96. Susan Brennan | From Plant Floor to CEO: Leadership, Resilience & Still Standing

In this episode, Klara Jagosova speaks with Susan Seilheimer Brennan, executive, operator, and author who has spent nearly four decades leading organizations through growth, transformation, and scale across automotive manufacturing, clean energy, and advanced materials.Susan's journey spans growing up in a working-class steel town in Illinois, building her career from a plant floor in rural Iowa to VP Manufacturing at Nissan where she drove the first Nissan LEAF off the production line, to COO at Bloom Energy where she tripled headcount, cut unit costs by 70%, and took the company public, to CEO at Romeo Power and 5E Advanced Materials where she led turnarounds under extraordinary pressure, and now advising early-stage clean energy and tech founders at EnerTech Capital.The conversation explores: Why she walked away from a Ford executive pension to bet on the electric vehicle.How she moved her family from Nashville to Silicon Valley at 51, going from big fish to minnow, and why she did it anyway. What the plant floor teaches about leadership that no MBA can. How the Hoshin X Matrix connects individual work to company-wide goals. How to break the constraints blocking progress when everyone is already working hard. Why she believes innovation is the heart, and without it, even the strongest organization won't survive. What made her write the whole truth rather than the Instagram version.Why she chose to bring light to things most people keep in the dark.Get the book: Still Standing: From Self-Loathing to Self-Love by S. Jayne Brennan https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3SZTHXZConnect with Susan: susanbrennanleadership.cominfo@susanbrennanleadership.comlinkedin.com/in/susanbrennanSend us Fan MailLEORÊVER COMPRESSION AND ACTIVEWEARGet 10% off Loerêver Balanced Compression and Activewear to elevate your confidence and performanceDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.This content is also available in a video version on YouTube.If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who may enjoy it as well, and consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. You can also submit your feedback directly on my website. Follow @GrandSlamJourney on Instagram, Facebook,  Twitter, and join the  LinkedIn community.