Previous Interviews

Brian Buchanan

Director,
Commercial Vehicle Project Planning & Engineering

1) Describe what you do in one or two sentences.

At ITCA, I primarily lead two Commercial Vehicle teams. The Product Planning team collects “Voice of the Customer” inputs, and helps to determine new requirements, features, and timing for our future vehicles. Then, the Product Engineering team works to design and integrate the new content into the vehicle layout.

2) What is the most important/valuable skill you need to do your job well?

Clear and efficient communication is critical. Whether your role encompasses target setting, solution creation, or implementation, it is hard to overstate the value of properly conveying your ideas and/or results.

3) How do you work to empower other employees, our customers, or Isuzu global?

It is easy to fall into the trap of simply complaining rather than developing a positive plan. I believe that our team members have the opportunity to suggest improvements, not only to the products we are developing but also to the processes used to develop them. Driving change is difficult, but we try to encourage our team members by letting them know that leadership is always open to improvement suggestions.

Robert Brancato

Manager
PVRD – Vehicle Laboratory

1) Describe what you do in one or two sentences.

I manage ITCA’s Vehicle Lab facilities at Plymouth and Anaheim. My work involves planning and allocating resources to execute work orders from our engineering teams, controlling our budget, and procuring new equipment and supplies. I am also responsible for conducting competitor vehicle benchmarking activities.

2) How do you see your job making a positive impact in the lives of others?

I would like to think that my management style is one that cultivates employee growth, not only as vehicle technicians, but also as CMV drivers, subjective evaluators, welders/fabricators, and electronics technicians. Our Vehicle Lab technicians have a lot of latitudes to learn a variety of jobs not offered by other R&D facilities. Other facilities require their employees to be quite specialized without the ability to operate outside of one or two areas.

3) What do you love about Isuzu?

I have been with Isuzu a little over 30 years, a long time right. I was laid off from Chryslers before coming to Isuzu so I was hoping for some stability and I guess I got that seeing how I stayed for so long. I would like to think that I have always taken care of Isuzu and its family and Isuzu has always taken care of me and my family.

Kaitlyn Jaeck

Engineer I
Vehicle Compliance

1) Describe what you do in one or two sentences.

I work as a member of the Vehicle Compliance team to ensure that Isuzu engines and vehicles meet government regulations, such as those from CARB, EPA, NHTSA, and Canada. Part of ensuring compliance includes staying up to date on any new regulations these agencies are working on and distributing the relevant information to other departments within Isuzu.

2) How do you see your job making a positive impact in the lives of others?

Many government agencies are creating regulations with an eye towards increased safety and a positive environmental impact.  Staying up to date on these regulations, and making sure that Isuzu complies, ensures that we are doing our part to help protect customers, protect people on the road, and protect the environment.

3) What do you love about Isuzu?

I love that Isuzu is more than just our Plymouth office. I have the chance to work with people across functions within ITCA as well as with people from our Isuzu offices in California. Most weeks, I also get to be on a call with Isuzu employees from Japan. So I love that I get to work and interact with people here, on the other side of the country, and on the other side of the world.

Phillip Ray

Project Manager,
Commercial Vehicle Project Planning & Engineering

1) Describe what you do in one or two sentences.
I am a program manager for (1) port installed options (accessories) and (2) our collaborative relationship with General Motors. For accessories, I coordinate with distributors, engineering, suppliers, and manufacturing. And I work closely with GM on our LCF (Low Cab Forward) medium-duty truck collaboration, managing the dynamic aspects of the relationship.

2) How do you see your job making a positive impact in the lives of others?
Accessories, for example, keep us relevant to the customer. We can meet very specific customer needs with the flexibility to do things we cannot do lineside. This keeps us responsive to the customer as we can more quickly bring ideas to the market. This is good for the bottom line of our business customers and for that of Isuzu.

3) What do you love about your job?
The relatively horizontal organization provides a dynamic environment with opportunity for a wide variety of experiences. I get to work together with people from all functions inside the organization, and I regularly interact with people outside, and that keeps it exciting. No day is the same.

Sergio Lopez

Supervisor
Powertrain and Vehicle Research & Development

1) Describe what you do in one or two sentences.
As a powertrain engineering supervisor, I provide guidance to engineers running tests in our engine dynamometer lab for the purpose of calibrating our engines for emissions performance. I am also involved in special calibration projects with vendors.

2) How do you see your job making a positive impact in the lives of others?
Our products must comply with regulatory agency standards, so when I think of the positive impact my job makes, I first think about the environment. This is an important issue to me, and one I take seriously in my personal and professional life.

3) What do you love about your job?
I enjoy engine test and calibration, and I like doing it here at Isuzu, which has opened up a world of culture and diversity. I enjoy building relationships, and there are many good people to work with here. And it’s great knowing that my efforts help to protect the environment and satisfy our customers.

Steven Yarosz

Supervisor
Vehicle Compliance

1) Describe what you do in one or two sentences.
Being part of the Vehicle Compliance team means that I help make sure our vehicles and engines meet all government regulations. Not only do we have to work with engineering to make sure they understand the regulations, but we also need to work with the agencies on new and upcoming regulations to ensure that we capture all potential impact on our product lines.

2) How do you see your job making a positive impact in the lives of others?
Some of my responsibilities include emissions testing and safety testing of production vehicles. This allows Isuzu to be certain that our vehicles are meeting the standards for emissions and safety equipment in the real world, which ensures that our customers are safe and that we are doing our part to help protect the environment.

3) What do you love about your job?
I love many aspects of my job, but specifically, I love the interaction with customers. It is very satisfying to hear directly from customers using our trucks/engines how much they like them.

Bantwal Prashant Baliga

Model-Based Development, Engineer I
Powertrain and Vehicle Research & Development

1) Describe what you do in one or two sentences.
I am responsible for On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) for diesel engines and work with model-based development and calibration engineers to develop and improve modeling capabilities, methodologies, and process/control strategies. Primary tasks include performance simulation, control strategy evaluation, optimization, model development for OBD, and OBD calibration release for robust and reliable detection.

2) How do you see your job making a positive impact in the lives of others?
Engines are made up of a multitude of components, which must be effectively and efficiently controlled to ensure good fuel economy, drivability, and reduced pollutants. The performance of these components needs to be monitored throughout the useful life of the truck to ensure safety and emissions compliance.

3) What do you love about your job?
I love the freedom that I have to try out new ideas and processes to perform the tasks I am responsible for. I enjoy staying on top of current and future technologies and methodologies, i.e. by reading papers and journals, to promote model-based development at ITCA. The work environment is friendly and I learn much from all the brilliant minds here.

John Balger

Test Technician II
Powertrain and Vehicle Research & Development

1) Describe what you do in one or two sentences.
I run the day-to-day operations and maintenance activities for the chassis dyno lab and clean room at ITCA in Plymouth. I also provide support to other groups throughout the company as well as support out in the field when needed.

2) How do you see your job making a positive impact in the lives of others?
Our group plays an integral role in developing and certifying our medium-duty product line to provide quality products for our consumers. Happy customers mean continued employment here at ITCA.

What do you love about your job?
Versatility. We are not limited to one specific job function or role. We have the freedom to work in many different areas on a variety of different projects, resulting in continued skillset growth over the course of our careers here at Isuzu.