When Jecka Glasman transitioned from a 12-year career in telecommunications to Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America, she found the most important thing was to listen and talk to as many people as she could. But she didn’t just talk to the senior executives of the organization; she made it a point to reach out across Fuso’s entire ecosystem.
“A very significant amount of my time when I was just getting started was to travel and to talk to people—to customers, to drivers, to dealers, and to my own people, the field guys,” Glasman said. “The amount of brain power, experience, knowledge, and perspective that you get from just listening is tremendous. It’s nothing that you can learn from any PowerPoint or Excel sheets or business reports. That would be my recommendation for anyone who’s moving into a new domain: spend the time to listen.”
Glasman, who has been the president and CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America since 2015, started out as Fuso’s business development director in 2014. Born in Latvia, Glasman is fluent in English, Russian and Hebrew, and she is conversant in German. She has degrees in computer science and in economics and business administration, as well as an executive MBA from Tel-Aviv University’s Recanati School of Business. Glasman also served as a lieutenant in the Israeli Defense Force.
In addition, Glasman is a member of the Daimler Leadership 2020 team. Before joining Fuso, she worked in telecommunications at Comverse, where she developed and managed a worldwide support network focused on building systems and processes.
In her 12 years at Comverse, Glasman rose from project manager to senior vice president of the global services business unit, with full profit-and-loss responsibility and oversight of sales, marketing and services for Comverse’s worldwide support and post-go-live services. While there, she served as regional sales manager, assistant vice president of sales operations, and vice president of business operations, with responsibilities for several different international regions.
“When I was contacted by someone from Daimler Trucks looking for that expertise, I saw it as a tremendous opportunity, and so I made the move,” she noted. “It took a little while for me to get up to speed on the trucking business, and I’m still learning every day. But at the same time, there are many similarities which cross industries.”
Glasman noted that staying motivated and engaged in the ever-evolving trucking industry is easy. Recently, Fuso unveiled its eCanter all-electric truck, and the company is now in the final stages of developing a new gasoline-fueled powertrain option for its FE Series trucks.
But what really keeps Glasman motivated on a day-to-day basis are the people she works with.
“People are the source of energy for me—the people I work with, the people I work for,” she explained. “It’s about the teamwork. You’re only as strong as your team is. This is my first source of energy, and I have to tell you that the people I’ve met throughout this journey in this industry and at Fuso are incredible. It’s an amazing family, and it really keeps me going every single day.”
“I believe we have to do things we’re passionate about. Life is very short and it’s not worth spending on something
we’re not passionate about,” Glasman added. “I feel passionate about the business, passionate about the industry, the changes, and the tremendous opportunities that we have ahead.”
For women considering jobs in any aspect of the trucking industry, Glasman advised they look for a position they’ll find satisfying. For those who may be intimidated because they believe trucking is a “man’s world,” Glasman said she found it just the opposite.
“It’s been my experience that If you bring a good skill set and are truly interested in the trucking business, those in the industry will go out of their way to welcome you and help you learn the business,” she noted. “So, if you’re interested, go for it.”
“I think the most important thing is to have the ability to dare,” Glasman added. “Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t be afraid to try. Maybe women tend to be more conservative, but there’s no reason for that. We’re the ones who set our boundaries. I believe the magic happens when we push ourselves outside of our comfort zone and try new things and explore new opportunities.”
