In 2020, Bethany Mach was one of the many people who found that the pandemic created a moment to step back and take a look at what they were doing with their careers.
For Mach’s part, that meant leaving her job as president of a New York City marketing agency and moving back to her hometown of Detroit. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do — except that I wanted to do something different. I hit the reset button,” Mach said. “It was a moment to take audit of who I am and what I wanted to do.”
But potential employers didn’t leave her alone for long. One that came knocking was website TrueCar. “I said no to TrueCar once; they wanted me to move to their California headquarters, which I wasn’t interested in doing,” Mach said. “Then they came back and told me they were moving their employees to working full remote.” So the second time, in late 2020, Mach said yes.
Today she serves as chief consumer officer for TrueCar, which has expanded from its price-comparison roots to create an online auto marketplace connecting car shoppers and dealers.
For Mach, coming back to the auto industry was a bit like coming back to the Detroit area. Like many people with Michigan roots, she had family connections in the car business.
“I remember playing with Matchbox cars as a kid. I was not a Barbie doll kind of girl,” she said.
In high school, Mach said, she found herself “bored — and I didn’t know what I wanted to do.” She earned her cosmetology license before graduating and became a hairdresser.
“After graduation, I wasn’t worrying about getting a job; I already was making money. But I started thinking about what I could do that was unique and creative and interesting,” Mach said.
She explored all sorts of options, from being a veterinarian to trying her hand at accounting.
Ultimately, Mach said, “I fell into marketing.” She got a marketing degree and scored a paid internship at Lifetime, the cable TV network, which “opened a whole new world of advertising and marketing that I didn’t know existed.” An excellent first boss and mentor helped teach her the basics of media buying and helped Mach get her first agency job. She went on to work in advertising, media and digital marketing for several leading agencies, which included working with General Motors and Jaguar Land Rover.
She said it was only in the past several years that she really became aware of the challenges of being a woman in the business world — and the feeling that she wasn’t always welcome.
“It wasn’t until I got to the senior executive levels that I really saw the difference. That’s when I really felt it,” Mach said. “I had to put myself into places I wasn’t invited to. That meant being bold and sometimes presumptuous. If I wasn’t invited, I had to get myself invited.”
Although she said she has experienced bias across the business world, she blames the auto industry’s particular bias on its “legacy thinking” as a male-dominated business.
Mach said her unique journey has taught her valuable lessons.
“One thing I’ve learned is that you must always be true to your values,” she said. “Don’t let money rule your decision-making. That led to some of the worst experiences of my career. At the time I thought that was the best thing for me, but I could have saved a lot of headache and heartache if I hadn’t let money guide my decisions.”
She added, “For many moons I have lived by this mantra: Always ask your questions. Because if you don’t ask, you’ll never know. A third of the way into my career, someone told me that, and it was great advice. So, my advice to other women is this: There are great opportunities at every level of the auto industry. But don’t be afraid of asking the important questions. It can be scary to be a woman; I know. I’m five foot tall and blonde. I can’t dominate spaces with my physical presence. That means you have to do it with your voice and your personality and being confident enough to ask those questions.”
My mantra: Always ask your questions
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