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Lisa M. Cesario
____________________________________________________________
456 Park Street Birmingham, MI 48009 (248)840-9863
lisa.cesario@yahoo.com

Career Summary

Technical acumen demonstrated by ability to successfully manage new challenges by

drawing upon diverse technical experience.

Proven performance in the management of a large, diverse organization charged with

negotiation of complex, competing technical objectives.

Demonstrated history of building successful teams, establishing trusting alliances

between individuals and organizations, and improving cost effectiveness and overall
productivity.

Demonstrated ability to analyze immense amounts of complex technical data and to

summarize and communicate findings to diverse audiences.

Excellent written and oral communications skills and experienced at presenting to high
levels of management and cross-functional organizations.

Professional Experience

Engineering, Chrysler LLC, Auburn Hills, MI

Advance Systems Manager

GEM/Electric Vehicle Engineering October 2005-March 2008

Responsible for implementing new systems into the GEM program including lean design and
CATIA V5 (3D CAD software used by Chrysler); developed business case and proposal for
implementation of CATIA V5 into the GEM R&D and manufacturing facility located in Fargo, ND.
Demonstrated $2M cost savings and 3 months time savings over 3 years; researched and
proved overall benefits for GEM’s long-term CAD compatibility in the broader market. Provided
technical reviews to all GEM personnel, gathered input, and presented and sold project to
Chrysler and GEM management. Implemented training and personally demonstrated Catia
skills.

Responsible for Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) and Service Satisfaction Index (SSI)
program and reports. Quarterly analyzed hundreds of reports from the field regarding
customers’ satisfaction with their vehicle based upon component failure, vehicle performance,
and service satisfaction. Tracked trends graphically and recommended action plans to improve
quality. Worked with GEM product and manufacturing engineers to implement these plans.
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Manager, Competitive Benchmarking/Teardown

Product Strategy September 2003-October 2005

Managed Technicians and Mechanics in the teardown and display of all competitive vehicle
teardowns.

Worked with PhD level fastener engineer to demonstrate joint design basics and pulse tools
using the vehicle teardowns; teamed with him in the documentation of time savings and quality
improvements; presented the benefits to over 1,000 product development personnel in a
workshop format.

Managed $1M/year budget for working with consulting company to perform lean design
analyses on all teardowns, including a 30 vehicle benchmarking project on Toyota and Honda
products; trained to conduct lean design analysis; developed and facilitated workshops for over
500 product development personnel on application of lean design principles.

Manager, Minivan Advance Vehicle Engineering

Minivan Component/Occupant Packaging September 1996-September 2003

Developed, sold, and implemented an all-new process called “digital mock-up” (DMU), which
replaced physical vehicle mock-ups. Demonstrated vehicle program cost savings of several
million dollars and program timing savings of one year; demonstrated expertise in using the
software and hardware and trained key engineers; developed and rolled out the comprehensive
Minivan Product Team training program necessary to implement the process; managed the
training of over 300 people.

Organized the vehicle into 4 component “zones” to efficiently manage the negotiation and
resolution of design issues; these were defined as follows:
• Front End-included lighting, body, engine, transmission, powertrain, exhaust, steering
brakes and other chassis; wipers, electric/electronic(E/E), dash panel/interior.
• Underbody/Seating-included wheels/tires, suspension exhaust and other chassis,
body/underbody, trim, carpet, restraints, seats and seat attachments and related interior.
• Instrument Panel-included steering column, shifter, pedals, radio, speakers, heat and
A/C (HVAC), interior trim, E/E, body.
• Upper Body-included doors, glass, body panels, interior trim and panels.

Developed cross-functional relationships based upon mutual trust and common goals among all
engineering disciplines including Powertrain, Chassis, Body, Electrical, and Interior Engineering,
Manufacturing, IT, Design Studio, Program Management, Finance, and Marketing. Led daily
meetings of 30-50 product development personnel for the purpose of fast resolution of design
issues.
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Created a new department of 20 engineers and designers to support the DMU process and
zones; negotiated staffing of the department with fellow engineering managers as well as one-
on-one recruiting of personnel.

Responsible for Occupant and Vehicle Packaging Dimensions and drawings and competitive
comparisons; integrated Federal and global passenger car standards.

Brought the 2003 Minivan to market with a 50% reduction in assembly and feasibility issues.

Supervisor, Minivan Occupant Packaging September 1994-September 1996

Supervised designers in creation, update, and maintenance of all Vehicle Packaging/

Dimensions Drawings, charts, and other documentation. This included interior and exterior
dimensions, Occupant Packaging and Human Factors/Accommodations, visibility studies, and
adherence to Federal and global standards. Supplied dimensions and graphics to advertising
agencies for use in all ads.

Senior Engineer, Liberty Advance Engineering September 1990-September 1994

Recruited to apply my former work in Human Factors to a state of the art concept car, which
was a test bed for R&D of advanced concepts.

Assigned to the electric minivan (TEVan), which was the first electric vehicle program.
Responsible for the design and development of the electric PTC (Positive Coefficient Ceramic)
heater. Tested and developed the system in -30F conditions in Wa Wa, Ontario and performed
extensive cold room work (-10F). Worked in tandem with the electric A/C engineer to ensure
integrated HVAC (heat, ventilation, air conditioning) system performance. Worked with the
suppliers on piece cost/investment/volumes/content.

Developed a patent proposal for a quick defrost system and related schematics/controls. The
system routed the hot, compressed refrigerant through the evaporator for the period of time it
took for the engine to warm up.

Studio Engineer, Product Design Studio February 1989-September 1990

Worked on the drafting board to perform door, interior and instrument panel feasibility studies
for advanced designs; benchmarked Honda and Toyota for best-in-class gap (fit and finish)
objectives for interior and exterior panels; worked with Advance Manufacturing and stamping to
establish recommendations and timing required to achieve fit and finish objectives.

Analyst, Program Management March 1986-February 1989

Established comprehensive competitive vehicle benchmarking objectives for an all-new vehicle

program. Coordinated a 30-vehicle competitive fleet for an internal “auto show”, attended by
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more than 1,500 product development personnel. Identified detailed best-in-class attributes of
components on each vehicle such as sound, feel and function of switches and fit and finish of
exterior and interior panels and created a video demonstrating each feature. Target vehicles for
this new car program were selected from this show and were determined to be Mercedes,
BMW, Acura, and Lexus, which I used to develop 260 Sound, Feel, Function, Fit, & Finish
Objectives/Database. Presented the video and database through Executive VP level in
Engineering, Marketing, Design Studio, Manufacturing, Finance, Product Strategy, Product
Planning, and Program Management and succeeded in gaining approval for implementation of
these objectives. Worked closely with key engineers and analysts in all of these disciplines to
establish how to achieve these objectives and identified associated costs, pros, and cons, as
well as working on the team that implemented Quality Functional Deployment (QFD) and
created the related House of Quality. Continued to showcase the targeted competition up to
program approval. These 260 objectives were used on all subsequent new programs through
the 1990’s.

Vehicle Engineer, Vehicle Development March 1984-March 1986

Organized competitive vehicle benchmarking road trips: Developed challenging routes

throughout the U.S. including four-wheel drive routes; acquired and prepped chosen vehicles
which were part of caravans of up to 14 vehicles; prepped teams of cross-functional,
management level experts; developed evaluation forms for rating up to 100 overall vehicle
objectives such as road & wind noise, ride & handling, and powertrain & chassis performance.
Tabulated and analyzed all data and prepared extensive technical reports with
recommendations; presented these reports through VP level in Product Development and
Engineering.

Identified and procured instrumentation necessary to measure forces on all vehicle components
with which the customer regularly interacts. Developed and sold a project to Engineering VPs
that would measure forces on switches, door handles, seat controls, etc; efforts and open
angles on doors; seat comfort & driver relations to primary and secondary controls in all
vehicles; evaluated fits and finish (gaps between body panels); benchmarked all competitive
vehicles in each class to determine best-in-class tolerances for these specifications. Gathered
thousands of pieces of data, used military Anthropometric Specifications to establish
accommodation of 5th to 95th percentile population, summarized conclusions, and published the
first Human Factors Design Guidelines manual in company history. These guidelines have
been used and updated since.

Early Career

Engineer, General Dynamics Centerline, MI July 1983-March 1984

Prepared military specifications for the M1 and M60 tanks.
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Engineering Intern, Bendix Corporation Southfield, MI Summers 1979-1982

Created FMEA for the BDX930 Flight Computer and created critical path analyses and
presentations for the Supercharger project.

Education

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI B.S. Industrial and Operations Engineering, 1983

College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI B.F.A, Fiber Arts/Design, Jan. 2008-May 2009

GMAT, December 2001

Official transcripts available upon request.

Professional Affiliations

Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

SAE Women’s Committee

Society of Women Engineers (SWE); Featured Speaker at a 1997 SWE Young Women’s
Symposium on Opportunities and Realities for Women in the Automotive Industry

Skills and Training

Technical:
• Catia V4 Basic
• Catia V5 for Engineers
• Chrysler Data Visualizer
• Design and Development of HVAC Systems
• Design Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (DFMEA) for Systems and Components
• Design of Experiments
• Driving Training: Accident Avoidance, Terrorist Avoidance, and Police Driving
Maneuvers
• Foundation Brake Design
• Fundamentals of Pedal Design
• Introduction to Joint Design Principles and Pulse Tool Usage
• Lean Design Fundamentals
• Mopar HVAC Certification
• Process Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
• Powertrain Cooling Systems
• Root Cause Analysis Training
• Tolerance Stack Up Analysis (GD&T)
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• Virtual Parts Modeler (VPM) for Engineers

Management/Administrative:
• Career Development Session
• Chrysler Development System (CDS)
• Diversity Training
• Foundations of Leadership in a Lean Environment
• Product Development Change Notice (CN) Approval Process
• Record Retention Training
• Speed Reading Course: 995 words/minute, 95% comprehension
• Supervisor Training
• Proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint; expert typist