Season 4 - Ep. 5 | In the Fast Lane: A Conversation with FIA CEO Natalie Robyn

Global business moves fast. But Formula One racing moves faster.

On today’s Redefiners episode, we talk with Natalie Robyn, the first ever CEO of the International Automobile Federation (or the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile or our French listeners). The FIA is the governing body for world motor sport, including Formula One, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and some of the world’s most exciting motorsports races on and off the track. Natalie shares her leadership story, shifting from auto production at Volvo, Nissan, and DaimlerChrysler, to auto racing. She talks about how she and the FIA team manage the challenges and complexity involved in managing 24 races in 21 countries on five continents, working with a variety of stakeholders, local politics and regulations to make it all happen successfully and safely.

Natalie talks about how the FIA parses through the more than three terabytes of data per Formula One car per race weekend to share data between competitions, which helps foster innovation and safety. All that data also helps inform sustainability as well, as Natalie outlines how the FIA plans to achieve their commitment to net zero emissions by 2030.

We’ll also hear from Dee Fitzgerald, a Managing Director in our Sydney office, who highlights how important it is for CEOs to have the right top team around them, and the five actions CEOs can take to maximize C-suite performance.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes:  

• The Business of Football with Los Angeles Rams COO Kevin Demoff
  

• Outwork the Competition: Jordan Brand’s Winning Strategy with President Sarah Mensah
  

• Transforming the Energy Sector with Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli

Natalie Robyn
CEO of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

Based in Geneva, Natalie is responsible for the successful operation and financial performance of an integrated and aligned FIA administration, as well as driving the overall strategy to deliver the leadership’s vision of reform the Federation.

She is also developing new commercial growth plans to increase and diversify the FIA’s revenue streams, ensuring financial stability to provide more resources for FIA Members.

Natalie is a leading international executive with over 15 years’ experience in both the automotive and financial sectors, with a proven track record of delivering diversification and growth, as well as developing executive leadership capabilities. Prior to joining the Federation, she has held a variety of senior management positions at Nissan, Daimler Chrysler and more recently at Volvo Cars.

Natalie holds a BA in International Business Strategy and Operations from Colgate University (Hamilton, NY, USA) and an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management (Phoenix, Arizona, USA).