Giving back means a lot to Tracy L. Mack-Askew, and it’s something that she has made a top priority in both her personal and professional life.
When Mack-Askew started her career in automotive manufacturing at General Motors (GM), she was part of the Inroads Program Detroit Chapter, which takes talented minority youth and prepares them for corporate community leadership. During her time as vice president of engineering for Thomas Built Buses (TBB), which is part of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), Mack-Askew spent time each week reading to a young girl. She also regularly does science, technology, engineering, and mathematics activities with children.
“I want them to have role models, and that’s the most important thing,” Mack-Askew said. “What I love about work is that it gives me a platform to help others and really be a part of something bigger than myself. I love doing this with little girls because I want them to see that they can have a technical career and that they can have a career in an industry that today is maybe majority male. But in the future, let’s change that narrative and have a paradigm shift. If they can see themselves in me and think, ‘I can do that too,’ I think it’ll change, and that is exciting to me.”
Mack-Askew got her start in the automotive industry more than 20 years ago with GM, before first joining DTNA in 2014 as the vice president of engineering at TBB. In 2016, Mack-Askew headed DTNA’s heavy-duty vocational platform project, where her contributions helped launch the all-new Western Star 49X. Earlier this year, she was promoted to executive director and chief engineer of chassis, propulsion, and vocational engineering at DTNA.
Mack-Askew holds a master’s degree in management from Harvard, a master’s degree in engineering from Purdue University, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is also a proponent of the Women in Trucking Association and Society of Women Engineers.
In her community, Mack-Askew is on the board of trustees for the Ronald McDonald House in Oregon and Southwest Washington. She is also part of Jack and Jill of America, an organization to help develop African American children as future leaders.
As DTNA’s chief engineer for chassis and vocational engineering, on the chassis side, Mack-Askew and her team deal with suspension, brakes, powertrain integration, heavy cabling, chassis harnessing, and integrating traditional engines while also working on new technologies. On the vocational side, she works closely with body builders to customize each truck for unique fleet needs. To gain a better understanding of those needs, Mack-Askew makes it a point to visit fleet customer locations.
Another highlight of the day-to-day job for Mack-Askew is working with and coaching her staff to help them achieve their goals. She’s also passionate about developing an essential product for the end user.
“I am so impressed with the idea that people during this pandemic saw the importance of truck drivers, who are our ultimate users, and we want to make sure that they have what they need and that they are supported and comfortable so they can do an amazing job,” she said.
Overcoming challenges
Over the course of her career, Mack-Askew has had to overcome various challenges. One was learning the ins and outs of various roles and moving from Detroit to North Carolina and then moving from North Carolina to Portland, Oregon, and adjusting to different cultures with the DTNA community.
“In the new role that I am in now, I am interfacing a lot more with Germany and infusing that portion of the corporate culture into what’s happening with my department,” she explained. “Global collaboration and how to get the needle moved in Portland is very different than the culture in Stuttgart.”
Mack-Askew has also been intent on finding the right balance in her daily interactions, particularly when it comes to being too nice or too tough in her professional life.
“I think that’s something that as a woman, especially as a Black woman and not wanting to fit some sort of stereotype, that I am really very cognizant of,” she said. “Throughout my career, people would sometimes think, ‘Well, is she tough enough?’ I worry about being too tough because then I don’t want to be seen as the angry Black woman.
“In every situation you have to be dynamic. You can’t just pick one thing and stick with it forever,” Mack-Askew added. “You have to have that agility, and that’s something that I have worked to develop throughout the decades.”
Over the next few years, Mack-Askew anticipates that the industry will continue to work diligently toward sustainability and zero-emission vehicles. She added that safety enhancements via even greater technological advancements are also top priorities.
“Trucking is an exciting industry, and this is the best time to be in this industry because we are shaping the future,” Mack-Askew said.
