TROY, MI — Although it has been two full years since the University of the Aftermarket has held its advanced aftermarket course series, the inaugural Leadership 2.0 course was a complete sell out, providing aftermarket professionals with a well-rounded educational experience. Part II of the program will take place April 15-20, 2007. Prospective students interested in advancing their careers should visit http://www.univaftmkt.org for more information on the 2007/2008 course. Leadership 2.0 will take place in Troy, MI.

“It is exciting to be working with this very talented group of individuals and to know that they are the future leaders of our industry,” said Jimsey Keith, director of the University of the Aftermarket.

As a replacement for the former Leadership 2010 program, Leadership 2.0 continues the University of the Aftermarket’s tradition of providing challenging continuing education for today’s and tomorrow’s aftermarket leaders.

The new Leadership 2.0 was developed as an executive leadership education program specifically for the aftermarket industry. The course consists of two five-day sessions, as well as a team project to be completed by the start of the second session. The top two teams will have the opportunity to “battle it out” at the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium in May 2007.

Students recently completed the first part of the two-part course, and all found the experience worthwhile and engaging.

“The Leadership 2.0 program will be instrumental to my success in business,” said R.L. Polk’s Bryan Funke. “The program did a great job enabling the participants to learn very complex subject matter in a way that will stay with us. With a blend of learning styles, the Leadership 2.0 program was able to convey complex topics in a manner that made it simple. This allowed me to not only hear the topic but it made me apply it and gave me the tools to use it in the future.”

Others found the interaction among students and faculty to be particularly valuable, “The group dynamics at Leadership 2.0 was as important as the course work,” said Brian Norko from Federal-Mogul.

Brian continued, “The ability to have conversations and interact with people from the different parts of the supply chain made the learning that much richer.”

According to Tim Sturdevant, “Leadership 2.0 was a fast-paced program of learning with high-quality instructors. I truly enjoyed the opportunity to network with the other members of the 2006/2007 class.” Sturdevant is president of S.A.E. Warehouse Inc. and also serves as current Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA) chairman.

“Whether you are managing a distributorship in a localized market or a regional sales force, for you to grow into one of tomorrow’s aftermarket leaders, you need a more global outlook as well as a national network of aftermarket peers in both distribution and manufacturing. Leadership 2.0 has been designed from the ground up to provide both,” said Dave Caracci, chairman of the University of the Aftermarket Foundation.