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Tabitha D. Wilkens has spent the past 32 years working full-time in the automotive industry, 30 of them at Ancira dealerships in San Antonio.
She says she got a taste of what the auto industry was like working part-time at a dealership through a co-op program during her senior year in high school. She returned to start a full-time career in the industry a few years later, and never looked back, she says.
Q: What is your current role in the automotive industry?
A.: I am the Chief Financial Officer of Ancira Enterprises Inc., the parent company of all Ancira dealerships.
Q.: Why did you choose the automotive industry?
A.: Honestly, a cashier job at an auto dealership was the hottest choice on a job list for my co-op program my senior year in high school.
Q: How did you get your first job in the industry?
A.: After graduating from high school, I left the automotive industry for a few years to focus on college. Then life started happening and I needed to work full time. I had really enjoyed my experience at the previous dealership I worked for and decided to seek employment in this industry again.
I literally opened the yellow pages, went to the car dealership section, and called the first dealership listed: Ancira Chrysler Plymouth Jeep Eagle. Luckily for me, they had just promoted their evening/weekend receptionist and were looking to fill this newly opened position.
Q: What is your overall view of working in the automotive industry? Is this what you imagined?
A.: I never imagined that the day I made that call from the Yellow Pages, I was beginning the path to a rewarding and lifelong career. The automotive industry can be very challenging and is not for someone intimidated by constant change. I love working in the car dealership industry and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Q: Is your current job your first in the industry, or have you had other roles?
A.: I had many roles that led me to my current job. I technically started as a cashier in the industry, but started as a receptionist in 1993 when I started my career at Ancira. I worked as a receptionist for a few years, then moved into the accounting office when they needed an Office Runner. This was the start of my journey of learning from every office in the accounting office and eventually becoming an accounting business manager. I then had the opportunity to work with our CFO, Betty Ferguson, at our head office. This was the start of Betty, our Vice President, Joey Blackmon, and our Owner, Ernesto Ancira, Jr. seeing my potential and preparing me in all aspects of the dealership world by allowing me to step out of accounting management. Not only did they send me to the NADA Dealer Academy, but they gave me the opportunity to be a parts and service manager and a parts manager to give me hands-on training and experience in leadership roles. other departments within the dealerships.
Q: Have you encountered any particular challenges as a woman working in an industry that is generally male-dominated?
A.: I would say the biggest challenge I had as a woman in this industry was being a single mom early in my career. I was blessed with wonderful supportive parents who helped me manage my busy schedule, late at night and sometimes on weekends. Although it was a struggle, it made me stronger and pushed me to achieve higher goals for myself and my daughters.
I was also fortunate to be surrounded by other successful women in the industry who inspired and mentored me, such as my first accounting manager, Karen Gwin, and our former financial manager, Betty Ferguson, who prepared for this position to take her place when she retired in 2019.
Q: What advice do you have for other women who might be considering a career in the automotive industry?
A.: The automotive industry has been dominated by men because women outside the industry simply don’t realize the opportunities available to them.
The chief accountants of our 11 dealerships are all women. Our Business Manager, Payroll Manager, Benefits Coordinator and [human resources] manager are all women. The assistants to our owner and executive vice president are women. Two of our parts managers at our dealerships are women. Two of our four vice presidents, April Ancira and Valerie Tackett. are women. We have women in our sales departments and our service departments.
The opportunities in our industry for a woman are endless if she is a confident, hardworking and team player with a great work ethic and drive to succeed. My advice is to do it!
Q: Would you recommend a position like yours to other women?
A.: I would most definitely recommend my position or ANY position in this industry that excites and challenges you. In my experience of many roles in this industry, I can’t think of any position a woman couldn’t do if she put her mind to it.
Q: Do you have any other comments you would like to add to your story?
A.: I’m a big fan of the automotive industry, but I’m an even bigger fan of the Ancira organization and all the great people (including my husband, Robert) that I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the course of of the past 30 years. They saw potential in me and gave me the opportunities that led me to where I am in my career today. Ernesto Ancira; his daughter, April; her husband and VPO, Jason Thompson; Joey Blackmon; and Valerie Tackett are all great leaders who always do what’s best for employees, customers and the company. I am honored to be part of this team!
