Nicola Lasorsa Drives Innovation at AAM

Nicola Lasorsa of American Axle & Manufacturing is well versed in sourcing automotive supplies and materials across the globe

Nicola Lasorsa, Director, Indirect Global Procurement, American Axle & Manufacturing

BY BILLY YOST, HISPANIC EXECUTIVE

You may not know American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM), but there’s a good chance their technology is in your vehicle. The Tier 1 automotive supplier designs, engineers, and manufactures driveline and metal forming technologies to support electric, hybrid, and traditional internal combustion vehicles. Headquartered in Detroit, AAM’s global footprint outside the Motor City spans eighty facilities in eighteen countries.

That global footprint includes top talent from around the world, including Venezuelan native Nicola Lasorsa. Since joining AAM in 2015, Lasorsa has risen through multiple roles and now serves as the director of indirect global procurement. Trained as a mechanical engineer, Lasorsa has spent nineteen years in the automotive industry, with seventeen in procurement roles. His previous experience includes stints at Chrysler Venezuela and Dana Venezuela.

One of Lasorsa’s most pivotal career moments occurred in 2009, when Chrysler merged with Fiat. The merger allowed Lasorsa to move to Brazil to expand the company’s South American market into new lines of business. It wasn’t the last time Lasorsa and his family would move to a new country for his career.

“My ability to articulate complex ideas of what we do in this industry and in this business helps open up discussions and allow everyone to express their views. I hope that those open and honest discussions have helped create clarity and consistency during my time here.”

Nicola Lasorsa

In 2015, Lasorsa got a call from AAM. The company asked if he’d be interested in joining them and moving to Mexico to support its operations there.

“There were many challenges in the industry during those years, but it was also a very rewarding time for me professionally and for my family,” the director says. “It was a time that my whole family treasured and gave me valuable leadership experience in another new country.”

In 2021, Lasorsa and his family moved again—this time to Detroit to AAM’s world headquarters. Working across diverse cultures and geographies has shaped Lasorsa’s leadership. The enthusiasm and pace of American work culture required some adaptation. Broadly speaking, Mexican work culture tends to emphasize collectivism and harmony, while the US mindset tends to focus more on individual drive. Lasorsa says that by emphasizing communication and empathy, he’s grown as a leader and struck the right balance in a new environment.

“My ability to articulate complex ideas of what we do in this industry and in this business helps open up discussions and allow everyone to express their views,” the director says. “I hope that those open and honest discussions have helped create clarity and consistency during my time here.”

Newcomers to US business often must downplay the challenges they face so as not to seem overburdened. Lasorsa says adapting to new cultures can be very challenging when there’s work that needs immediate attention. It may be an old metaphor, but Lasorsa has had to “fly the plane while assembling it” a few times during his career.

Fortunately, Lasorsa says the leadership team at AAM has offered him both the time and resources to adapt to his surroundings. His cross-country transitions have been as seamless as they could be, with coaching and support whenever he needed it.

The auto industry has never not been a complex business. But as vehicles have shifted to electric and hybrid models, AAM’s technologies have also needed to evolve. The company has developed a diverse product portfolio to serve the different needs of the global auto market, including innovative solutions that achieve the requirements for safety, efficiency, performance, fuel economy, and environmental friendliness. Not to mention it’s contended with a pandemic and ongoing raw material shortages that continue to wreak havoc on supply chains across the world.

But this complexity is exactly why Lasorsa has blossomed in his role. The director believes in his team’s ability to source equipment, materials, and services at the best rates and highest quality. He and his team are innovating every day to look ahead, solve problems, identify and implement cost reduction initiatives, satisfy customers, mediate the turbulent headwinds of the market, and contribute to the company’s broader strategic goals. “Innovation has become a fundamental part of the procurement process,” Lasorsa says.

“Innovation has become a fundamental part of the procurement process.”

Nicola Lasorsa

Lasorsa has also lent his experience and empathy to the Latin America Talent Inclusive Network (LATIN), one of AAM’s five internal employee-led resource groups. LATIN is a connection point for Latino employees at AAM—a place to share experiences, participate in professional networking opportunities, and support each other.

“I’m very proud of the inclusive environment we’re building at AAM,” Lasorsa says. “We have a group of associates with the mission to support each other, create connections, and help navigate career paths.”

Hispanicexecutive.com