Thomas Built Buses became the first school bus OEM with a female president and CEO. Now, the subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America has a female vice president of engineering.
Tracy Mack Askew was named the OEM’s chief vehicle designer on July 31. She comes to Thomas from General Motors, where she served on the engineering team for the past 15 years, most recently as global commodity manager and chief interior engineer. At Thomas she is responsible for design engineering, testing, compliance and R&D.
In addition to having a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master’s in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, Mack Askew also holds a master’s degree in management from Harvard University.
“Tracy’s deep knowledge in both the engineering and management sides of the business makes her a tremendous asset to the Thomas Built team,” explained Kelley Platt, Thomas’ president and CEO, who also broke a glass ceiling with her appointment to head the company in January 2010. “Tracy is an innovator and a hard worker, who will help to take Thomas Built Buses to even greater heights. We look forward to many great things coming out of her leadership.”
