Everyone wants to feel that their career is having an impact. Elle Lawhead found that when she entered the aftermarket through an assistant category manager role at AutoZone. Now serving as a director of merchandising for starting, charging, and major repair, she made a career pivot to work in a field that she felt was having real, immediate effects on people who depend on their vehicles.

She was drawn into the industry through a college friend already working at AutoZone, and since starting her career in the aftermarket, she has had a strong support system along the way. Through her work with organizations such as Women in Auto Care, of which she is the immediate past chair, she now continues that cycle of empowering other young women entering the field.

Providing Something People Need

Lawhead has been with AutoZone for over a decade, and before her current role, she had been working in retail for Urban Outfitters, Inc., with brands including Urban Outfitters, Free People, and Anthropologie. Lawhead did that throughout college, with a vision of one day becoming a buyer in soft goods and fashion. However, as time passed, she began to reconsider which other paths could be possible for her, especially as factors outside of her control began to change.

"I always wanted to be a buyer—to travel the world, experience different cultures and people, and buy products to help them," explains Lawhead. "At that time, it was going to be soft goods and fashion. But I kind of hit a road and realized that that's not necessarily something that could sustain someone long term, nor is it really impactful. Because what happened during the recession? Essentially, the retail market just plummeted."

Knowing where her passions lie, one of Lawhead's friends from college encouraged her to come work with her company: AutoZone. She had worked in buying and category management at the company and was certain that it was what Lawhead had been looking for in her career. The decision was solidified after Lawhead came to a company kickball game and had the chance to see its culture firsthand.

She heard only positive experiences from the individuals she met with, including others working as buyers or category managers. From there, Lawhead interviewed for a role with the company and joined the team soon thereafter.

The automotive aftermarket is a field that's recession-resistant, and that's something that largely appealed to Lawhead about the industry when she first began her career in the aftermarket. The work the aftermarket does is essential for so many drivers, as it can mean the difference between whether or not they're able to reach work, school, healthcare, and family obligations.

"I got some great advice fairly early on in my career from my former CEO that solidified in me a love for the aftermarket: you always want to choose a recession-proof industry."

"Something that is needed by the people and that consumers will rely on. By doing that, you will feel empowered each and every day," says Lawhead.

Putting People First

For Lawhead, people have always been at the core of what drives her work. It's what's led to her becoming involved with organizations like Women in Auto Care, even holding leadership roles within the group throughout her career. It didn't happen by chance, though, but through a deliberate effort on Lawhead's part to help empower more women throughout the whole industry.

Soon after Lawhead started at AutoZone, she realized there was more that could be done to involve women in the aftermarket, and she quickly put a plan into motion. She developed a 30-, 60-, 90-day plan that evolved into a long-range plan for how AutoZone could support Women in Auto Care, especially women who want to be technicians. Pulling from much of her previous experience in retail, she created a strategy for not just how to begin efforts, but how to measure their success and continue their long-term growth. Lawhead presented her plan to different executives, taking it to the highest level that she could, and ultimately they agreed to move forward with it.

The support that Lawhead was shown is something she has continued to put forward through her own involvement with Women in Auto Care, including mentoring others within the organization. Especially as a woman in a male-dominated company and industry, it makes having support from your colleagues all the more important to succeed.

"Especially as a female minority at the company I work in, and the industry, it's easy to question whether or not you belong, and whether or not you're making an impact, and whether or not you're thought of differently than others," says Lawhead.

Lawhead has not only been met with a wide support system, but has even found a mentor in one of the top leaders at AutoZone. He's been there for her every step of the way, serving as a sounding board for some of the biggest career decisions she's made.

This support shined through when Lawhead went on maternity leave, when a simple action from her boss helped put her anxieties at bay.

"As a female going on maternity leave can be somewhat isolating and a bit scary, because depending on how long you're gone, you're going through a lot of emotions from having a new child. I'm thinking, 'What'll happen at work?' And, 'Will I be thought of differently because I have to leave early to go pick my child up from daycare?'" explains Lawhead.

About a week before her maternity leave ended, Lawhead was off to drop her daughter at daycare for a trial run before returning to work. It was then that she received a call from her boss. He had been periodically texting her to check in, but the call prompted anxiety in her. He asked how things were going, and reminded her that she had nothing to worry about: that she was valued, wanted, and that the whole team was nothing but proud of her, and that she would have everything she needed to thrive as both a mother and an AutoZoner.

For Lawhead, it's precisely moments like that which have made her only want to grow her career within the aftermarket.

"That, to me, is the kind of emotional intelligence and level of leadership that creates unfounded trust," says Lawhead. "And so, for me, I wanted to come back, and I wanted to put my all into it for him—because he said he saw me and he valued me for who I am, and he valued me for being a female and a mother. I don't need to hide any of those things."