FOR SHANGRI-LA ABUBO-HUMES, SUCCESS ISN’T ABOUT HAVING ALL THE ANSWERS — IT’S ABOUT BUILDING TRUST, ASKING QUESTIONS AND GROWING STRONGER TEAMS
It is a role that keeps her close to both the day-to-day pace of the shop and the bigger picture behind it — teams, decisions and the constant movement that keeps work on track. Th at perspective did not come all at once. It was built over time, shaped by a habit she developed early on.
“I didn’t want to just do my job, I wanted to understand how everything worked,” she says. She started in parts while studying accounting, without a technical background and little understanding of the industry. Early on, she felt that gap. Th ere was a sense she had more to prove, and she responded by asking questions and paying attention.
“Starting out, I had to prove myself,” she says. “Th ere was a perception that I didn’t know enough, so I had to work harder, ask more questions and show that I was capable.” That curiosity quickly pushed her beyond the role she was hired into. She wanted to understand how repairs moved through the shop, why certain components caused delays and how decisions in one department affected another.
“The shop floor has a certain energy,” she says. “People working together, solving problems in real time.”
As her understanding grew, so did her responsibilities. She took on receivables while still working in parts, then moved into administration, learning fi le closing and payroll. “I just kept building knowledge across every part of the business.”
Eventually, she moved into production, where she spent close to a decade. A major infl uence during that time came from mentorship, particularly Chad Brick and Dan Bernier, who she credits with shaping much of her growth and keeping her in the industry.
“They’re who kept me in the industry and influenced 80% of my growth in collision,” she says.
Her experience as a woman in the industry ran alongside that growth. Without a technical background, she often had to establish credibility before it was assumed.
“There were moments where I wasn’t taken seriously, comments that were dismissive or inappropriate,” she says. “Those moments weren’t easy, but they didn’t stop me. They pushed me to keep going.”
Over time, that began to shift as she built consistency and delivered results.
“I earned respect through consistency, through results and through building relationships.”
Her commitment to supporting women in the industry deepened when she became a founding member of Manitoba Resource for Women in Collision (MB ROWC), which she describes as a turning point.
Mentorship continued to shape her leadership style. Early support from Toni Brick helped open the door to the Eastside Group, where she developed under leaders who encouraged her to think beyond individual roles.
“I was taught to see the whole picture,” she says. “People, process, culture — everything touches everything.”
Today, she carries those lessons into her role, focusing less on having all the answers and more on helping others build confidence in their own.
“I try to create opportunities by encouraging people to think for themselves,” she says. “Instead of giving answers, I ask questions.” She has also seen a shift across the industry. “There’s more acceptance, more opportunity and more visibility for women,” she says. “But we still need to do a better job showing how many different paths there are.”
For Abubo-Humes, that understanding came over time — through experience, challenges and a willingness to keep learning. “Th is industry offers more opportunities than people realize,” she says. “It’s not just about repairs — there are so many paths.”
