Sharon Kitzman, President of Dominion DMS 

2021 Honoree

President
Dominion DMS 

What is the proudest accomplishment of your career thus far?  

I cannot say it is one moment, but a number of little ones. Anytime a client thanks me for helping them improve their business results, or a team member thanks me for helping them develop their skills or advance their careers. I do a lot of things in my daily work that I do not think much about, but I am always surprised when I realize how some of those things are appreciated by others.  

  

What is your best advice to other women who want to excel in the automotive industry?  

If you’re able, learn the automotive industry from the dealer’s point of view. You may have heard the phrase, “nothing happens until you sell something.” That is true in automotive as well, and that happens at the dealerships. Until you understand the complexity of their operations, the pride they take in serving their communities and the responsibility they feel to their consumers, you will never understand the most important part of the industry.  

  

What are some of the ways you have seen the industry support women?  

When I started in the industry and would walk into an OEM or dealership, you would not see another woman until you walked into the accounting department. Now I see women in every aspect of the industry. Somewhere along the way, the industry started to give women more opportunities, and those trailblazers supported and encouraged other women to join the industry and the companies they love.  

  

What is one thing the industry could do better/differently to support women?   

I would love to see more mainstream media coverage of the industry in a way that highlights the technology and people aspect of it. We stream medical dramas, binge on crime junkie podcasts and swipe through the latest dances, but there is almost nothing influencing young women about this high-tech, people-based industry.