Greenbrier's Guzman: Mentorship is at the heart of talent development 

By Julie Sneider 

Suzie Guzman is an example of how mentoring can make a positive difference in an employee’s success and whether that employee remains loyal to their employer. 

Guzman, 47, is assistant vice president of strategic support at The Greenbrier Cos., which she joined in 2003. At the time, she had been living in the United States for about a year, having moved from her home in the Philippines to Oregon where her then husband’s family lived. The state also is home to Greenbrier’s headquarters in Lake Oswego. 

Guzman earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Mindanao but had yet to land her first job when she and her husband left the Philippines. After the move, she found a place at Greenbrier. 

“It wasn’t like I was researching railroading; I just stumbled on an opportunity at Greenbrier in accounts receivable," she says. 

As someone new to rail and life in the United States, Guzman says she found a cohort of support at Greenbrier, which provides freight rail-car leasing, manufacturing, maintenance and fleet management services. 

“I attribute [the length of her tenure] to the people I’ve worked with and the mentors I’ve had,” she says. “When I first joined the company, I had a great manager and what made a big impact on me was how kind they were and walked me through the ropes,” she says. “That stuck with me.”  

Becoming a woman of influence 

Over time, Guzman evolved into an essential part of Greenbrier’s leasing team — so much so that the company nominated her to be honored this year as a Women of Influence in Rail, a recognition program sponsored by Progressive Railroading. She serves as the main contact for the leasing group to review deal structures and feasibility, and has advised many transactions for Greenbrier’s lease fleet of 17,000 rail cars, a company official wrote on her nomination form. 

She describes her current role as a combination of strategic planning and business operations. 

“I’m executing initiatives and also helping leadership turn ideas into results,” she says. “I provide valuations, financial modeling, forecasting — all sorts of analysis to support important decisions for lease management and the repair segment of the company.” 

Guzman describes Greenbrier’s corporate culture as one that encourages employees to expand their knowledge and skills. That culture came in handy when she pursued a master's degree in accounting and financial management at DeVry University and sought her license as a certified public accountant. 

Moreover, her managers were understanding when it came to family life, allowing flexible hours when her first child was born. 

“It was an environment that I really needed at that time so that I could work but also take care of my son,” she says. 

By the time she completed her first couple years at Greenbrier, Guzman had acquired enough knowledge and experience to seek additional responsibilities. 

The company didn’t have a higher position for her to move into at the time, she says, so she moved on to a different employer — yet maintained ties to her previous manager at Greenbrier. When a position did open up that fit her skills, Greenbrier reached out to her to gauge her interest. 

“I decided to go back [to Greenbrier] because I liked my experience and the culture there,” she says. 

The mentorship she cites as being pivotal in her career was not a formal program, but an attitude her senior leaders took early in her career: They encouraged junior employees to improve their own proficiencies. Among those senior leaders was Larry Stanley, a senior vice president in lease underwriting. 

“He had my back from the beginning until he retired,” she says. “He was one of those leaders who would take the fall as the head of the department. The kind of culture he showed to everyone was that you are safe to learn, and if you make a mistake there is grace. If you showed curiosity, he was willing to show you how to do something.” 

Paying it forward 

That grace and influence is something Guzman has tried to apply as she managed junior Greenbrier employees over the years. At one point she managed as many as 16 employees. 

“Mentorship for me is teaching everyone under my management the things I learned over the years,” she says. “I’m big on imparting what I know about the company, what’s special about it. That was my practice when I used to manage a big group, where I would promote within — rather than hiring from the outside — to support their growth.” 

While she no longer directly manages Greenbrier employees, Guzman continues to share her knowledge with others through the company’s employee resource groups known as GBXcels. Specifically, Guzman helped co-found the company’s Women’s Leadership GBXcel. 

“It’s a group that will support employees across the organization through working, mentoring and development,” she says. “We invite women to speak [to the group] and then have discussions about how we women grow and advance our careers, which — especially in the rail industry — can be difficult.” 

The group provides networking opportunities for Greenbrier employees working in the Lake Oswego headquarters, as well as offices throughout the country. 

When pondering the rail industry’s future, Guzman concludes the rail industry has “a lot of catching up to do” with other sectors in using artificial intelligence and automation to manage data. 

Mostly, though, the success of any rail business will remain centered on how it treats its customers, Guzman believes. 

“Customer relationships, customer service, customer excellence and the quality of the product you’re putting out there are still at the core of what makes you successful,” she says. 

Living a life anchored in faith and family 

On the personal side, Guzman appreciates time spent with family; she has a son and a daughter from her first marriage and shares a son and daughter with her current husband Gerald. When the children were younger, she and Gerald packed the SUV for road trips across Oregon and its coast, where the family owns vacation property. Along the way, they met their goal of visiting all the “Seven Wonders of Oregon” — Crater Lake, Columbia River Gorge, the Wallowas, Mount Hood, Painted Hills and Oregon Coast. 

Now that the children are older (the eldest is in college), Guzman enjoys traveling domestically and internationally with a group of seven friends; playing mahjong; and singing karaoke. Weekends are often spent with extended family, sharing meals consisting of Filipino and Hispanic dishes. 

Her family and a faith in God keep her grounded, Guzman says, adding: “I think it’s important to find your higher purpose outside of work.”

Julie Sneider, who retired April 1 as senior editor of Progressive Railroading, is a Wisconsin-based freelance writer.  

Editor’s note: Do you know a woman who’s particularly influential in the rail sector? Consider nominating her for Progressive Railroading’s 2027 Women of Influence in Rail recognition program. Nominations are due Nov. 30 and can be made here.