New Car Care Council Executive Board Created
The Car Care Council, which directs the “Be Car Care Aware” consumer education campaign, established a new Executive Board at a special meeting held last month in Detroit. Eleven industry executives were named to the new board, which will provide a leadership and oversight platform to the council.
Executive Sunrise Seminars Back by Popular Demand at AAPEX
Building on the success of last year’s extremely popular Executive Sunrise Seminars, show organizers have announced an exciting lineup of presenters for this year’s event. Executive Sunrise Seminars will take place Nov. 2 and 4 at during AAPEX as the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas. This is the second year that the seminars will take place at AAPEX. Sponsored by professional services firm The Thomas Group the seminars will feature representatives from Harley-Davidson, FedEx Ground, John Force Racing and Avicon. AAPEX attendees will hear about building brand identity, building winning teams, RFID and efficient distribution.
Executive Interview with Hoon Chung, President & CEO of DST, Inc.
Our latest edition of “Executive Interview” features Hoon Chung, who was recently named president and CEO of DST, Inc., in Mission Viejo, Calif. Chung has more than 20 years of management experience in supply chain management and technology deployment services. Prior to his role as the Automotive Group senior vice president and general manager at Activant, he was the COO of Adexa, Inc., which delivers intelligent enterprise business planning and performance management solutions that link strategic, tactical and operational aspects in optimizing enterprise-wide supply chain planning and synchronization. Chung recently talked with aftermarketNews.com about his new appointment to lead DST, what he envisions for the company’s future and what he brings from his experience in other industries.
Visteon Opens New Automotive Technical Center Facility in Chihuahua, Mexico
Visteon is opening a new automotive technical center in Chihuahua, Mexico. The 5,000-square-meter facility will be used for vehicle component design activities and administrative operations in the region and will house approximately 200 engineers, technicians and other employees. Visteon stated in a press release that the new facility is being opened to enhance the company’s competitiveness and performance in the Mexican automotive market.
Parts Depot Buys Tri-Citi Automotive Warehouse
Roanoke-based Parts Depot (PDI) has purchased Tri-Citi Automotive Warehouse, a National Pronto Association member based in Tampa, Fla. Tri-Citi currently operates one warehouse and four stores, and serves more than 100 independent jobbers across the mid-Florida region.
Automakers Shift Focus to Health Care Crisis
An aging former auto industry worker underscores a key challenge facing the U.S. automotive industry and all of manufacturing in the years to come. “Our oldest retiree is 109 years old,” said Jerry Elson, vice president at General Motors. The man, who retired in 1958, is the oldest of 1.1 million people — including 500,000 retirees — for whom GM spent more than $4.8 billion on health care last year. That’s more than the largest U.S. automaker spends on steel, even with steel prices up 30 percent to 60 percent this year.
Midas’ European Operations Gets New Owners
Midas has confirmed the pending sale of its licensed operations in Europe and Latin America. Currently owned by Magneti Marelli, a member of the Fiat Group, Marelli will sell the operations to France’s Norauto Group. Midas sold its interests in Europe and Brazil to Marelli in October 1998, when the companies entered into a long-term license agreement for which Midas received $100 million in cash and on-going royalties throughout the term of the license agreement.
Nominations Requested for 2004 Automotive Leader of the Year
The Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association (AWDA) is seeking nominations for its 46th annual Automotive Leader of the Year Award. This prestigious award was established in 1959 to honor and recognize individual contributions to the motor vehicle aftermarket. The 2003 award was presented to Richard Morgan, president and CEO of the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, Inc. The 2004 award will be presented on Sunday, Oct. 31, at the Opening General Session during the 2004 Annual AWDA-AAIA Business/Education Conference at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.
Herman Trend Alert: Executive Exits Expected
Executives are restless. Employers expect leaders at top levels to depart at a substantially faster rate over the next few years, compared to what has been seen over the past few years. Results from a recent poll conducted by The Association of Executive Search Consultants revealed that 54 percent of executives responding expect to work for seven or more employers during their career, compared to nine percent who felt that way ten years ago.
DST Asks: How Do you Make Strategic Business Decisions
There are almost as many sources of reference for making strategic business decisions as there are choices for planning and securing your future. Our respondents to last week’s question were in agreement that it takes collaborative efforts to design and implement a corporate roadmap, including internal management, consultants, observing and copying competitors’ strategies, industry journals and publications and technology supplier partnerships.