Bendix has awarded its communications director Barbara Gould with its 2018 Excellence in Bendix Leadership award.

Gould has been with Bendix since 2001 and is based out of the company’s Elyria, Ohio headquarters. She oversees the firm's external communications agenda, including Bendix’s presence at trade shows, the company’s social media outreach, media relations, and branding and marketing communications efforts.

Gould also holds responsibility for Bendix’s internal communications program, including company Town Halls and other employee events, marketing of the Bendix corporate social responsibility efforts, plus support for strategic communications initiatives for Bendix and its sister Knorr-Bremse Group companies across North America.

“Over the years, Barbara has taken on the challenge to ensure that the employees and customers of Bendix have the right information, on time, with a voice that is reliable, passionate, and fully engaged,” said Joe McAleese, Bendix chairman. “Knowing that she cannot do it alone, she uses her leadership and ability to champion activities to ensure success. Her team, along with many others, earns her support and recognition as she is quick to thank everyone for their contributions.”

Bendix also presented leadership excellence awards to Sonia Meade, Bendix’s manager of accounts receivable, and Juan Carlos Mellado, manager of product engineering at Bendix’s Acuna, Mexico facility.

The Excellence in Bendix Leadership Award is in its ninth year and is the highest individual distinction that a Bendix employee can receive. The award recognizes employees who exemplify leadership in their behavior and actions, whether or not they hold a leadership title or manage others in their everyday role. Recipients are nominated by their peers and recommended by their managers for demonstrating invaluable leadership characteristics.

“True leadership – in any role, in any department, in any assignment – is highly prized at Bendix, and recognizing it requires looking far deeper than a job title or day-to-day functions,” said Berend Bracht, Bendix president and CEO. “When we look at the recipients of this honor and what their work means to both Bendix as a company and to all of us as their co-workers, we are inspired, challenged, and reminded every day of not just how we can do things better, but why it matters too.”