The Import Vehicle Community has announced its 2016 People Awards. The awards honor the excellence of individuals in the import auto care industry.

“The Import Vehicle Community takes pride in recognizing our industry’s key leaders through our programs and events,” said Ira Davis, chairman. “Our annual awards program is a wonderful forum to recognize those individuals who have made great contributions to our industry.”

The awards were presented at the Import Vehicle Community Luncheon and Awards Program last week at AAPEX. This year’s honorees are:

• Hall of Fame: Bob Cushing

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Craig Burns

• Peter Klotz Person of the Year: Andres Castrillon

• Young Executive of the Year: Aaron Shaffer

Hall of Fame
Bob Cushing, WORLDPAC, Inc.

Bob Cushing has served as president and CEO of WORLDPAC Inc. since January 2008 and was executive vice president (EVP), sales and operations prior, joining WORLDPAC in 1999. Prior to WORLDPAC, Cushing was EVP, chief operating officer of Metrix Parts Warehouse, EVP of Interco Parts Corp. and started his import career with Robert Bosch Corp.

Under his leadership, WORLDPAC has accelerated growth with revenue exceeding $1 billion through the expansion of WORLDPAC’s distribution network to include eight distribution centers and 122 warehouse branch locations in North America, including Puerto Rico. Cushing has built a customer-first business in WORLDPAC, recognized as a leading import distributor of original equipment and aftermarket parts. He has expertise in developing an integrated e-commerce platform and leveraging technology to serve the independent repair shop more efficiently and effectively.

Cushing is a major proponent of providing technical and business training to WORLDPAC’s customer base and since 2009, has held four Supplier & Training Expos (STX).

“Our goal is to provide our customers with professional management training to help grow their business, advanced technical training to meet today’s demands of diagnosing and repairing the most advanced vehicles, and create a culture of dialogue between our premium supplier partners and customer community,” said Cushing. “We take great pride in continuing to offer exclusive curriculum as well as opportunities to provide solutions for a rapidly changing business environment; our world-class STX event is consistently a part of connecting technology and innovation on all levels. We are incredibly pleased with the success of the event, only possible due to the tremendous support of our team members, partners, suppliers and customers, and look forward to continuing it in the future.”

Just recently, Cushing was promoted to EVP-commercial at Advance Auto responsible for all enterprise commercial business including WORLDPAC, Autopart International and Advance Auto Parts.

Lifetime Achievement Award
Craig Burns, Interamerican Motor Corp.

Craig Burns never knew the summer job he took in 1977 at Hyde Park BMW in Los Angeles would lead to a 39-year career in the import automotive industry.

While perfecting his accuracy on the Kardex card inventory at the dealership, Burns found that this car business paid much better than working on his other passion, motorcycles. Cars still had the thrill of speed that was a demand in his life, as he was very active in drag racing motorcycles.

Burns moved to Bob Smith BMW in 1980, which led to an introduction to Hanns Hederer and Bob Diotte at IMC in 1984. His expertise in BMW was responsible for achieving steady growth in the IMC BMW program for eight years. His involvement in the IMC Asian program led to accelerated research and travel for the next seven years, while growing the program from the ground up. His path continued in product category management and purchasing.

Burns’ current position in marketing and vendor relations allows him to keep in touch with the many valued relationships he’s cultivated in the U.S., Europe and Asia in his 32 years at IMC.

This is his fifth year acting as a judge for the Import Product and Marketing Awards with the Import Vehicle Community.

Peter Klotz Person of the Year Award
Andres Castrillon, Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration

Andres Castrillon is currently the automotive team leader in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, where he supervises the staff and activities of the automotive team and acts as the principal advisor on issues impacting the competitiveness of the automotive sector. Castrillon and his team provide industry analysis, contribute to U.S. trade policy development, participate in trade negotiations, monitor the implementation of existing agreements, and evaluate the impact of domestic and international economic and regulatory policies on the automotive industry.

Prior to joining the Commerce Department, he served as senior counsel for international affairs with the Auto Care Association, where he was responsible for managing all international trade policy and regulatory issues for the association’s members. Before joining the Auto Care Association, Castrillon spent five years as a Washington, D.C.-based attorney in the international trade practice of a New York law firm.

Young Executive of the Year
Aaron Shaffer, KYB Americas Corp.

Aaron Shaffer began his career with KYB in 2002 as a territory sales manager after working in several auto parts stores and graduating from Northwood University with a BBA in economics.

In 2003, Shaffer was promoted to manage the introduction of KYB into an auto parts wholesaler with 300 locations.

The year 2004 saw Shaffer relocate to KYB’s headquarters in Addison, Illinois, where he was named customer service manager. He managed a team of 11 and improved policies and procedures to adjust to KYB’s growing aftermarket business. Midway through 2005, Shaffer became KYB’s marketing manager, where he was responsible for advertising, public relations and pricing. He helped to create KYB’s first national marketing calendar, and was involved in many special projects including the launch of KYB’s complete corner assembly, Strut-Plus and the introduction of KYB’s service provider-focused training initiatives.

In 2010, Shaffer relocated to Washington, D.C., to work directly with channel partners on the East Coast. Recently, he spearheaded a project to provide KYB’s distribution partners with detailed and robust electronic marketing content. Today, he remains involved with KYB’s training programs and also serves as a business development manager, working directly with several key national account distribution partners.