Marion Luna Brem
Marion Luna Brem, married with two young sons, had her near-perfect home life shattered when she was diagnosed with a terminal illness and told she had only two to five years to live. Battling life-threatening breast cancer with no health insurance, no employment, and no resume, Ms. Brem, newly divorced and the head of her household, decided to try her hand at sales. Selling her first automobile at thirty-two, by thirty-six she was president and CEO of her own auto dealership, Love Chrysler Inc., founded in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1989, currently ranked nationally in Hispanic Business and Working Woman magazines Top 500. Her numerous professional accomplishmentsinside the male-dominated automotive industrymost recently led to her induction into The International Automotive Hall of Fame. Her inspirational story has been profiled in The Washington Post, Readers Digest, and most recently the USA Today as well as numerous womens magazines. She has appeared on many national radio and television shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Robert Schullers Hour of Power, and Good Morning America. She has been honored by the Office of Womens Initiatives at the White House and currently she serves the state of Texas Workers Compensation Insurance Board. She was also selected to participate in case studies at Harvard University Graduate School of Business. Ms. Brem is the holder of the Avon Women of Enterprise and the Inc. magazine entrepreneur of the Year awards and is also one of forty women worldwide, ten from the United States, to be named as one of the Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World for 2001. (The recognition ceremony took place last year in Madrid, Spain.) As one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the United States (Hispanic Business magazine), she directs her influence to the fight against breast cancer and improving education, having founded and funded a program to recognize civic-minded high school students. To date, her company has awarded several new cars to Love Chryslers Top High School Students. She also founded and co-funded the Marion Luna Brem/Pat McNeil teen Parent Scholarship Fund, which provides financial support for young parents facing the twin difficulties of parenthood and continuing their education. With her two sons active in her businesses, she has strategically opened six additional companies including a second auto dealership in Texas as well as an ad agency and a real estate holding company. She has authored a book, The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women (Penguin Putnam Publishers), ranked one of the Top Ten Business Books for 2001 (Booklist) and most recently, Women Make The Best Salesman, (Double Day Publishers 2004). She currently travels as an international speaker.