SWANSEA, Mass. — Brenton Productions, producer of high-quality automotive television programming, has announced the appointment of John Passante as president. He replaces Brenton's founder, Frank McGonagle, who will continue to work alongside Passante as chairman of the company.
 
Passante joined Brenton in 2009 as executive vice president and has enjoyed a nearly 40-year career in the automotive aftermarket as an executive, trainer and inspirational speaker. He will continue in his role as president of The Organizational Development Group Inc., as he leads Brenton Productions in its production of automotive series for national TV networks such as Fox’s SPEED channel.
 
“I'm excited to announce that my good friend John Passante is taking over the day-to-day operations of Brenton," said McGonagle. "His background with leading aftermarket distribution and manufacturing companies will be a strong asset as he leads and expands the TV production company I started 17 years ago. With John’s creative abilities, communications skills and customer relations focus, the future of Brenton is in great hands."
 
Passante's aftermarket career includes roles as senior vice president for CARQUEST, senior vice president of human resources for Moog Automotive and senior director of worldwide human resources for Delphi Products and Service Solutions. He is a motivational speaker, trainer and an adjunct professor at Northwood University. As president of The Organizational Development Group, Inc., Passante assists aftermarket companies in recruiting, coaching, change management and culture enhancement.
 
Brenton Productions currently produces two television series in high-definition television (HDTV) on Speed: TruckU and Two Guys Garage. Speed has renewed both series for the 2011 season due to their growing audience popularity by do-it-yourselfers and trade technicians. Each episode reaches a viewing audience of more than 1.2 million. Both shows have companion websites where viewers get expanded details about products shown on TV and click through to sponsors websites.
 
Brenton headquarters are in Swansea, Mass. with television production facilities in Tampa, Fla. In addition to producing national television series, Brenton also specializes in creating and producing TV commercials, training and corporate videos and video for the Internet.