Carmen O’Neil - Head of Raw Materials Purchasing the Americas, Continental Tire

As Head of Raw Material Purchasing for Continental Tire and ContiTech in the Americas, Carmen O’Neil oversees the sourcing and procurement of all products that make up tires and rubber articles produced in North and South America.  In this role she leads an international team both strategically and operationally to manage the sourcing and supply chains of over $1.5 billion worth of raw materials to more than 10 locations throughout the region.  Carmen entered into the automotive industry after college in her home country of South Africa after attaining her degree in Business Management.  She and her husband later moved to the USA in 1999 where she has continued her career once again in the automotive industry.  She has worked at companies like Rubbermaid, Honeywell and Continental in varying positions such as graduate trainee, buyer, key account manager, purchasing manager and finally head of the Americas region purchasing for Continental, a $45+ billion company.  Carmen has a 20+ year career in the commercial side of business, both in purchasing and sales and counts herself very fortunate to have had opportunity to grow and develop but also to have had the courage to recognize and seize those opportunities.  She finds it extremely rewarding to mentor and champion others to find their voice and identify their best impact in their organization.

In this episode of Fairygodboss Radio, Romy talks with Carmen O’Neil about using your voice and seizing opportunities.

[Recorded on August 20, 2020]