Contributed by Matt Taylor, National Account Manager, Remy Power Products

Taylor is one of four Leadership 2.0 participants blogging this week from Northwood University’s campus in West Palm Beach, Fla. Members of the 2010-2011 class of the University of the Aftermarket Leadership 2.0 program reconvened Sunday on the campus for nearly a full week of intensive learning, problem-solving and networking. This year’s class includes 27 professionals representing virtually every level of the aftermarket, including manufacturing, distribution, association management and vehicle service.


The big day had arrived, and each team was looking confident and poised, ready for the team presentations.

We started off the day with a look back to the Leadership class of 1995. Back then, the program was held at Ohio State University and had the same structure as today’s Leadership 2.0, with two weeks of intensive classroom instruction and a team project. It’s an honor to call myself an alumnus of a program that has included such aftermarket leaders as John Washbish and Temple Sloan.

We were able to look back 16 years at what that class thought the aftermarket would look like in 2010. They were spot-on in many of their predictions, such as the continued consolidations or mergers of retail outlets, manufacturers and program groups. We then split up into groups to come up with our own predictions of the structure and challenges of our industry in 2020. Each group listed technology advancements by the OEMs and further government regulation as big concerns.

Dave Caracci stopped by to discuss the evolution of aftermarket product lines. This provided for great discussion and an effective segue into our group presentations.

Presentations

We spent close to four hours on the following team presentations (team name, topic):

Team 1 – Aftermarket Junkies - Adoption of Technologies from Outside of the Aftermarket

Team 2 – WTF “We’re the Future” (my team) – The Role of Social Media in the Aftermarket

Team 3 – Automotive Alternative Action – Impact of Alternative Energy Vehicles on the Aftermarket

Team 4 – 5 Profiteers – Impact of New-Vehicle Sales on the Aftermarket

Team 5 – In It to Win It – Influence of Private Label vs. Branded Product

Team 6 – Freemarketeers – OE Warranties and Their Impact on the Aftermarket

Each presentation was superb. It was evident throughout this Leadership 2.0 experience that each team had amazing cohesion, energy and passion for the aftermarket. Following the presentations, each of us filled out a ballot for the best presentation, with the results to be announced at the final class dinner.

Congratulations to the Freemarketeers (Glenn Schaefer, Brad Sechrist, Todd Friedt and Aaron DiBucci) on their winning presentation and the opportunity to present in front of the driving force of our industry at GAAS.

It was an absolute honor and privilege to get to know and work alongside all of the future aftermarket leaders in this class.

On to Leadership 3.0!

Thanks to all four of our bloggers from this year's Leadership 2.0 program! To read the blog posts from Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, click on the hotlinks.

For additional information regarding Leadership 2.0 and other University of the Aftermarket programs, visit www.universityoftheaftermarket.com.