DETROIT – John Chalifoux, president and COO of the Motor & Equipment Remanufacturers Association (MERA) — an affiliate association of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) — was recognized for outstanding achievement in sales and marketing during the 20th Annual Gala of the Marketing & Sales Executives of Detroit (MSED) on Oct. 16. 
Chalifoux received one of two MSED Platinum Awards presented during the 2013 gala for his leadership of MERA, which was launched in 2011 to promote the environmental, economic and product performance benefits of remanufactured products. Today, the organization has a roster of 90 member companies, including remanufacturers, suppliers and professional services firms from the automotive and heavy-duty, off-road (HDOR) sectors of the motor vehicle parts remanufacturing industry.
“This award is a celebration for the remanufacturing industry and the members of MERA,” said John Chalifoux, president and COO, MERA, during his acceptance speech. “The achievements recognized by this award were made possible by the strong support of our members, the MERA board of directors and the leadership of MEMA."
Each year, MSED honors sales and marketing professionals with its Platinum Awards. These awards recognize industry leaders who have distinguished themselves in their field and helped their companies achieve critical business goals. It is given to teams or individuals that have been instrumental in successfully marketing and selling a new product or service, or an existing product or service to a new market.
Before leading MERA, Chalifoux served as vice president of marketing and business development for the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA), which is also an affiliate association on MEMA. Prior to OESA, Chalifoux worked in the automobile retail business and served as a strategy consultant and a marketing & sales executive in the automotive supplier community. He began his career with Goldman Sachs in New York.
The MSED 2013 Annual Black Tie Gala was held Oct. 16 at The Roostertail in Detroit. Other award winners that evening included Molly MacDonald, founder and president, The Pink Fund; Peter Karmanos Jr., co-founder, Compuware; Alan Batey, senior vice president, global Chevrolet brand chief, U.S. sales & marketing, General Motors; and Andra Rush, CEO, Rush Group.
