After emigrating to the United States, he began to work his way up in the field, starting out as a local mechanic. His passion for racing and motorsports drove him to seek out more opportunities, and he eventually became a Research and Development Manager at Saleen, an American manufacturer of specialty sports cars and automotive parts. He served as Director of Production until 2010.

Rod also served as Chief Racing Director at Dime Racing, an Irvine, California-based organization which specializes in automotive research and development. Dime is built on pillars of technology, design, data management and calibration, and electronics which have allowed them to succeed across the board.

Under Rod’s strategic leadership for years, Dime Racing grew and thrived as a business; Rod even headed up the organization’s expansion into the motorsports scene with an all-new in-house program.

Dime has collaborated with a wide variety of manufacturers and championships, and the company has extensive experience in various racing series including Pirelli World Challenge. Dime Racing has also been at the forefront of AMG Mercedes technology and Lamborghini.

For Rod Shegem, the mark of true personal and professional success is the ability to stay innovative and never settle. Part of that stems from surrounding oneself with a team of people who have the same passion to make a difference in their field, as well as the tools to make their goals happen in reality. In every step of his career, Rod has made it a point to develop great teams who all know that they can trust each other and serve as inspiration for one another.

As someone who paved his own career path from the ground up, Rod knows how intimidating it can seem to chase your dreams. He emphasizes the importance of finding your own way in your field; if you can find some kind of position in your field while going to school, you can gain the most hands-on experience and build your network as well.

Rod Shegem has been fortunate enough to live his dream every day, so he created this blog to share his insights culled from years of experience in management, marketing strategy, negotiation, and more. To learn more about his history in racing, head to his racing blog; or to get a glimpse into his hobbies and interests, check out his personal blog!