Brave Conversations in Automotive Leadership
Stephani Westphal’s Keys to Success
Stephani Westphal
Regional Director of Sales and Marketing at CF Search Marketing, WIA 2025 Speaker
In her WIA2025 session “She’s Got the Keys,” Stephani Westphal invited women to break the silence around the very topics we’ve been told to keep quiet—compensation, career moves, and clarity. As Regional Director of Sales and Marketing at CF Search Marketing, she’s seen firsthand how transparency fuels equity and how strategy paired with sisterhood can change the game. In this post-session interview, Stephani reflects on why brave conversations matter, how women can advocate for themselves with confidence, and what it looks like to stop shrinking and start sharing—on purpose.
A young woman walks into Digital Dealer 2008, watches Joe Webb command the stage, and thinks, “One day, that’ll be me.” Fast forward to Women in Automotive 2025 in Nashville, and that same woman—now a seasoned Regional Director with two decades of automotive experience—is sharing her truth with a room full of women who’ve been waiting to hear it.
That woman is Stephani Westphal, and her message couldn’t have come at a better time.
“If one person can take one thing from this, I will be honored,” Stephani told her kids before taking the stage. As it turns out, far more than one person took far more than one thing. They took permission. They took courage. They took the keys.
The Power of Being in the Room Where It Happens
You know that feeling when someone finally says out loud what you’ve been thinking for years? That’s what happened when Stephani addressed one of the most profound truths about women in automotive leadership.
“We were the ones in the room watching when everyone was leading,” she shared during our conversation, her voice carrying the weight of countless meetings where women took notes while men took charge. “We just sat there because we couldn’t necessarily have a voice. And however we did, we just didn’t and couldn’t converse it.”
The response was immediate and visceral. An independent dealer approached Stephani afterward, tears in her eyes. “That hit me so hard,” the woman confided, explaining how she and her husband had started a dealership together to spend more time as partners, yet found herself silent in strategy meetings despite having creative ideas bursting to get out.
Sound familiar? If you’ve ever swallowed your brilliant suggestion or prefaced your expertise with “This might be wrong, but…”—you’re not alone. And more importantly, you’re not powerless.
Breaking Through the "Automotive Quicksand"
Twenty years in this industry has taught Stephani a fundamental truth she’s not afraid to share: “Auto’s quicksand. It’s hard to get out, and I’ve tried, but it sucks you right back in.”
But here’s the twist—she wouldn’t have it any other way.
This isn’t Stockholm syndrome talking. It’s the voice of someone who’s discovered that the very challenges that make automotive tough are the ones that make success here so meaningful. When you earn respect in this industry, you’ve truly earned it. When you find your worth here, nobody can take it away.
“I had to always try to find my worth in this business,” Stephani admits, referencing early career struggles with a GM who made her question everything. “But I knew that I had to earn the respect, and I did eventually.”
That “eventually” carries so much power. It acknowledges the journey without diminishing the destination. It gives permission for progress to be gradual while insisting it be inevitable.
The Human Component in an AI World
Let’s address the elephant in the showroom: AI isn’t going anywhere. But neither are you.
In our interview when I asked her about AI’s impact on the human component of automotive sales and marketing, Stephani’s response was refreshingly grounded: “You still have to have the human component. When you go and do anything on AI, at the very bottom it says, disclaimer, this may not be accurate.”
She’s caught those inaccuracies numerous times. The point isn’t that AI is bad—it’s that AI without human insight, empathy, and authenticity is just expensive autocorrect.
“AI is not going anywhere, and it’s going to continue,” she acknowledges. “It’s like training the dragon—it’s all of what you make of it.”
Think about it: AI can send follow-up emails, but can it read the pause in a customer’s voice when they’re not quite sold? Can it celebrate with a first-time buyer or comfort someone trading in their late parent’s car? The technology handles the tedious tasks that burn people out, freeing you to do what only you can do—connect, empathize, and build real relationships.
Making Yourself Memorable (With or Without an "i")
Here’s something delightfully specific about Stephani: Her name ends with an “i”—no “e.” And she’s turned that small distinction into a career-long advantage.
“Hi, I’m Stephani with an ‘i,’ hard stop, no ‘e,'” has been her introduction for two decades. “To this day, everybody remembers me that way.”
What’s your version of this? What makes you unforgettable?
Maybe it’s not about your name. Maybe it’s your approach, your expertise, your unique perspective as someone who’s navigated both dealership and vendor sides of the business. The point is to identify what sets you apart and own it completely.
“Every one of us has to pave our own way,” Stephani insists. “It’s what can you do to set yourself apart and make yourself memorable.”
The Ripple Effect of Empowerment
Perhaps the most powerful moment in our conversation came when Stephani shared something her almost-16-year-old son told her after getting his school schedule. He’d signed up for a sales class—without telling her.
“Why did you choose sales?” she asked.
“Because of you,” he replied. “I see where you’ve been and how successful you are. I’ve seen what you’ve struggled with, but how you’ve been able to overcome this. I want nothing more than to be just like you.”
This is what happens when we stop hiding our struggles and start sharing our stories. When we speak up in meetings. When we negotiate for what we’re worth. When we take the stage even though our knees are shaking.
We don’t just change our own trajectories—we change the expectations of everyone watching.
From Imposter to Inspiration
“I think that we don’t feel like we’re worthy enough and capable enough to be able to have that success,” Stephani reflects on the urgent opportunities facing women in automotive marketing today. “We could run circles around these people, you know what I mean? Like, just do it.”
The shift from imposter syndrome to inspiration isn’t about suddenly feeling confident all the time. It’s about acting despite the doubt. It’s about remembering that every woman who seems to have it all together once stood exactly where you’re standing, wondering if she belonged.
“This event specifically is really, truly empowering them to understand we’re not alone,” Stephani emphasizes about Women in Automotive 2025. “You are the only one that’s in charge of your destiny, and so you have to make it.”
Your Theme Song Moment
When asked what theme song would play behind her marketing style, Stephani didn’t hesitate: “She’s Got the Look” by Roxette. It’s a full-circle moment from her early career days, a reminder that sometimes the soundtrack of our success was written long before we knew we’d need it.
What’s yours? What song captures your professional essence? More importantly, are you playing it loud enough for others to hear?
The Bottom Line: Just Be Yourself (But Make It Strategic)
If there’s one takeaway Stephani hopes attendees carry long after Women in Automotive 2025, it’s deceptively simple: “Just being themselves and doing something different.”
But here’s what makes this advice golden—it’s not just “be yourself” in that vague, greeting-card way we’ve all heard before. It’s strategic authenticity. It’s knowing your worth and articulating it clearly. It’s finding your unique value proposition and making it impossible to ignore.
“This isn’t rocket science,” Stephani reminds us, “but people get so scared. People don’t want to call anymore if you don’t want to email, and it’s just everybody behind their phone just texting. That’s not doing anybody service.”
The pandemic may have given us digital walls to hide behind, but women like Stephani are showing us how to tear them down—one brave conversation at a time.
Moving the Needle Forward
As our interview wrapped up, Stephani shared something that perfectly encapsulates why spaces like Women in Automotive matter so deeply: “Everybody’s stories are kind of weirdly the same, because of all the microaggressions, all the stuff that we had to live through to get to where we are. We’re all here for a reason. And it’s because we truly believe in this industry and where we’re going. Sure as hell, we’re going to dominate it.”
That’s not just confidence talking. That’s prophecy.
Twenty years ago, Stephani watched someone inspire an audience and thought, “I can do that.” At WIA 2025, in that Nashville conference room, another woman watched Stephani and thought the same thing. The cycle continues, the ripple expands, and the industry transforms—one brave voice at a time.
Because here’s what Stephani knows that she wants you to know too: You’ve missed a hundred percent of the shots you never take. The worst someone can say is no. And the best? Well, the best might just change everything.
So take the keys. They’ve always been yours anyway.
Ready to unlock your full potential in the automotive industry? Join the conversation and connect with powerful women like Stephani who are reshaping our industry’s future. Explore our resources at Women In Automotive and become part of a community that doesn’t just support your journey—we accelerate it. Because when women in automotive rise together, we don’t just move the needle. We move mountains.
