2009 Women of Color Award Winners
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT – CAREER ACHIEVEMENT - Industry
Industry
Cheryl Johnson, PMP, EVP
Jayanthi Iyengar Senior Associate
Director and Chief Engineer
Booz Allen Hamilton
Hybrid Electronic Vehicles Product Development
BA – business management & economics
Chrysler LLC
North Carolina State University
BSc – mechanical engineering, Mysore
University, India
MSc – mechanical engineering, Indian
Institute of Technology, Bombay, India
Cheryl Johnson is a certifi ed earned value
MSc –mechanical engineering, Wayne State professional (EVP) with more than 20
University, Detroit, MI
years experience in program and project
management. She is the seventh person in the United States
to earn the coveted EVP designation from the Association for
When Chrysler announced voluntary termination for its em-
the Advancement of Cost Engineering. AACE established the
ployees at a critical time last year, Jayanthi Iyengar’s organiza-
certifi cation to recognize high-level competency in the devel-
tion became 40 percent smaller overnight. In response, she
opment and implementation of earned-value management.
called a town meeting the next day and shared her action
plan with staff: As a team they would determine where the
Johnson is proud to be registered as EVP 007, which makes her
gaps were and map out a plan utilizing everyone’s input and
fully licensed, and a little dangerous. As an earned value ex-
ideas.
pert, she is responsible for ensuring IT programs are monitored
and cost, scheduling, risk and performance are kept on track.
Described as a “take-action, approachable leader,” Iyengar has
won respect and admiration for her problem solving as well
Defense agencies were leaders in applying established industry
as her interpersonal skills. She leads an organization of 125
guidelines to enforce the earned value management (EVM)
employees with an $80-million budget for developing power
process in information technology projects at federal agencies.
trains for a hybrid fl eet,
Through her leadership, Booz Allen’s EVM process achieved
Department of Defense certifi cation in 2000. Johnson has also
Since joining Chrysler in 1997, she has held a series of sig-
supported various national-security clients in monitoring per-
nifi cant leadership positions in the engineering organization.
formance of development contractors on programs such
Some of her accomplishments include the introduction of
as classifi ed imaging satellites and advanced information
electronic throttle technology in 2003, which enabled break-
technology.
through innovations to emerge— automatic cruise control and
the calibration of the 2001 Dodge Caravan plus the Chrysler
In her current post, she supports the fi rm’s largest information
Town & Country minivan, with a 3.8-liter engine.
technology systems development and integration programs
with the government. Johnson and her team have implement-
The new engine was best in its class in performance, and it
ed procedures and processes that have saved millions of dol-
signifi cantly contributed to increased sales and market share
lars. Recently, she led an effort to redraw project baselines for
for the Chrysler Group. Similar achievements with the 5.7-liter
a program whose initial requirements were completely at odds
HEMI® hybrid power train for both the Dodge Durango and
with its technical design and cost projections. She was able to
Chrysler Aspen SUVs made it able to deliver more than 25-
get the $40-million program on a solid foundation delivering
percent improvement in fuel economy, including an improve-
promising capabilities on time and on budget.
ment of nearly 40 percent in city driving.
In acknowledgement of her role in developing the processes
The future of the automobile is changing. Chrysler forecasts
and procedures required to institutionalize the fi rm’s earned
that at least 50 percent of the auto market will consist of pure
value management, Booz Allen cited Johnson with its most
electric vehicles or extended range electric vehicles by around
prestigious recognition— the Professional Excellence Award.
2020. To make that level of electrifi cation possible, Iyengar has
been instrumental in helping design and develop the academ-
Johnson developed a signifi cant portion of the fi rm’s intellec-
ic programs to support advanced hybrid electric vehicles.
tual capital in program and project management and earned-
value management. Much of the knowledge base is part of
The initiative, which proposes a $150-million program with
the corporate-wide training available online and is utilized
the Department of Energy for plug-in hybrid-vehicle develop-
extensively in proposals and presentations. Johnson mentors
ment, is a collaboration of eighteen state and local govern-
junior engineers who have shown interest in pursuing profes-
ments, universities, research and development organizations,
sional project-management or engineering tracks.
non-profi ts and the US military.
She is an active member of the Project Management Institute
In addition to her professional life, Iyengar volunteers her time
and the Association for the Advancement of Computing in
at the Accounting Aid Society, which was named “Best-Man-
Education. She also is passionate about Dragon Boat Racing.
aged Nonprofi t for 2008 by Crain’s Detroit Business. This year,
Johnson represented Team USA during the 2001 World Cham-
she recruited six other Chrysler employees to dedicate their
pionships as part of the Women Masters Team.
time to helping others by providing free tax assistance during
the early part of the tax season.
www.womenofcolor.net WOMENOFCOLOR | FALL 2009 25
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