Sosia Causeret Josten
New Venture Analyst | Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. | Age: 33
What was your first job in the industry?
I started in the tire industry with Goodyear in 2019 in the Luxembourg Innovation Lab driving new mobility solutions forward.
What attracted you to the industry?
The possibility of being part of the Beyond Tires team means working on exciting new connected solutions while building on more than 120 years of tire expertise. For me taking such an emblematic company into a new era is just a wonderful and unique opportunity.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced in your career?
A few years ago, I collaborated with a start-up focusing on digital services linked to brick-and-mortar retail. This was an extremely fast-paced time which opened my mind and knowledge in multiple ways. I was convinced of the product and stepped all-in to make it happen. Unfortunately, after some time we made the decision to put the business on hold. At that moment it was hard for me to admit that the idea and vision we had didn't work out, after all these efforts. Today, I can look back at this period as one of my most enriching experiences, even though it took me time to accept failure and grow with it. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why I am working in innovation today.
Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
There are two extremely smart and strong women that I had the luck to have as managers. Their determination in their careers and their flexibility in their work-life balance inspired me and helped me in my own career choices.
What is your biggest accomplishment in the industry?
Being part of the launch team of Goodyear SightLine — Goodyear's new suite of tire intelligence technologies — is my biggest accomplishment in the industry. It is extremely thrilling to be driving an innovation over years and seeing it finally coming to market.
Tell us about your current job and responsibilities. How do you spend your work day?
As a new venture analyst in the Beyond Tires department at the Goodyear Innovation Center Luxembourg, I am in daily contact with interesting, new, connected technologies and specifically in the tire intelligence space. My job is to discuss with automakers, autonomous system providers and start-ups in the mobility space how tire intelligence can enhance their value proposition. At the same time I am in constant contact with our internal hardware and software development teams to translate customer needs into technology requirements and share our tire intelligence technologies’ roadmap. My work is an integral part of Goodyear’s advanced mobility strategy and helps to add a mobility provider pillar to our business.
What’s one thing you wish someone would have told you before you took your current job?
That tires are way more exciting and complicated than I thought. I would have considered my vehicle and it’s adhesion to the road in a different manner.
Tell us about your family.
I am married to a French and we are living with our cat, who is bilingual German / French, in an old farm house that we are renovating step by step.
What did you learn about yourself in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic?
COVID-19 made me aware of the chance we have living in well-established, safe countries with a working health system. This means as well that sometimes re-focusing on basic things like the luck of being healthy is the most important baseline of your life.
Name a talent you wish you had.
I love driving and I am in deep admiration for test and race drivers. I would love to know how they do it and even participate in hobby races.
How do you recover from a bad or stressful day?
Going out into nature, whether jogging or by bike is balm to my soul and grounds me back into reality.
What’s the best book you’ve read lately?
I love reading books that take place somewhere I know, so I read a lot of stories taking place in the South of France. Recently I read a philosophic approach of analyzing a sailor’s life, who was stranded in Marseilles. The whole introverted discussion about why loving the sea more than your family, house, home, was a really interesting approach to self-reflection.
What’s your favorite, can’t-miss podcast?
I am regularly listening to a German podcast named “Die Boss – Macht ist weiblich” (The Boss – Power is female), where influential female leaders discuss the struggles and opportunities for women in business.
If you won an Olympic gold medal, how would you have earned it? (You can make up a sport.)
If Crossfit ever gets an Olympic discipline, my dream would be to win the gold medal. I have been doing Crossfit for years now, but having a goal to achieve a gold medal would definitely push me to train harder.
What’s the biggest issue facing the industry today?
I wouldn’t necessarily call it an issue, more like a challenge. The trend of moving from personal car ownership to shared usage also brings the challenge of maintenance responsibility, which can easily become a real safety issue in respect to tires.
What advice would you give to tire dealers who are desperate to find good employees?
Try to create an appealing workplace people can be proud of. The new generation cares a lot more about purpose in their jobs and real appreciation. The whole industry needs to rethink the rather old-fashioned ways of doing business that persist. Covid in that way is a chance to pick up new ways of working.
What do you expect to be doing 20 years from now?
Leading Goodyear — just joking. I see myself still driving successful innovations in the automotive industry.
