Cathy Staelgraeve is the Plant Director at General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center’s Factory ZERO. She also served as the Assistant Plant Director for the same site. Before Factory ZERO, Staelgraeve served as Paint Shop Director at GM Lansing Delta Township.
A third-generation GM employee, Staelgraeve joined GM in 2016 as Senior Project Lead of Global Manufacturing Operational Excellence. She then became CI Lead for the Car/SUV sector and was the Assistant Plant Manager at Orion Assembly before her assignment in Lansing.
After starting her career at Chrysler, Cathy held diverse roles at multiple assembly plants across the company, including GA Area Manager, Quality Area Manager, World Class Manufacturing Manager, Process Reliability Manager in Body and Paint, and Body Shift Leader. An avid student of lean principles, including World Class Manufacturing, Staelgraeve has visited over 30 automotive manufacturing plants worldwide.
Staelgraeve earned her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and her master’s degree in Engineer and Industrial Management from Oakland University.