American Society for Quality Automotive Division Announces 2024 Quality Awardees and Awards Dinner
Join the ASQ Automotive Division on March 20th, 2025, for our Awards Dinner and Ceremony!
This year’s award ceremony will take place March 20th, 2025, at Polish American Cultural
Center, 2975 E. Maple Road Troy, MI 48083 starting at 5:30 pm.
Registration Link
$25/Person
If you would like to be a sponsor for this event reach out to Lou Ann Lathrop louannlathrop@live.com
Quality Awards Include:
Quality Leader of the Year
The Quality Leader of the Year Award was established to acknowledge and publicly recognize those
leaders in the automotive industry, outside of the quality profession, who exemplify a commitment to the
principles and disciplines of quality. A quality leader may be described in a number ways, although
certain key words come up frequently in trying to pin down a description. Those key words are: vision,
customer-focused, quality philosophy and continuous improvement. A leader in the automotive industry
may be described as one who has consistently demonstrated the vision to encourage and to universally
apply a customer-focused code in every aspect of business.
This year’s Quality Leader of the Year is Dan Nicholson
Dan Nicholson retired at the end of 2024 as the General Motors Vice President, Strategic
Technology Initiatives. Prior to this appointment, Dan was General Motors Vice President of Global
Electrification, Controls, Software and Electronics where he led the organization from 2019 to 2022.
Prior to that, Dan was General Motors Vice President, Global Propulsion Systems. In that role he
was responsible for all propulsion products including engines, transmissions, fuel cells, electric
drive units and batteries. He is on the SAE Board of Directors and serves as Vice President
Automotive and was the GM Member Company representative on the USCAR Council and member
of the USDRIVE Executive Steering Group.
Quality Professional of the Year
The Quality Professional of the Year Award has been established to recognize individuals in the
automotive industry who have made significant contributions in the following areas:
• Leadership or managerial skills in implementing continuous improvement in quality.
• Services provided to the community to furthering the understanding of quality systems and
techniques;
• Support and encouragement of new and innovative ideas leading to the never-ending pursuit of
excellence.
• Demonstration of a high regard for team benefits and results.
This year’s Quality Leader of the Year is Dr. Saso Krstovski
Dr. Saso Krstovski, Associate Dean of Industrial Technologies at Henry Ford College is a highly
accomplished engineer with a strong academic foundation and extensive experience in Electrical,
Computer, and Industrial Engineering. Throughout his 30-year career in automotive manufacturing he
has dedicated himself to improving quality, teaching quality principles, and applying statistical methods
to ensure products and services meet high standards. As a certified Ford Level II Master Black-Belt he
has been a passionate supporter of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) for over 20 years, crediting
much of his expertise in quality to ASQ's seminars and training. Dr. Krstovski holds a Doctorate of
Engineering in Manufacturing Systems from Lawrence Technological University and has made significant
contributions to both academia and industry.
William P. Koth Award
The Koth Award was established by the Automotive Division in recognition of the William P. Koth,
AOSmith Corporation, for his many years of dedicated service to the division. The Koth Award is
presented each year to a currently active Automotive Division member who has given outstanding
personal service for the promotion of the Automotive Division and the American Society for
Quality.
ASQ’s mission is to empower individuals and communities of the world to achieve excellence through quality.