For the next three years she will be extremely busy, leading a team of thirty people and acting as the reference point for relations with over 150 external suppliers and Opel engineers. This new model will be the first to share important components with the German car maker, as part of the industrial alliance between Fiat and General Motors. 

'I must respect the deadlines, the costs and the quality standards,' she declared to the magazine, speaking of her job. 'Then I have to market a car which consumers can perceive as a real step forward, as the Fiat Uno was in relation to the 127, and the first Punto in relation to the Uno.' 

With this award, the prestigious magazine aimed to reward 'the woman who has reached the highest level in the history of the Italian motor industry'. This opinion is shared by Gianni Coda, head of the Fiat, Lancia and Light Commercial vehicles Business Unit: 'Cristina Siletto's technical capabilities, human qualities and above all her determination and effectiveness convinced us that she was the right person to manage the 199 Project which is a strategic model for Fiat.' 

Cristina Siletto was born in Turin, she is thirty-seven years old and has a degree in Electronic Engineering from Turin Polytechnic. She has had a passion for computers and electronics since she was a child: her father was an executive in the Olivetti Engineering department, while her mother taught computer science, and her younger brother followed her to University. Her path was preordained and took her to Fiat in 1990, where she immediately began to design electrical, electronic and self-diagnosis systems for engines. In 1994 she began to apply the results of her work on future models such as the Multipla and the Seicento. The latter brought her first professional record when, aged just 33, she was put in charge of 'Product Management' for the Fiat city-car runabout after she had spent 1997 and 1998 commuting between Italy and Poland to monitor the car's development. In 2000 and 2001 she worked on the restyling of the Punto, and moved to the 199 Project in 2002. 

In addition to her recognised professional capabilities, Cristina Siletto has numerous interests: she loves the cinema and is a great fan of Woody Allen. Her friends describe her as an excellent cook, and have no qualms about inviting themselves to dinner on the rare weekends when she is not out of town, sailing or skiing.