TaiJaune Robinson didn't expect to end up at GM Motorsports, but she made the decision to succeed.

TaiJaune Robinson has always been extraordinary. From childhood, she knew that engineering would be her career focus, and she took decisive steps to become an engineer as soon as possible. But instead of following a typical career path at General Motors, Robinson took a fast left turn into motorsports to manage GM's partnerships in NASCAR. Now she spends her days managing a cross-disciplinary and matrix-organized team to support the company's worldwide motorsports efforts.

On top of that, Robinson still finds time to give back to the community, teach Zumba dance classes, and to mentor young people as they explore and begin their own careers. Positive energy radiates from Robinson, and it's contagious. We recently spent an hour diving into that energy to see what drives her to succeed.

PRI: Looking at your resume, I noticed you attended "Early College" in your hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. Tell me about that.

Robinson: The Early College program is a partnership with Youngstown State University, which is my alma mater for two of my three degrees. It's offered to public school students in Youngstown. While you're in 9th and 10th grade, you complete all of your high school requirements. Then in 11th and 12th grade, you're at college taking freshman and sophomore courses. Through this program, I was able to complete an associate's degree in liberal arts and social sciences before I even got my high school diploma.

Another part of that program is that the remainder of their bachelor's degree is paid for. So not only do I have an associate's degree that's fully paid for, but I also have a bachelor's degree in engineering that I was able to complete in three years instead of four, fully paid for. If I'm not mistaken, this program is still going on to this day.

PRI: Another thing I've heard is that you like to lead by example. How do you express that in your career with GM?

Robinson: Getting into GM was my first "leap of faith" story that I tell anybody who will listen. I say that because again, born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, I never had the thought or even ambition to leave my city. Also, I am a woman of faith, and that's one thing that I feel paved my way. While I was finishing my bachelor's degree, I had an internship with a company in Ohio that promised me a full-time job at graduation. But about two months before graduation, my manager told me my internship was coming to an end and there was no job for me.

This was the first time in my life that I didn't have a plan, and I was scared. But it just so happened that this was the biggest blessing in disguise for me because it just so happened that I was already attending the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) regional conference. This is a professional network where I was able to interact with companies where I could potentially have a future. I landed interviews with General Motors and got my first job as a specification analyst. Even though that had nothing to do with engineering, this was my foot in the door.

TaiJaune Robinson said a "huge initiative" of hers is introducing young people to motorsports, particularly those with no racing background. Here Robinson (in the blue shirt) meets with students from Urban Youth Racing School before a Cup series race at Pocono Raceway.

PRI: How did you go from specification analyst to motorsports?

Robinson: As a specification analyst I was responsible for part numbers. I got to learn about the importance of managing every part on a car. I also had to learn about what happens if you don't manage that. I came in right after the Lucas Report came out with the ignition switch recall. When I came into such a sensitive time at General Motors, it was apparent to me that what we're doing every day is impacting lives. This is why GM takes safety so seriously.

Later I became an interior validation engineer, responsible for all our HVAC systems within the Cadillac CT6. After that, I became a design release engineer, where I owned the HVAC module inside of our C8 Corvette. Through every single one of those jobs, I used the skills I built and learned within those areas.

PRI: Then you went to the engineering side of GM Motorsports?

Robinson: Yes, engineering business manager for motorsports competition is my title right now. I've been in this role for three years now, and I absolutely love it. Moving to motorsports was another huge leap of faith because I had zero motorsports background. Plus, we had a brand-new facility that General Motors just built. We broke ground for our Charlotte Technical Center in 2021, opened the doors in 2022, and I was hired in 2022. I moved from Michigan to North Carolina, and the only thing I knew about NASCAR at the time is that there's cars going around on the track. My grandpa grew up in the segregated days, and we knew that this wasn't for us. So I had all these red flags that were popping up just based on preconceived notions. I explained that to my mentor at the time. She said that was all valid but just take a look at it and see if it speaks to you.

I had to sit back and really realize, well, wait a minute. Why am I scared? I'm not one that scares easy. Why am I afraid of going after this role? This is another unknown area, but it's just like the leap I took to get here, so why wouldn't I take another one? And also, if I was scared, who else out here is looking at a role like this, and maybe they are going to miss this opportunity because they're scared. This is an opportunity for me to lead by example.

PRI: Your job isn't like a regular manager. Your people are all over the company. How does that work in terms of leadership?

Robinson: I am an indirect leader. I don't have direct reports. That's harder than being a direct leader, because I can't say, "Hey, you need to do this because I said you do."

As an indirect leader, it is purely a matter of inspiration, empowerment, and having people want to follow you. My team members don't have to follow what I say. They don't have to do anything for me, but I try my best.

General Motors has a very strong team-oriented team-building culture. However, this is a combination of General Motors and motorsports. About 90% of my team came from race teams. They came from these environments that were not necessarily business-friendly or even business-appropriate, and it was because they never had to be. I'm not saying that you're wrong if you run a race team a certain way, but as a part of the mothership that is General Motors, I looked at this as my opportunity to try to change the culture.

PRI: You started working with NASCAR, but you have expanded that role. How far does your responsibility extend now?

Robinson: My role has evolved, and I'm responsible for all our series now. That includes NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA, NHRA, and off-road. Beginning in 2026, we'll be on grid for Formula 1. Every single one of those teams, everything that has a Chevy bow tie or Cadillac crescent, those are the teams that I am managing on the internal side. As far as our business operations, my job is to make sure that my team has all the tools and resources that it needs so that our partner teams have all the tools and resources that they need to be successful on the race track.

PRI: So if a team wants to switch to a GM platform, they speak to you?

Robinson: If a team wants to come over, their first point of contact is going to be our program managers. I work extremely closely with our program managers and try to keep everybody up to date, up to speed, and having the tools and resources that they need.

Then once we have all the legal things in place, we begin the phase of asking, "Okay, how can we help you be better?" Once we get to that part, you'll see my face and you'll be invited to the building. You'll come in for different meetings and you'll interact with every member of the team.

PRI: One of the things that you've mentioned is your passion for helping young people who don't come up through a motorsports background. How can the motorsports industry do better for the young people who don't grow up in racing?

Robinson: That is a huge initiative of mine. I've had the privilege of leading our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within motorsports competition. Our new name is the Motorsports Impact Committee. The purpose of that committee is to make sure that we are building connections, building relationships, and intentionally trying to grow the sport, both internal and external to General Motors.

When we're talking about providing opportunity, I think that the main focus should be providing experience and exposure. When I came to motorsports, I did not have exposure to what was available. I did not know anything about what it took to run a race team or that it was more than just the cars going around in a circle. Once I got exposed to it, it was a completely different thing.

Now we have several K–12 STEM initiatives where we actually take remote control cars and we have the kids set them up for racing. We're showing kids, at a much smaller scale, if we're talking about adjustments, this is what an adjustment may look like, and this is the impact. We also teach that it's more than just the driver. There is the engineer who's doing this stuff behind the scenes. There is a pit crew member who's putting the gas in the car. There is a mechanic who's checking these things. We teach that these opportunities exist in this industry, and here is how you can get a sneak peek of the day in the life of these people.

My biggest ask and suggestion to anybody who can impact youth is to simply provide the exposure. Simply provide the opportunity to have youth come to a race or to have them meet somebody, or even just to visit the technical center. I can't tell you how many times I've had kids come and visit and they love it. These opportunities are priceless. You're providing an experience, and as long as we follow through, we will naturally have that younger generation who wants to be in motorsports.

TaiJaune Robinson on a panel, "The New Leadership Challenge—Advancing Women's Leadership," at the 2024 SEMA Businesswomen's Network (SBN) Women's Leadership Forum. While she acknowledged that being a woman in the male-dominated motorsports industry can be "difficult," she also believes being young, Black, and female is her "superpower, because that is where I can lead through example."

PRI: You've said a lot about being an African-American in this business, but less about being a woman in a male-dominated industry, which is just as remarkable. Can you speak to that?

Robinson: I wouldn't say that it's an issue. I would say that it's an opportunity for improvement. I do talk heavily about being an African-American in the space, but I do also speak on being a woman in this space. I like to group those two together. I'm young, Black, and female, and some people may see that as a triple threat, but I see it as a superpower for me. Some people may say, "Well, wait a minute. You're young, Black, and female, what do you know about this industry? What are you trying to do? Are you trying to come in and take over?" There's so many different stereotypes that pop up just from those three characteristics.

But I look at that as a superpower because that is where I can lead through example. You can simply see me, and I stick out because I am young, Black, and female. When I walk through that garage, I use that to my advantage because I want people to understand that you don't have to look a certain way to be an expert in these different environments. We really should be respecting each other regardless of how old you are, or what color you are. It doesn't even matter. But yes, being a woman in this space is difficult. We still go through those times, even now, where people view women as less-than. Because I'm a Black woman, I know what it feels like to be viewed as less-than on both sides of the spectrum.

PRI: Have you experienced discrimination at race tracks?

Robinson: There's been plenty of times where I'm at the race track and I have to show my hard card directly to somebody to make sure that they know that I'm supposed to be there. While that makes me so angry in the moment, it's also my job to kill people with kindness and simply say, "It's all right. You're just doing your job." But I didn't see those people check any of the white men or women who walked past. Those are some of the hardest moments. But I'm going through it right now so that the younger people coming up won't have to. We're slowly but surely breaking these generational curses. I understand that while it may not be fair, I have a responsibility to swallow my pride and say, "Yes, I am an engineer. I'm supposed to be here. I'll answer all your questions so I can do my job." Sometimes that's what it takes.

PRI: That's a heavy burden to carry, but you also make time to give back to the community outside of racing, and you're working to bring STEM education and racing to kids. Tell me about your extracurricular activities.

Robinson: Outside of work, I'm a math tutor for kids from kindergarten to college. I also own a nonprofit organization called the Pop Up series where we work to promote a healthy lifestyle while having fun. I'm a certified Zumba instructor. I was a dance line coach, a cheerleading coach, and all these things helped to build who I am.

I also helped create the Racing With Rajah program to focus on how STEM leads to speed. Rajah Caruth is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver, and he is motivated by the younger generation, and he has a passion for STEM and understanding how things work. He started in iRacing, so we're bringing a whole new perspective into this. This program is powered through GM Motorsports as well as Microsoft. We bring together two giants to make sure that we're not only touching on the career opportunities, but the technology that's used here. We're getting those young developers, those young coders, and showing them that the stuff that they love to do on that game every weekend can become a career.

PRI: Do you have anything else you'd like to make sure we cover?

Robinson: The only thing I have to add is what I tell anybody who will listen: The only choice you have to make is a choice to be great. I say that time and time again because it is no easy task to lead by example and to throw yourself into this industry. If you get up every day and choose to lead, you choose to do good work, everything else will work out. That's how I'm able to be an engineer, how I'm able to lead this group of extremely smart individuals. That's how I'm able to interact with these drivers and interact with these technical directors of these teams and bring a fresh new perspective. That's how I'm able to make an impact on our community. Don't let anyone tell you that you have to choose between what you're really good at and what you love to do. You can put it all together. I do it every day.

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