"Leadership is about taking every one to the next level"

LKQ DELIVERS great every day, and will continue to do so – based on our LKQ Corporate Values: Development, Excellence, Leadership, Integrity & Trust, Value Added, Embracing Change, Resourceful and Sustainability. The values define who we are at the very heart of our business and provide orientation. Antonio Calvosa, Vice President Strategy & Innovation, shares with us his thoughts about leadership.

What does Leadership mean to you and why is it important?

Leadership is about taking not only our company, but each and every one to the next level. That is why, in my view, leadership is so important. It implies moving forward and achieving what we want to achieve.

Looking at it from a business perspective, the €100+ billion European auto parts market and LKQ provide the scale, size, dynamics and complexity along with a multiplicity of opportunities to innovate and develop. This is very exciting for everyone. To succeed in our business and any other business I would encourage us to think about a couple of leadership attributes in particular: diligence, energy, collaboration, authenticity and, most of all, ownership – and how we live them everyday.

How does Leadership impact your function?

My team strives to help identify, prioritize and execute initiatives that we believe are best for LKQ today and tomorrow – from Strategy, M&A, Marketing, Innovation, to Project Management Office. In short, we work on how LKQ Europe leads on electrification, or launch a new product brand, complete an acquisition or alliance, a business project or a segment business plan.

We are taking the lead from the front in some of our initiatives; but is also important to understand that leadership sometimes means to take a back seat and just give support to our colleagues. It is the mix of the breadth and depths of our activities, the multicultural aspect of our teams and the profile of our activities that exposes our talent to new situations outside of our comfort zones and allows us develop on the job or discover new abilities.

Understood properly, leadership is a (corporate) value that adds value to our teams and business.

Why is Leadership important for our sustainability strategy?

I believe in the legacy leadership can provide, the world we can build everyday for a better and that we leave for the next generations. With this in mind, we need to make sure to prioritize and execute on the opportunities that have a long term future and positive impact on our planet, people and communities in which we operate.

But that’s not enough. We need to do so in a way that is affordable, practical and does not leave an unbearable cost or debt to our current and next generations. That’s where good leaders make a difference in identifying those suitable and winning paths that leave distractions behind and pave the way for a sustainable future. 

Why is ‘leadership’ important as a corporate value and how do you ‘live’ it in your day-to-day role?

Leadership is about our people, about all of us. It impacts the way we interact and collaborate, to how we drive business activities and deliver results. But it also has an effect on how we manage our personal development, well-being and the care of our family members and friends. At the same time, it is as important to focus on the content and make choices, so we continue to deliver what works and leave behind what doesn’t work for the benefit of our teams, customers, and stakeholders.

On a daily basis, I try to balance between various aspects: on hand the evolution of our business, the internal and external environment with the required functional guidance, and the attention to each individual and their work in their team, their feedback, personal and professional aspirations. Personally and at LKQ, I am aiming to create an inclusive culture and safe environment, where all ideas are brought to the table, are being discussed, and operationalized, so that our teams continue to deliver exceptional services, products, and achievements.

Why? When we look at the bigger picture and how it all comes together, we can say that on a day-by-day basis, we are building our journey to the next level together and be LKQ Proud!