In The Driver’s Seat with Stacie Kennedy

Stacie Kennedy, Director of Reconditioning Operations, has been part of the DriveTime Family since 2013. However, she didn’t initially envision herself working in the automotive industry.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Stacie was raised by an HR professional who truly lived in the world of people. For as long as Stacie can remember, her family has taken part in fundraisers, community outreach, and initiatives to lend a helping hand. Giving back to the community was a part of the Kennedy family values.

“Service is something that’s important to me,” she said. “Community service once seemed like a chore and now it is a core value of mine that has developed into a true passion.”

Breaking into Automotive

Naturally, Stacie attended college at the University of North Carolina at Charlette, for Human Resources and Business Management, expecting to have a career revolving around people. Little did she know she would end up breaking into the world of automotive.

“I started this career knowing nothing about cars,” Stacie said. “I only knew how to drive them, and if something sounded weird or felt weird, I called my dad.”

While service has always been a core value and interest of Stacie, cars were not. However, that all changed the summer before her senior year of college when she accepted an internship working at a mechanic shop.

“My scholarship required me to have an internship and the first one that came about was with Firestone,” she said. “At first, I was nervous and intimidated by stepping into a new world.”

Her hesitation quickly wore off as she learned that automotive isn’t as difficult as it appears to be.

“I quickly learned that car talk did not have to be a foreign language by taking advantage of every technical and sales workshop offered by ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) and Bridgestone,” she said. “Here is where the passion to help others and my natural curiosity collided and jumpstarted my career.”

Shortly after her internship ended, Stacie began leading a monthly workshop for women. The workshop covered topics like how to check oil and transmission fluid, tire pressure and basic car care tips.

“The participation grew and increased sales volume for me,” she said. “Sales success launched me into service management, and I found my niche explaining complicated systems to everyday drivers.”

From there, everything seemed to fall into place.

“Leading service and sales departments helped me develop a process management skillset,” she explained. “My role today in reconditioning encompasses the 15+ years spent leading in auto sales, service, assembly and disassembly environments.”

The DriveTime Difference

After working in various roles and companies within the industry, Stacie found herself at DriveTime. She started as a Manager in Training in Georgia, held a General Manager position at the Memphis Reconditioning Center, managed several retail locations, and served as a Senior Operations Manager on the production side of the business.

“It’s been a pleasant journey growing with the company, and more importantly, seeing others grow around me,” Stacie said. “It’s been phenomenal.”

Since starting with the company back in 2013, Stacie reflects on all the changes that have come with 11 years of innovation and technological advancements. The ability to connect with colleagues from across the nation in real time has quickly become a staple in Stacie’s workflow in the past few years.

“Our connectivity to other departments has catapulted, and I love it for the organization because we get real time perspective from different departments,” Stacie said. “We are able to problem solve and elevate more seamlessly. Our connectivity allows us to grow collectively and stronger since we have a better understanding across departments.”

While company growth can often result in a loss of people-centric culture, the same cannot be said about DriveTime. As the years have gone by, the friendly culture that the organization is known for has remained a constant.

To Stacie, “our ability to remain humble and value learning experiences,” is one of the best attributes of the culture. “DriveTime, and I think this carries across departments, knows how to soak up an experience. Sometimes we may have different campaigns or programs that don’t quite pan out, but the gains from it have been phenomenal. It has brought us together as a tighter knit group. We’ve learned about each other’s limitations and our potential as individuals.”

This culture that allows coworkers to feel like family is also what’s kept Stacie at DriveTime for over a decade.

“DriveTime core principles align with my core passions,” Stacie explained. “Every day, I come to work with others who value feedback, ownership, humility and curiosity. We collaborate regularly and are expected to make a lasting impact on our teams and ultimately our customers.”

“Many teams are like family, so when it comes to dealing with not only work challenges, but personal challenges, the support is undeniable. Resources like PTO, leave, and employee assistance programs all have helped me deal with life’s heartaches.”

Building a Fulfilling Career

Aside from the culture, Stacie notes that working for a company that places value on employee development has been key to making work feel fulfilling.

“The fact that work does not have to feel like work is so important,” she said. “Truly take the time to understand what a fulfilling career means to you. Dare to explore what it takes to do well. Maybe it’s more education, maybe it’s more networking, maybe it’s taking on more challenging projects, or asking for more feedback. Whatever it takes, be willing to foster the opportunity and esteem to turn your first year into many.”

“If curiosity and growth are important to you, DriveTime may be a lasting career match. You have to take the time to find out what you enjoy and protect that, and feed that with education. We have an array of job-specific and leadership training in Workday, management development programs like LEAP and LEAD, not to mention on the job training taught by subject matter experts. We work intentionally to develop well-rounded contributors who feel part of the larger picture.”