Students test decision making with former Toyota executive at Leaders in Action

Martha and Spencer Love School of Business students put their skills to the test on November 11 in the LaRose Digital Theatre, working through a fast-paced case study before presenting their ideas to former Toyota executive Sean Suggs as part of the Leaders in Action event.

Guided by faculty and Associate Dean Margarita Kaprielyan, teams focused on supply chain, legal, human resources and innovation. Each group had 15 minutes to respond to a real-world scenario, draft questions for the other teams and then refine their thinking before sharing their assessments.

“We wanted students to feel the complexity of decision-making and the collaborative nature behind it, not just read about it in a textbook,” said Kaprielyan. “Hearing Mr. Suggs respond directly to their questions highlighted how teams across different functions work together and how the concepts they study connect to real projects, real people and real organizational dynamics.”

Suggs, former president of Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina and a longtime manufacturing leader with Toyota, listened as teams talked through issues such as environmental impact, safety standards, career pathways and supply chain constraints.

“Think about your internal impact and then the external impact,” Suggs told students. “You have to protect the people who work inside your facility and remember that your neighbors are paying attention to what you do in their community.”

After the case study exercise, Suggs shared his own leadership journey, from growing up in Baltimore and serving in the U.S. Army to starting on the shop floor at Toyota and rising through roles in quality, production, human resources and strategic planning.

Throughout his talk, Suggs emphasized courage, authenticity and continuous learning as essentials for what he calls “catalyst leaders.”

“Great leaders are always looking for a better way,” he said. “You cannot do that alone. The team is the most important if you want to get big things done.”