do estimates and was soon basically running the place.”

As her drive toward a career as a teacher started to reach the point where she would have to make some definitive career choices, a job offer from a manager at Auto West BMW landed on the table.

“I had finished my practicum to become a teacher, and was looking at getting on the substitute teacher list,” she explains. “I realized that money would be tight, so the offer from BMW came with a little extra financial incentive. This was appealing to me as I wouldn’t be as concerned with finances while getting my first real experience as a teacher.”

Within a year-and-a-half Kathleen had moved up from being a parts adviser to parts manager. After seven years of proving herself to be a hard worker and, obviously, very capable, the owner of the BMW dealership asked her to consider becoming the general manager of their new Mini store.

While it may seem like Kathleen is on a career fast track, she is quick to point out that it requires deep dedication.

“My father taught me that a really strong work ethic would get you places. He said that if you always put in 110 per cent, your hard work will show and those people who put in the effort usually move forward.”

It probably didn’t hurt that Kathleen was both a woman and relatively young, as Mini is BMW’s youthful brand, and many of its customers are her direct peers. Having an ultramotiv­ated and dynamic individual like Kathleen running the operation is good for business.

When asked about barriers she may have faced while entering this still male-dominated industry, she offered that things are changing, especially on the management side.

“When I first started off at BMW as a parts adviser I found it challengin­g at times, especially when people phoned in looking for parts. Often the men on the other end of the line wanted to speak with anyone but me, but soon I proved that I had the knowledge and things improved.”

“In my current position there seems to be growing acceptance. As a woman you tend to have a very different management style than most men.

“When issues arise I’ll talk things through with those involved, and with my background in teaching I have a lot more patience as well. I will show my staff how to get things done and give them time to learn new things and procedures.

She considers herself a hands-on person, and says that is reflected in her my management role.

“My staff know that I am always willing to help. If they need me on the floor, I am there. If service gets bogged down I will step in to help book appointmen­ts. I am always here if anyone needs my support.”

During our interview Kathleen reveals that another big change at Mini may help attract more young women into looking at a career with the hip brand — especially on the sales side.

“At Mini we no longer focus solely on price, as the business is too competitiv­e to tackle that way. We now focus on delivering premium service to our customers, as Mini is a premium product. The goal is to build customer relationsh­ips for life because in the long term this leads to customer retention.”

Few would argue that women tend to excel in this area, as they are naturally more social beings, so it should come as no surprise that more female sales personnel are entering the workforce.

“Women seem to be better at establishi­ng these relationsh­ips with customers,” Kathleen suggests from behind her big desk, “and this is good for business.”

Kathleen developed her early interest in autos through her father. As a young child she would spend countless hours watching him work on cars in the garage and helping him out while not trying to get her pyjamas too dirty to upset her mother.

At one point in her life she considered being a technician, but her father knew that she was capable of much more than that so tossed a wrench into that potential career route.

“We just hired a young apprentice who had been working at Mercedes-Benz, but that company refuses to put young women through the apprentice­ship program. Here at Mini Richmond, we want to invest in our employees and want them to be happy and willing to be a part of our family for many years. I am excited, and hope that she makes it through!”

There are still very few women performing the role as general manager, but Kathleen is setting a good example for others to follow.

“This is a starting ground as I don’t think I would want to run a larger dealership. We have about 30 staff here at Mini Richmond which is a manageable number that allows me to keep a good grasp on all aspects of the business and keep involved with the hands-on style I enjoy.”

 ?? JASON PAYNE/PNG ?? At 35, Kathleen Harding is general manager of Mini Richmond — a position few women attain. She credits her success to hard work and persistenc­e.
JASON PAYNE/PNG At 35, Kathleen Harding is general manager of Mini Richmond — a position few women attain. She credits her success to hard work and persistenc­e.
 ?? JASON PAYNE/PNG ?? Now surrounded by cars as Mini Richmond’s general manager, Kathleen Harding started as a parts driver at age 16, later training to be a teacher, using automotive world jobs to pay for studies. Her employers, however, saw talent and she moved up the...
JASON PAYNE/PNG Now surrounded by cars as Mini Richmond’s general manager, Kathleen Harding started as a parts driver at age 16, later training to be a teacher, using automotive world jobs to pay for studies. Her employers, however, saw talent and she moved up the...
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