Kim Zitny graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She has been involved with the automotive industry since 2000, and working at Teijin Automotive Technologies has been her first job in plastics.
Zitny joined Teijin — Continental Structural Plastics at the time — following a job offer from then-CEO Frank Macher. "CSP had no communications function at all," she said. Macher created the role for Zitny and told her she needed to "put CSP on the map."
"I had previously worked primarily with and for suppliers specializing in metal components, so I was very intrigued to learn more about the use of plastics/composites in the automotive industry," she said.
Putting the company on the map is a career highlight for Zitny. "In the process of doing that, I created all branding, marketing and communications mechanisms for this company from scratch, as literally nothing existed — not even a website," she said.
"When I started at the company, it was behaving from a go-to-market perspective as a materials supplier, attending only composites industry events. However, the company is actually a Tier 1 supplier to the automotive industry. We compound our own materials and then mold them into components for various OEMs in the transportation industry," she added.
After Zitny attended some automotive industry events and spoke with people from various automakers, "it became obvious that not only did they not know our company name [but also] they knew little, if anything, about the use of composites in the auto industry."
Her mission became — and continues to be — educating the automotive industry about using composites. "Today, composites are more frequently considered by automotive OEMs as alternatives to metal, but there is definitely opportunity to do more. I will continue to promote the benefits of composites over metals."
In her career, Zitny has won numerous awards from the International Association of Business Communicators for campaign strategies, writing and design.
As the director of corporate communications, Zitny is responsible for all internal and external communications for Teijin Automotive, including strategy development, public relations, marketing communications, advertising, social media and website, employee engagement and executive communications.
She takes an "outside the box" approach to the company's advertising and marketing initiatives. Zitny takes "great pride" in knowing that her efforts stand out, "further drawing attention to the messages associated with the use of composites."
"I get so frustrated when I hear someone in a meeting say, 'We tried that once 10 years ago…'" Don't let this type of attitude squelch your curiosity. Try it again," Zitny advised. "Technology is always changing, and you'll be drawing upon your own experiences and expertise, which could easily result in a different outcome."