Chrysler Group Engineer Receives Prestigious Black Engineer of the Year “Visionary Award”

U.S. Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine awarded its 2012 Black Engineer of the Year Visionary Award (BEYA) to Larry Williams, Director, Interior Engineering, Chrysler Group LLC. Williams and other 2012 BEYA recipients were honored at the 27th BEYA Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Global Competitiveness Conference and Awards Gala on February 7-9 in Washington D.C.

The BEYA Conference honors outstanding leaders in the STEM fields and provides excellent opportunities for professional development, networking and recruiting. Chrysler Group has been the exclusive sponsor of the BEYA Gala for nearly two decades. Williams is the latest in a long list of BEYA-winning engineers at Chrysler Group.

“Larry is an accomplished engineer and exceptional leader who approaches both life and work with passion using his breadth of experience to create exceptional products while being committed to the development of young, talented engineers in our Company,” said Mark M. Chernoby, Senior Vice President, Engineering, Chrysler Group LLC. "Larry’s vision, drive and technical expertise has made him a valuable member of the Chrysler Engineering Team and a respected leader across the Company."

Williams was appointed Director of Interior Engineering at Chrysler Group in 2011. In this position, he is responsible for leading and managing all design, development and release of all interior systems and components for Chrysler Group vehicles. He joined Chrysler Corporation as a product development engineer in 1985.

“I owe much of who I am to the strong African-American leaders who met adversity and paved the way for my success,” Williams said. “Inspired by these outstanding people and role models, I know that it is both my responsibility and privilege to lead and inspire the next generation. I am very appreciative of this recognition of my career accomplishments.”

The magazine also honored Modern Day Technology Leaders (MDTL) at the conference, “bright, high performance, women and men shaping the future of engineering, science, and technology who demonstrate superior technical skills and leadership capability, generally at professional through senior manager levels.”

The following Chrysler Group engineers received this prestigious MDTL recognition:

• Mr. Anthony Abner, Business Planner
• Mr. Uchenna Amene, Quality Engineering Manager
• Mr. Mario Holmes, Chassis Project Responsible
• Ms. Trudy Robertson, Program Manager
• Ms. Nakia Simon, Senior Regulatory Engineer
• Ms. Kejuanna Thomas, Business Systems Lead
• Ms.Tracy Wilson, Program Manager

Courtesy of Chrysler Media