How does Subaru choose connected services? | with Amy Sgrignoli of Subaru of America

Recorded live at AutoTech 2026, this episode of The Garage features Subaru's Amy Sgrignoli discussing how the brand prioritizes safety and customer experience in connected vehicle technology. Sgrignoli also shares her philosophy on servant leadership and introduces her new podcast, Learn to Lead Differently.

Creators and Guests

Host

John Heinlein, Ph.D.

An experienced technology and marketing leader, John brings his background from startups and established companies to Sonatus. He worked for 14 years at Arm, most recently leading Automotive Partnerships for North America where he engaged OEMs, Tier-1s, and others to deploy Arm-based solutions into automotive applications, including autonomous vehicles. His team was integral to launching the SOAFEE industry initiative for software-defined vehicles of which Sonatus is a member. Earlier he served as VP and Chief of Staff to the CEO and led a group responsible for competitive strategy. For three years, he was VP of Corporate Marketing where he led centralized outbound marketing, spanning marketing campaigns, press, events, web, digital marketing, ecosystem programs, and working closely with investor relations. Prior to Arm, John had an 11-year tenure at microprocessor startup Transmeta where he held several senior roles spanning business development, marketing, and customer success, among others. John earned his B.S. in Computer Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University and an M.S. and Ph.D., both in Electrical Engineering, from Stanford University.

What is The Garage by Sonatus?

The Garage Podcast from Sonatus brings you conversations with thought leaders from around the vehicle technology space discussing far-reaching topics about software innovation in vehicles.

These episodes will include industry experts, whether from Sonatus, or from our amazing partners across the industry, all of whom will share their Ideas and their outlook for the most important topics in vehicle technology. Episodes span from more technical topics, to business evolution, and market trends. Join us and learn about the future of vehicle in The Garage.

Today in The Garage,

we're recording it live at Auto
Tech2026 in Novi, Michigan.

As we're looking around the
show, there's incredible cars.

And just off off
the studio here,

we have exhibitions of
Ward's Ten Best interiors and

we attended that award session
just earlier this week.

And that is celebrating
the user experience.

As the driver sits
in the vehicle,

what do they experience?

What are the finishes like?

How are things arranged
in thoughtful ways?

And it's so interesting to see
the diversity of how vehicles

present themselves to a driver.

In a similar way, I think
different brands are always

looking to explore how
they connect with their

driver and is there a brand
profile of their drivers?

And what you find
is in some cases,

are some really
clear brand profiles.

One of those brand profiles
that's very notable is Subaru.

They have a long history
of delivering a kind of

adventurous like spirit.

People, love their Subarus,

drive them for hundreds of
thousands of miles and take

them on camping and, adventures
of all shapes and sizes.

And it has informed the
way they've thought about their

experiences and their
connection to their drivers.

To talk about that, we brought
on an expert from Subaru,

Amy Sgrignoli.

She's Vice President of
Connected Vehicles for Subaru

of America.

And in our conversation,

we talk a lot about how do they connect
with their drivers in unique ways.

We also do a little
bit on leadership.

So a little bonus section of
the podcast today on leadership

and helping your
teams be successful.

I really enjoyed today's
chat, I hope you will too.

Let's go!

Welcome to The Garage.

I'm John Heinlein, Chief
Marketing Officer with Sonatus.

We're recording live at Auto
Tech 2026 in Novi, Michigan.

And my guest today
is Amy Sgrignoli.

Amy, welcome to the podcast.

Thank you. Thank
you for having me.

We're we're so excited
to chat with you.

Why don't you begin by telling us a
little bit about you and your background?

Sure. As you said, I'm Amy.

So I work for Subaru, which
we'll talk about later.

But me as a person,
I have two kids.

One who just finished their
freshman year college,

one who's about to finish
her freshman year of high school.

I born and raised in Colorado.

Boulder?

Yes. Went to school in Boulder.

And then spent a little short
stint in the Atlanta area and

then have been out on the
East Coast ever since.

And you live in Philly?

Yes. A suburb of Philly. So
right outside of Philadelphia.

People know the area Media.

Okay. I'm originally
from Pittsburgh.

Oh, very my father was
born in Pittsburgh.

Lots of Pennsylvania hooks.

Those of you who know about
Pennsylvania know that Western

and Eastern Pennsylvania are
sort of like San Francisco and

LA.

They're completely different.

There's nothing
nothing the same.

And they're both excellent.
They're just different.

They're just very different.

Yeah.

So, you've got to tell
us a fun fact about you.

Okay.

So fun fact, I actually
just launched a podcast.

I know.

And I and I listened to
it and it's amazing and

congratulations one
podcaster to another.

It's an exciting media.
This is our fourth year.

We just did this our
fiftieth episode,

you just did your first.

Yes. Because so
we've dropped one!

So tell tell us about your theme
and what do you expect to cover?

Sure. So this has sort of
been my passion project.

As we'll get into in a
second, I have a real job.

Not that podcasting is not.

Yeah. But I do have
a full time job.

But for me, this is just a
bit of a passion project because I

believe so much in the
power of leadership and

I I started thinking
about leadership and the

framework of it and if you go
and look at what's out there in

the space, first of all,

it's so much in this
narrow corporate lane.

Somehow leadership
gets like tied to high

executive positions
or senior levels.

And so one thing I really
wanted to challenge was that

there is leadership across
all industries, across all levels,

and it's really, you know,

a huge part of who
you are as a person,

not necessarily the industry
or the level that you're at.

So that was one thing that
I really wanted to do.

And then the second thing is I
believe in the power of stories.

And I think that when
people can listen to someone else's

story, sometimes
they can feel seen,

they can feel heard,
they can feel inspired,

all of these different things.

And I just think that hearing
other people's stories is is

one of the best ways
to actually learn.

And my final point is,

I also think there's a whole
generation of kids...look,

they've had social
media their whole life,

and they are setting
expectations for themselves

that are unreachable and
frankly, not even true.

So I wanted to highlight
the real stories,

the vulnerabl e moments,

the really tough decisions
when things didn't go well,

and to show that people
still got to where they are.

And in fact, many of those
things are what defined them.

So that's sort of
the background.

So a lot in there, but
that's why I wanted to do it.

It's so true and I think
so often people feel as if you

know, CEOs just came...were
born and they were a CEO.

Well, it's not like that or you're in a
field and you were always in that field.

You you shared your husband's
story who had an incredible

career but really decided
to make a life change.

Yeah.

And how he got there and and
he's happy for it and and

doesn't doesn't dislike the
part he that he got there,

but he likes where he ended up and
it's it's interesting to see that.

And you guys, what's
the name of the podcast?

Learn to Lead Differently.
And it's for a couple reasons.

Obviously, wanted to take
a different approach to

leadership, but also
full disclosure,

I have a child who
learns differently.

And finding a space for him
where he could grow and thrive

was a completely life changing
experience for me as a

parent, a spouse,
and also as a leader.

So it's it is a nod back to
all of those schools that

understand that not everybody
learns the same way.

Well, so it's a bit
of a double entendre.

Very thoughtful double entendre.

We'll put a link to the
podcast in the show notes and exciting.

I know you have other
episodes already teed up.

Next one drops
next week actually.

Super excited to see
that. So congratulations.

Thank you.

Now let's get to your
your day job as it were.

My actual job, yes.

So tell us about
your role at Subaru.

Sure.

So I oversee the connected
vehicle team at Subaru,

which is super exciting and I'm
learning even at conferences

like this that my
department is unique.

So I don't just have the
engineering side or just the

business side, I have
the opportunity of having the

entire ecosystem.

That means the P&L,
so the financial part,

the procurement part, all of
the way we measure our KPIs,

development and engineering,
architecture of the systems,

all the way through operations
and support and the project

management office.

So nothing difficult?

Nothing difficult. It's
really kind of boring.

Honestly, most most of
my days are very boring.

I'm sure [sarcasm] I'm
totally sure that's not true.

And so let's jump in then
to talk about that in what's

your philosophy about what
you do and and as you bring

your vehicles to your customers?

So at my core, if you look
through my entire career,

the the main thread you would
see that makes it make a little

more sense because I've had
a lot of different roles.

But the core thread has
been customer experience.

I'm such a believer
in the importance of

delivering an
incredible experience.

And so that was one of the
things when I first actually

stepped into connected vehicle,

I had been on the training
side of the business before,

I actually only had
the business side.

I didn't have the
development side.

And one of the things that's
become so incredible by pulling

both of those together is
sometimes you can get into this

mindset of like the
business people give the requirements

and then the developers are just
supposed to do what they're told.

And frankly, that's not how
the most creative solutions are

are found, right?

So when you bring those really
different groups together and

you're all working
towards a common goal,

and it also lets the developers
understand the end goal

experience from the
beginning, not just

"here's the requirements,
do what we say".

So that really is my...

I feel so passionately
that we are here to deliver

experiences.

And I know that that's
important to Subaru and and

Subaru as a brand has a clear
brand identity around adventure.

I think it's maybe
even your tagline.

And and I have to say just
just as a shameless plug,

we talked about this.

I leased a Subaru Ascent, which
is your largest vehicle. Yes.

And I just loved it.

We we did a three year lease
and I liked it so much that I

did another three year lease.

I really really loved that.

Actually, my lease just ended so
I'm in a different vehicle now,

but I'm gonna be excited.

We're gonna get you back.

Maybe in your new EV platform,
I'll be excited to try that.

But I really did love it
and it was for example,

we go to the the
mountains a lot.

It was incredible in the snow,

but it was also
incredible around town.

So having a vehicle like
that that was so diverse,

I loved it.

I loved it. Also comfortable
and well appointed.

It it didn't feel like a truck.

It just it was just a beautiful
balance for me of the experience.

So hats off to you. Thank you.

But the other thing
is thinking about

how the the driver
experiences it.

And so as you're talking
about connected services,

what sort of connected
services do you think about?

I would say there's two
things I'm the most passionate about.

One, customer experience and maybe
within that experience, safety.

So there is nothing more important
to me than the safety of our drivers.

I happen to have a son who
started driving a couple years

ago and it, you know, it's made
it even more important to me.

But truthfully, I have,
you know, aging parents.

I have a teen driver.

In automotive, we produce
products that not only

like enable people to live
the lives they wanna live,

but we need to keep
them safe doing that.

Right?

This is you know, I get it.

We say that, oh,

they're becoming more and
more of a device on wheels.

Let's not forget about the fact
that that device on wheels is

still carrying the
lives of people.

So for me, safety is
always going to be in

in front and center.

And then I would say the
other super fun pillar is adventure.

Right? So and we can combine
those two things. Right?

We can be adventurous and
safe at the same time.

We also certainly pride
ourselves on how long our cars

are on the road.

We have people with you know
badges on the back that say

three hundred thousand miles.

And so that that longevity
piece is important as well.

So when I look at the
connected services,

I'm always trying to
look through that sort of

that vision through our brand
pillars and our brand promise

because we know our
customers really really well.

That's one thing I think that
is so incredible about working

for a company like Subaru.

And so that experience,

we want to deliver the
experience they want and need.

I've had this conversation
with a few guests recently.

Earlier this summer we had one
where I think the concern from

some OEMs, I think not Subaru,

but some of the OEMs is
is because actually OEMs

sell to a dealer and the
dealer sells to an end

customer in that case except
for the upstart OEMs that are

selling directly. Sure.

And I think that that
creates some distance

between the OEM and the
end customer in some cases.

But I think you're trying to
counter that and you're trying

to really understand your
customers in a different way.

Right. And I also wanna say,
I mean, Subaru, we love...

we do not have dealers.

I would like to say
we have retailers.

And we go to market in
partnership with our retailers.

So I wanna be very
clearly, like,

we recognize the importance
of the retail experience.

And when we talk about delivering
that customer experience,

we have retailers at the table
with us from the beginning.

So when we are thinking about
what that's gonna look like,

we think about how that's going to
drive them back to point of service.

In fact, I will tell you, if
you ask me in one sentence,

what is my job?

My job is to keep
customers connected to their vehicle,

their retailer,

and the brand throughout
the customer life cycle.

Those are my pillars, and
the retailer is just as

critical as the other two.

And so when you think
about it that way, again,

it's the idea of, like,

designing the experience
you want from the beginning.

Our experience is going
to include the retailer.

And I agree with that.

And my my personal experience
having been a customer is I

think the the retailer -- I'll
say the word retailer, not dealer.

The retailer
experience was great.

I mean, facility was great.

I just think the
the personality,

it didn't feel like
a salesy experience.

Felt much more of an
experiential thing.

So I really believe
what you're saying,

but I think it's a
great philosophy.

And I think that that direction
is what my other guests have

said is that there really needs
to be that better connection to

the to the customer,
to the driver.

But don't do it...don't try to leave the
retailer out in that equation, right?

You can both have that
relationship with the customer

and both help each other's
relationship with the customer.

You know, we can develop the brand
and really bring them into the brand.

And then the rest of their
experience, that point of sale,

point of service,

that's going to happen
through the retail network.

Well, thank you
for sharing that.

I wonder, know, we were also chatting
and I know you've you've you've

spoken here at the the show a
couple different times about

software and technology
and complexity and

how that's evolving.

And I know it's it's getting to
be quite a complicated landscape.

It is. And I know
you have an opinion.

I'd love to hear your
your take on that.

It might not be a
popular opinion,

especially at AutoTech.

I think that we we are making
things very complicated.

And sometimes I think we
can be our own worst enemy.

The tech is really exciting.

Also, it can get
really complicated.

And again, I want to kind of return to
the anchor that at the end of the day,

we are building products in
automotive that people are

driving and people are
carrying other people in.

And so when things get
complicated, first of all,

can be overwhelming,
it can be frustrating,

and in a worst case
scenario, it can be not safe.

Yeah.

And so I really think that
that's why we can't think about

technology as the end game.

Like, we aren't building
technology for technology.

We are building technology
to deliver on an experience.

And so if we don't think
about that human from the beginning,

if our tech is making it
harder for them Right.

We we have to reckon with that
a little bit and we need to

rethink how we're doing it.

Right. Yeah.

It's true that I think a lot
of there's been a bit of a a

back and forth about how
complicated, how personalized,

how intricate.

And I think a lot of
experiences, I travel a lot,

I rent cars and a lot
of times you get a dashboard experience

that's unnecessarily
complicated.

Yeah.

I'm driving a very nice car in
this particular rental and it's

like, why is this
gauge in front of me?

I do not need to know that.

Yes. It's just
completely unnecessary.

It's like real estate,
what am I doing?

And it's actually
distracting because like,

what does that mean when I
be paying attention to the road?

Yes. I mean, it's
true. And so I think.

Look, I also think there might
have been an idea a few years ago

that we were gonna get to these
level four, level five, like,

cars sooner than we have.

Let's remind ourselves, people
are still driving these cars.

There will be a time when
maybe that is not the case,

but what we can't do is say,

let's put the tech in
the car assuming they're not actually

driving the cars because
they are driving the cars.

Right.

Even we're talking one
of our earlier guests,

we were talking about the different
driving self-driving levels.

And even in so called
level two plus,

which is the average high
end car is a level two plus.

And the level two and level
three is is well known is that

the level two in how many no
matter how many pluses you put,

the driver is still in charge.

A hundred percent.

Yes.

Level three and level four is when
you get to be sort of in

certain situations,
you can you..

Again, and certain is
also a keyword here...

But so that's that's sort of
your point is that we still

have to recognize the driver's
still in charge in the vast

majority of cases.

It's only a tiny fraction and
unless you're getting into

robotaxis where you really
can take your eyes off.

Yeah. We have to remember that.

Right.

We have to remember
that, you know,

we say that cards are
becoming like phones.

Well, when you're
looking at your phone,

you're maybe sitting
on the couch.

Right?

You're not, you know, taking
your child to the doctor.

So, you know, we have to we have
to understand there are some

distinctions there.

I think you you as far as
the user experience goes,

I think it's also the case that
you have different desires.

You have different
appetites for technology.

I grant you, I'm a high
end technology person.

So I'm sort of theoretically
interested in advanced

technology, but
at the same time,

actually when it comes
to the user interface,

experience of the vehicle,

actually I appreciate something
that is thoughtfully designed

and streamlined.

So even though
I'm a techie Yeah.

Kind of a person,

I'm telling you that this
techie car I'm driving right

now, actually I don't like it.

I think it's unnecessary.

So,

thoughtfully designed for safety

experience, usability,

while at the same time bringing
in things entertainment

capabilities when
that's appropriate,

whether it's parked or or when
it's safe during the drive or

whatever those are.

It's that balance, I think,

that everyone needs to look for.

A hundred percent.

Yeah. Now, you your podcast
is about leadership.

It is.

And I'd love to talk....I know
that you have that's a deeper-held

philosophy philosophy
for you.

And I and I know I know people
that work with you who say that

you're a really genuine leader and
you really care about the team...

getting the best
out of your team.

What's your what's your
philosophy about that and

what's your advice to people about
getting great ideas out of your team?

So I think for me,

it you are only as
good as your team.

So let's just
start there. Right?

So if you if you
think that, like,

the leader is good
on their own, I mean,

that's just not true.

So a leader is only as good as
the team that they're able to

build and the team
they're able to cultivate.

So I do think about it a
little bit in, like, a sports analogy.

It's like you're
coaching, right?

And so that that role,

if you haven't put the right
players in the right positions

and you haven't continued to
make sure that you're helping

them grow and continue to
improve and that they're not

leaving your team, you know,

constantly where you
have to start over.

So that's kind of my governing
philosophy is that you are only

as good as your team.

Hard stop.

I think another part
of that question is,

so what does that mean?

How do you cultivate a team of
people that want to be there?

And I think for me,

one of the most important
things is welcoming and

encouraging diverse
perspectives.

People at all levels
in all different

disciplines should have
a voice at the table.

And in fact, you're gonna get to the
most creative solutions when you not

only include those voices, you
go out and seek those voices.

I mean, diversity these
days is getting a bad name,

but the reality is:
it's just smart.

A hundred percent.

Because if you bring
everyone who thinks the same,

you're going to get
the same answer.

I was just talking with one of
our colleagues at our company

who's in a very different part
of the business and we were

just sort of chatting and
whiteboarding about some ideas.

And out of that conversation,

I ended up with a different
perspective from my view and

she ended up with a different
perspective of how she can help

us design better products because
she had context that she didn't get.

So everyone benefited.

But so the point is this
difference this difference of

ideas is is very important.

I just don't even see...okay,

let's look at how diverse
my customer base is.

So if I don't have diverse
perspectives being brought to

the table to do that
thoughtful design,

we're not gonna be serving
our entire customer base.

So, I mean, again,
to to your point,

it's really just it's
honestly smart for a business,

but it's also again,

we have to think about
all those people that could be

using our product.

Right.

And and their diverse
needs, whether they're...

Hundred percent...

Professionals or moms or older
or younger or experienced

or not experienced.

All of the above. Right. Right?

And can any one of
them use our car?

Yeah.

You also talked about and
this is an area that we could

probably have many
other topics on,

but you talked about how the
leader has to help coach the team.

And I've done a lot a lot of

training on leadership and
there was a concept that I was

introduced to which I
really like a lot called

"servant leader". Which is
your goal is to help the team.

And I always tell my team,

my goal is I want
to help you succeed.

Yep.

And that sometimes that means
giving them hard feedback.

A hundred percent.

But it's also teaching them
how to be great and then giving

them the resources and then and
then also getting out of their way.

Hundred percent.

I like to say to my team like,
if I'm doing my job well,

I've actually made
your job easier.

Yeah.

In some way. Right?

Whether or not and that can
look so many different ways.

It can be I can be
a sounding board.

It can be I can be a
point of escalation.

It can be I'm
overwhelmed right now.

Just help me think
through, what I should do.

But ultimately, a
hundred percent,

that's the job of a leader
is to help grow the the

members of the team and really show
them what they're actually capable of.

So you gotta push sometimes,
right? You can push people.

I always like to say,
my team makes fun of me,

but I always like to say,

we're gonna sit in a little
discomfort sometimes because

that's how we grow.

Right?

If you always sit in a
super comfortable place,

it's gonna be
really hard to grow.

All that said, always say
discomfort is not the same as pain.

Those are two very
very different things.

But get a little
comfortable sometimes

being uncomfortable.

And it's so interesting because
when you talk about coaching

and when you think about
guiding people and you you said

that you need to meet
people in different places,

A mistake is to think
that, okay, well,

I've hired this senior person
or junior person or whatever.

And so the junior person always
needs more guidance and the

senior person always...

But the reality is
for different tasks,

different missions,

different people may be
in a different place.

Hundred percent.

And they may need different
resources or coaching or ideas

or independence and it
varies by the mission.

A hundred percent. So right.

A single person might need
more coaching in one something

else and be completely independent
in another part of their job.

Right?

So it's understanding how to kind
of modulate that a little bit.

Yeah.

There's there's an amazing book
called Situational Leadership

which talks about that.

And in fact, it turns out there's a
brand new edition of that book coming

out this fall is there really?

Okay.

In September.

But I'm a huge, devotee
of that of that approach.

It talks about exactly that and I've
tried to use that in my leadership.

You know, there's a famous
saying from from Henry Ford,

which is "I hired employees
and people showed up." Yeah.

And recognizing that your
people come in with their own

hopes and aspirations and
challenges and their parent is

sick or their dog died or they

just won the lottery.

I mean, it's anywhere in between
recognizing that everyone comes

to a different place.

Hundred percent.

And like, when you
know them as people,

you are also so able to tell
when maybe this day isn't the

best day for them.

And there could be
so many reasons why,

but it's it's coming from that
empathetic view to be like,

I you know, what do
you need today? Yeah.

What do you need today?

Because I can I can
tell you need something,

so let's talk about it?

Yeah.

And and and and remembering to
ask and remembering, don't assume.

Never.

Right.

That

they're just lazy...

it's just not like that.

It's just they may have
things going on. Absolutely.

And you have to recognize that.

Because they're more than
just what you see at work.

There's so much more
going on in their lives.

Well, Amy, we could probably talk
for another hour on leadership alone.

Yes, we could.

And then another hour
on...We'll another episode.

Let's do it.

But thank you for joining us and
squeezing us into your busy schedule.

It was wonderful to meet you and
good luck with your new podcast.

Thank you. Thank you.

Continuing to bring
adventure into your vehicles.

Thank you so much.

If you like what
you're seeing here,

please like and subscribe to
see more episodes like it,

from AutoTech and
from our home studio.

We look forward to seeing
you in another episode of The

Garage very soon.