President, Husco Automotive
Husco | Waukesha
Todd Zakreski is president of Waukesha-based Husco Automotive, a manufacturer of hydraulic and electromechanical components. Zakreski joined Husco in 1998 as an engineering manager for agricultural products and served in a number of national and international roles before being named president in 2007. Zakreski has overseen the launches of Husco’s operations in Pune, India, and its two new sites in Shanghai, China. He currently chairs the Waukesha County Business Alliance Manufacturing Executive Council and was board chair of the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership in 2024.
Education: Bachelor’s, New Jersey Institute of Technology; master’s, University of Rochester
Helping new employees with company culture: “Every new employee goes through an extensive onboarding process which includes a walk-through of our culture, values, etc. They also hear the Husco story directly from meeting with our CEO.”
Your industry’s career obstacle: “It’s a super competitive industry, attracting exceptional talent in all areas of business. You have to be at the top of your game as you are typically competing against the best of the best for moving up the career ladder.”
Qualities of a successful business leader: “To excel at their job, leaders need a strong sense of urgency, personal integrity, genuine interest in the employee’s safety and well-being, and they need to be comfortable with intelligent risk taking.”
One mistake leaders make: “Not spending enough time in the weeds. You have to have some hours in there to really understand what’s going right, wrong, etc.”
Professional or personal advice you ignore: “Many years ago, as a young product design engineer, a manufacturing executive once told me to ‘stay in my lane’ … I left six months later. That’s not me.”