From Engineer to Global Executive: Nashay Naeve on the Leadership Shifts That Power High-Performing Teams

Nashay Naeve, President of the Engineered Plastic Components Business Unit at Tsubaki-Nakashima, brings a rare and inspiring perspective as one of the few women leading three global manufacturing plants (based in Michigan, Italy, and the UK) while overseeing operations from her home in Georgia. KB-Resource had the opportunity to interview Nashay for her advice to the design community executives. In the following interview, Nashay provides actionable, relevant lessons from her journey to help our own. We hope you enjoy them!  — Jim Nowakowski, on behalf of KB-Resource.

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KB-Resource: Thanks for agreeing to speak with us, Nashay. Your career path spans mechanical engineering to overseeing three international manufacturing plants. I don’t know how many women in the world can say that, so looking back, what personal mindset shift mattered most in moving from “problem solver” to “strategic leader”?

Nashay: “The real shift for me was moving from a reactive, short-term problem solver to a leader who thinks in systems and time horizons. As an engineer, I thrived on fixing what was right in front of me. But leading global plants required a different gear: stepping back, building a structured, data-driven view of the business, and making deliberate choices about where to invest time, capital, and talent. Developing a clear decision framework rooted in priorities and tradeoffs became essential. It allowed me to guide teams with intention rather than urgency, and to shape outcomes instead of simply responding to them.”

 

KB-Resource: You manage teams in Michigan, Italy, and the UK while operating from Georgia. What has global leadership taught you about communication styles, decision-making, and human motivation that surprised you most? Our audience regularly encounters diverse cultures in their work — even without leaving the U.S.

Nashay: “Global leadership has reinforced something simple but powerful: people everywhere want authentic, trustworthy leadership. That part doesn’t change with geography. What does change is how comfortable different cultures, and even different groups within the same site, are with openness. Some teams speak up quickly; others are more reserved or cautious. What surprised me most is how much those barriers dissolve once I invest the time to know people personally. When I show genuine interest in who they are, not just the work they do, communication opens up, decision-making gets sharper, and motivation becomes intrinsic. The lesson for me has been that cultural differences matter, but human connection matters more.”

 

KB-Resource: As a woman in a traditionally male-dominated manufacturing sector, how did you learn to balance assertiveness with authenticity — especially in moments where your authority may have been challenged? (This feels nearly universal and deeply relevant.)

Nashay: “For me, the balance wasn’t so much about gender as it was about grounding myself in confidence and building real trust with the people I work with. When my authority was challenged, the turning point was usually demonstrating competency in the areas that mattered: showing I understood the business, the technology, or the problem at hand. But I also learned that authority isn’t built on expertise alone. Sometimes the most powerful leadership move is vulnerability: being willing to say, “I don’t know,” or “I’m not the expert here.” That honesty creates trust faster than trying to prove something. Authenticity, not posture, is what ultimately earns respect.”

 

KB-Resource: If 2025 distilled itself into three leadership lessons for you, what would they be — and how might they apply to women running their own design practices or creative firms?

Nashay: “First, lead with authenticity. This year reminded me that people follow what’s real, not what’s perfectly polished. Transparent leadership builds trust faster than any strategy deck ever could. Whether you’re running a manufacturing business or a design studio, showing up as your full self gives your team permission to do the same.

Second, people are the engine of every success. No matter how sophisticated the technology or how ambitious the vision, it always comes down to the team. Hiring well, investing in talent, and creating an environment where people can thrive is the closest thing to a competitive advantage any leader has — especially in creative fields where culture fuels output.

And third, uncertainty is constant — so your response is the differentiator. There’s never a “steady” year. Markets shift, customer needs change, and internal realities evolve. What matters most is how you adapt, stay grounded, and make decisions with imperfect information. For women running design or creative firms, this resilience becomes a superpower: navigating ambiguity with clarity, confidence, and forward momentum.”

 

KB-Resource: Change a philosopher once said is the only constant. What great advice you’ve offered us. Speaking of advice, in high-pressure environments where the 3Ps (performance, precision, and profitability) converge, how do you define resilience — and how does that differ from how the term is commonly used? I recently explored this topic myself and would be especially interested in your perspective. I believe our audience would be as well.

 Nashay: “Well resilience isn’t just about pushing through, you know, it’s the ability to lead steadily through uncertainty. Even when conditions shift, you still have to find a way to be predictable in the things that matter: things like hitting targets, supporting your team, maintaining standards. Sometimes such response requires creative problem-solving, unconventional approaches, or rethinking the plan entirely, but the outcome stays anchored.”

 

KB-Resource: That makes sense. Let me ask, for women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) or design who feel technically capable but hesitant about stepping into executive or ownership roles that would require such resilience, what internal narrative must change first?

Nashay: “The first mindset shift is that you have to trust yourself. Confidence isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room. Confidence is really about taking a moment to look back at the evidence – all of the evidence. Think about the times you led a project, or influenced a decision, or even just got people on board with your idea. Those are the moments that count. Those are the moment that define leadership. And there are many in your audience who are already doing this — you just have to recognize those moments and let that truth carry you to the next level.”

 

KB-Resource: It is about levels, isn’t it? So let me ask you, what does a truly high-performing team look like to you. How do you foster psychological safety without sacrificing such accountability?

Nashay: “For me, a truly high-performing team is one that’s learning, growing, and delivering — not just executing tasks. It’s a team that can evaluate and make decisions, fail fast, pivot when needed, and still move the business forward. That’s what performance really looks like. And when it comes to psychological safety, people often think it means lowering the bar. It’s actually the opposite. Psychological safety is giving people the confidence to speak up, share ideas, call out issues, and make decisions without fear.

When people feel safe enough to use their voice, they naturally take more ownership. They hold themselves, and each other, accountable because they’ve been part of the thinking, not just the doing. The result? A team that doesn’t wait to be told what to do, but one that drives outcomes because they feel both empowered and responsible.”

 

KB-Resource: What about sharing a moment where a setback or “failure” ultimately sharpened your leadership philosophy or accelerated your growth? The idea that winning and losing are inseparable has always resonated with me, and I would value your take on this.

 Nashay: “I often can’t even recall “failures” because, in my mind, failures are just learning moments I can often turn into forward momentum. A recent example is when we shipped a part that didn’t meet customer expectations due to a miscommunication. It wasn’t catastrophic, but it was a clear miss, and on me for not setting expectations clearly, especially around presentation.

What mattered was the response. We remade the part immediately, expedited it, and delivered quickly. The customer appreciated the way we handled it so much that the relationship actually strengthened.

Missteps will happen. What defines you is how fast you learn, pivot, and move forward.”

 

KB-Resource: It’s interesting you take responsibility for that. I’ve seen that type of response before, where the solving of the problem strengthens the relationship instead of letting the mistake break it. It seems to be one of the unwritten lessons that executives need to learn. To do that, don’t you often need emotional awareness of yourself? How do you maintain empathy and emotional awareness while managing complex operational metrics, financial pressures, and production objectives?

Nashay: “For me, empathy and emotional awareness start with staying close to the people doing the work. When you spend time on the floor, listening to what teams are facing, and creating space for honest conversations, it naturally grounds your leadership even when the metrics and financial pressures are intense.

I’ve learned that you don’t have to choose between people and performance. When you understand what your team needs, you just make better decisions and decisions better because you remove barriers faster, and set clearer priorities. That’s how you hit production and financial goals and keep your team supported.”

 

KB-Resource: So when young women look at your career and ask, “Can I do that too?” — what do you want them to understand about the realities, sacrifices, and rewards of leadership?

Nashay: “Leadership is incredibly rewarding, you get to watch teams grow, see people step into their potential, deliver real value to the company, and make a meaningful impact on customers. Those moments make all the hard days worth it.

That being said, every day is a prioritization exercise. Leading a global business means being with people, spending time on the floor, visiting customers, traveling, and that creates tradeoffs in other parts of life.

It’s not about having perfect balance. It’s about choosing what matters most in each moment, giving yourself grace when things aren’t even, and remembering why you’re doing the work in the first place.

And yes — they absolutely can do it too.”

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KB-Resource would like to thank Nashay for her time and responses which our audience sincerely appreciates. Questions or comments: [email protected]