Christie Coplen is a consultant in Spencer Stuart’s Industrial, Automotive and Technology Officer practices and a member of the firm’s Leadership Advisory Services team. She serves as the firm’s regional leader in the Midwestern region of the United States and heads the Detroit office. She is also a member of the global Industrial Practice leadership team. With nearly 20 years of experience in several broad-based industrial sectors, she is well-versed in the senior-level leadership needs and talent pool in related fields such as digital, product development, electrical and electronic products, software, mobility and operations. Christie has delivered global answers to board, C-suite and senior-level assignments across her sector, and also has expertise in executive assessment, top team effectiveness, succession planning and leadership development efforts.
Global management and industry experience
- Christie has diverse industry and consulting experience in North America and Europe. Before joining Spencer Stuart, she served as president and co-founder of Versicor, a provider of turnkey design to distribution support with a focus on Internet of Things, mechatronics, and software-based products within the industrial, health tech and consumer industries.
- Previously, Christie was director of advanced driver-assistance systems, electrical, thermal, interior and chassis engineering at Bright Automotive, an electrical commercial vehicles startup. Christie also served as director of vehicle engineering for Mercedes-Benz Technology, where she supported projects with a variety of partners, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Daimler Trucks and Fisker.
- Christie also spent more than a decade with DaimlerChrysler, holding advancing management positions that included two expatriate assignments in Mexico and Germany. At Daimler, she focused on the integration of advanced technologies related to advanced driver-assistance systems and improvements in Chrysler's innovation process, and was instrumental in the collaboration between Daimler, Daimler Research and Chrysler.
Christie is active in her community and serves on the board of the Metro Detroit Youth Clubs, Michigan, and is a member of the AutomotiveNEXT board at Inforum. Christie earned her B.S. in mechanical engineering from Auburn University, an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from Michigan State University.