This week, aftermarketNews gets the scoop on the 16th annual Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS) from GAAS Chairman Dave Caracci. Caracci has served as chairman of the GAAS board since 2007. A retired vice president of sales at Robert Bosch LLC and past chairman of both the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) and the University of the Aftermarket Foundation, Caracci also serves as the executive director of the National Engine Parts Manufacturers Association and is an adjunct online professor for Northwood University and aftermarket business coach. Lifelong racing enthusiast and mentor to many, Caracci also is part of the Performance Tech Motorsports race team, participating in the 2011 American Le Mans Series.

This year will be the 16th annual GAAS. That is quite a milestone and speaks to the program’s viability and success. Why do you think GAAS has grown to become such an important annual event for industry leaders?

The viability and success of GAAS each year comes down to having great educational content and one of the best venues to network with industry leaders. That combination is hard to find at one event and we've been fortunate to find the right formula that works each year.

In addition, the cause of GAAS is strong. Since we started 16 years ago, we've given out over $1.5 million to fund industry scholarships. I know one attendee who told me recently that he enjoys coming to GAAS each year because he knows that his registration fee is helping support young people who want to be a part of our industry's future. He believes so much in the cause that he makes an additional donation above and beyond the registration fee.

Great content, great contacts and a great cause - it's the success quotient that has worked through these nearly two decades of GAAS.

When we last spoke about the Global Symposium in 2009, you were telling us about some exciting updates that were made to the programming. Any new changes for this year’s event?

We are trying to make GAAS as innovative as possible. Most of our audience members carry a Blackberry, iPhone or Android Smartphone. It's almost a requirement to do business these days. With those phones in hand, we are going to ask audience members for their opinions via text messaging. This is an innovative way to poll the GAAS audience to find out what they are thinking.

Plus, they can use that same Smartphone and send questions to the speakers and panelists via text message or e-mail. We have an electronic method set-up so the questions are relayed to the stage so the speakers and panelists can interact with the audience in real-time. We started using this technology last year, and it was universally praised by the audience members as a great innovation for our event. So we are happy to bring it back for this year's event.

How do you and the GAAS Planning Committee keep the content and speaker lineup fresh and on-target with future trends?

We have a steering committee that meets year-round to plan GAAS. The committee is made-up of a cross-section of the industry. So we have people who understand what's going at the shop level all the way up the chain to those who manufacture the parts. Plus, we have partners like SEMA who help us understand what's going in the performance side of the business. And, each year we try to bring some of the thought leaders from the industry, like David Cole of the Center for Automotive Research, to stretch our minds and think about what the industry might look like five to 10 years from now.

What are the biggest issues aftermarket companies and their leaders will have to face over the next few years?

Amy, I'm flattered you'd ask me, but I'm just the chairman of the GAAS board. The folks with the answers to the future will be at GAAS in a couple of weeks. If your readers want to learn more about future aftermarket issues, come ask them!

How can GAAS attendees make the most out of the event – in terms of educational takeaways, networking, etc.?

I believe it comes down to attitude: Come prepared to learn something new. I find that those who attend GAAS each year typically walk away with three or four good ideas they can share with their employees or customers.

The networking part is all about making yourself available. Come with a stack of business cards and go out of your way to meet some new people that you don't know. I've learned so much from people who are involved in different parts of the industry. We may never have a reason to do business together, but I've learned something valuable from them. The people who come to GAAS are the ones who are successful and I want to find out how they conduct their business. If you listen carefully, you'll probably be able to use one of their great ideas back at your business. That's the type of knowledge that you can't put a price on.