Sandra Alatriste-Lopez

Faurecia Seating North America

Plant Manager, Puebla JIT

I am completely in love with my work. Confucius said, ‘Choose a job that you like, and you won’t have to work a day of your life.’ My work allows me to grow every day, to be a teacher and a student, and to interact with great people.”

Sandra’s leadership ability and hard work have helped to double the sales of the Faurecia Seating plant in Puebla, Mexico, from $43M to $87M, without the need to increase the plant’s footprint. By embracing and building on the principles of the Faurecia Excellence System (FES), which include optimizing space, reducing stock and adding technology, Sandra has developed a team that supports the concept of continuous improvement and serves as the benchmark for other Faurecia facilities in North America. As a certified transformational coach and mentor, Sandra also works with Faurecia employees at all levels as they identify their goals, strengths, and challenges. 

Sandra has a passion for promoting the voices and talents of women in her male-dominated industry. She leads by example every day and has participated in events that help women network and champion one another, such as the recent Volkswagen Roadshow. Sandra’s goal is to bring all Faurecia employees together, men and women alike, to identify areas that need improvement, work on solutions and celebrate accomplishments.

In addition to taking her strong commitment to success at work, Sandra regularly participates in volunteer community improvement opportunities in Puebla and encourages her team members to do the same. Under her leadership, Faurecia employees identify the needs of local foundations and work together to meet them hands-on to provide food, cleaning, and yard work, as well as stocking pantry shelves. In addition, Sandra’s team paints local schools, organizes medicine donations and brings coffee and sandwiches every week to people whose family members are in the hospital. Sandra is truly a servant leader, both at work and in the larger community, and Faurecia Seating is proud to call her one of their own.