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PODCAST

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech

The Auto Ethnographer is a deep dive into the human experience of crossing cultures—what it feels like to live, work, lead, and belong in places far from home. Hosted by global executive and cultural storyteller John Jörn Stech, the podcast explores the realities of expatriate life, intercultural communication, and the messy, meaningful process of adapting to new norms, new languages, and new ways of seeing the world.John brings more than three decades of international experience across the United

business management

All Episodes

27:51

EP 25: The Meaning of Time across Cultures

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/08/20

Time. Most of us would argue that we do not have enough of it. We want more. Yet every culture uses available time in a completely different way.This week, John Stech, host of The Auto Ethnographer, speaks about the meaning of time across different cultures. He looks at the “time is money” philosophy of the Americans, the “punctuality is a virtue” culture of northern Europe, the “espresso culture” of southern Europe, the “mañana means maybe” culture of Latin America, and dives into a comparison of

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22:45

EP 24 Sun or shade? A humorous look at vacation culture

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/08/13

John Stech draws on his experience working with Germans, Swedes, Thais, Americans, and Vietnamese to examine the summer holiday sun culture of each.Every culture has a different attitude towards taking vacation. Stay connected or completely disconnect? One week or six? Sit in the sun or stay in the shade? John will take a humorous approach to the Thai, German, American, Vietnamese, and Swedish attitudes to taking it easy.In a fun twist, John hosts a “parade”, an examination of summertime stereotypes

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27:14

EP 23: Home Sweet Home? Returning from overseas...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/08/06

This week on The Auto Ethnographer podcast, host John Stech ruminates on the homecoming phase for expats. You may think the hardest part of a foreign assignment is moving overseas and getting to learn a new culture and new language. John argues that the most challenging part is coming back to your home country.John lived overseas with his family for eight years, starting when his children were quite young. By the time they returned home, the children barely remembered having lived in the United

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45:44

EP 22: Ageism – a conversation about its impact in...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/07/30

This episode tackles ageism a growing issue across the globe. Along with two distinguished human resources experts, Auto Ethnographer host John Stech takes on the topic of age discrimination in the context of the American and Vietnamese cultures.Discussing that today are Tamica Sears, The Corporate Fixer and Founder of Sears Coaching, a human resources consulting agency. She has built her vast experience working with Fortune 500 companies including Raytheon and Gannett, among others. Tamica is also

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30:14

EP 21: China Auto Rising

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/07/24

This China-focused episode was born when pulling on the red thread connecting four prior episodes with elements of that nation’s automotive rise. This time, host John Stech stitches together the story of China’s rise in the automotive industry from the humble beginning to the current achievement of largest automotive market and biggest net exporter of cars using the words of experts that have worked there. .Drawing on insights previously shared by Dr. Susanne Lehmann (Volkswagen Malaysia), Dr

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43:48

EP 20: Adi Bathla: AI Start-up, Revv, success rooted...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/07/17

This week’s guest on The Auto Ethnographer Podcast is Adi Bathla, CEO and Co-Founder of Revv, a company that merges car repair with artificial intelligence. Together with host John Stech they trace Adi’s origin story from humble beginnings in India to the current success of an entrepreneur recognized on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.Born and raised in Northern India Adi excelled in school and harbored an intense curiosity that led him to learn at a speed outpacing other students his age. He eventually

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35:27

EP 19: John Stech: Thailand accelerates while...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/07/09

Last week the Auto Ethnographer, John Jörn Stech, attended the 10th International Electric Vehicle Technology Conference & Exhibition combined with MobilityTech Asia 2025. The conference happened to be aligned in the same week that the American Houses of Congress passed legislation that effectively killed public funding and support for electric vehicles and renewable energy initiatives. The stark contrast between Thailand’s push on the accelerator and America’s stomp on the brake pedal are in

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16:59

EP 18: John Stech: Same-same or different? Comparing...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/06/27

In this episode, host John Stech discusses his observations on the Thai and American car cultures. Having lived in Thailand for nearly two years, he compares what he has observed on the streets, at motorshows, and at car meets. While some like to people-watch, John always has his eyes on the cars he encounters everywhere.Says John, “Cars move us—but in wildly different ways. In America, a chrome grill might gleam with ambition and showy opulence. In Thailand, a dusty pickup truck or sprightly

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10:21

EP 17: John Stech: A visit to Taiwan sparks...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/06/19

This week John Stech, host of The Auto Ethnographer, was traveling in Taiwan. He was there to see his wife’s nephew graduate from high school. The five days on the ground were very busy, a packed schedule planned in advance. While there he was inspired to think about the pride that nations and their people feel about locally developed and produced automotive brands.The visit started and ended in Taipei but much of the time was spent further south in the towns of Nantou, Puli, and Taichung, as well

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59:28

EP 16: Dr. Deb Mukherji: Unraveling the success...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/06/11

Dr. Deb Mukherji joins The Auto Ethnographer from Gurugram, India, a city near New Delhi. In today’s episode he helps to unravel the success factors for entering the Indian market as a foreign company, automotive or otherwise.There are success stories and failures on the Indian market. These are woven into the conversation as we explore the main drivers for success: navigating regulations, technology adapted to local consumers, economics, and the human aspect including culture.Dr. Mukherji has over

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50:45

EP 15: Benny Oeyen Part 2: Tuning challenger brand...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/06/04

During this second in a two-part episode, The Auto Ethnographer’s host John Stech speaks with Benny Oeyen, a Belgian who is passionate about building bridges between cultures. With automotive experience on four continents and with four distinctly different automakers, he is well-prepared to speak on cultural impacts in the industry. Benny is in the unique position of having worked for automakers in or from three major Asian countries, Mazda, Kia, and GM China. He is energetic and tells his story in

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57:57

EP 14: Benny Oeyen Part 1: A global citizen with a...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/05/28

During this two-part episode, The Auto Ethnographer’s host John Stech speaks with Benny Oeyen, a Belgian who is passionate about building bridges between cultures. With automotive experience on four continents and with four distinctly different automakers, he is well-prepared to speak on cultural impacts in the industry. Benny is in the unique position of having worked for automakers in or from three major Asian countries, Mazda, Kia, and GM China. He is energetic and tells his story in a candid,

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46:27

EP 13: Dr. Edwin Pang: From Malaysia to Germany on...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/05/21

This week Dr. Edwin Pang, a noted automobile tire expert, joins The Auto Ethnographer to discuss his journey from student in Malaysia and England to tire development engineer in Germany.Born and raised in Malaysia, Edwin opted to study with the University of Nottingham both on their Southeast Asian as well as UK campuses. It was his first time living outside of Malaysia and a big step in gaining personal independence in his life and career.On graduating with a Ph.D. in Engineering he took a role in

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37:16

EP 12 Part 2: John Stech: Did DaimlerChrysler perish...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/05/15

In today’s Auto Ethnographer episode, the second of two parts, host John Stech dives deeper into his experience at DaimlerChrysler, covering his stay at the Chrysler side of the family.John’s assignment at Chrysler International, a division of the company responsible for 120 non-NAFTA markets, was to revamp the volume planning system in time for a major new product offensive. In doing so he had to gain trust with an experienced Chrysler team and get their support in building a modernized approach to

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42:52

EP 12 Part 1: John Stech: Did DaimlerChrysler perish...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/05/14

In today’s Auto Ethnographer episode, host John Stech dives deep into his experience at DaimlerChrysler. He worked within both halves of the merged companies for the duration of the company’s nine year existence. Did its end stem from irreconcilable intercultural differences? The Auto Ethnographer dives in to answer the question and the conclusion may surprise you.On the day of the merger announcement in May 1998, John Stech was driving to work at Mercedes-Benz USA. He was so shocked by the news

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38:01

EP 11: John Stech: How he prepared for his first...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/05/07

On this week’s Auto Ethnographer episode, host John Stech tells his own story. He had spent his life preparing for a dream of working and living abroad. Suddenly the opportunity sprung up and he had only three months to prepare for a transfer with family to Egypt. Here he would be Managing Director of DaimlerChrysler Egypt (now separated into Mercedes-Benz Egypt and Stellantis Egypt).John Stech was born Jörn Stech in Germany. His family emigrated to the United States in the 1970s but he spent many

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41:51

EP 10: Dr. Susanne Lehmann: How a Volkswagen leader...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/04/30

On this week’s episode of The Auto Ethnographer, host John Stech is joined by Dr. Susanne Lehmann, Managing Director of Volkswagen Group Malaysia. During the conversation they “visit” Malaysia, Mexico, China, and the United States and discuss how each location’s culture required different work styles.Dr. Lehmann studied economic sciences and later earned her PhD in global automotive supply chains. Alongside she studied the impact of culture on the workplace, a topic that would serve her well on her

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57:42

EP 9: Andreas Schlegel: Speeding through cultures...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/04/23

In this week's episode of The Auto Ethnographer podcast, host John Stech speaks with Andreas Schlegel on working in Germany, the United States, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. Andreas recounts his journey through a number of premium and performance brands including Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Aston Martin, Lotus Motorcars, and Volvo. He even did a stint with F1 team Williams Racing.Growing up in the Stuttgart, Germany area, Andreas started his career with Mercedes-Benz in their

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57:05

EP 8: Jorge Mussi: Navigating Brazil, Sweden, and USA...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/04/16

The Auto Ethnographer, John Stech, has a conversation with Jorge Mussi, the General Manager of Aftersales and the Customer Services Division at Toyota do Brasil about his journey from his native Brazil to Sweden and the United States and back to Brazil. He tells his story that begins with Volvo and is currently evolving at Toyota.Jorge’s automotive journey started with Volvo Truck & Bus in the early 1990s. For his love of cars, he moved over to Volvo’s passenger car division where he experienced

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59:23

EP 7: Greg Clark – Experience at Mercedes-Benz, Honda...

Auto Ethnographer with John Stech ·

2025/04/09

The Auto Ethnographer is joined by Greg Clark who expounds on his experiences working with Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, American Honda, and INEOS Automotive. Four distinctly different brands, each with its own culture. During the conversation we "visit" the UK, Germany, Japan, and United States and the unique working cultures of each.Greg, a native of the United Kingdom, moved to the United States for his studies. He parlayed that stay into the beginnings of an automotive career with

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46 results

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