RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – A panel of leading automotive aftermarket channel partners will participate in a discussion regarding indirect and direct sales forces as the opening presentation at the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) Vision Conference 2010, slated for Wednesday, March 17, at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare, Rosemont, Ill. Online event registration and hotel reservations now can be made online at www.aasavision.org.
 
Jack Cameron, vice president, member services and programs, AASA, will moderate the panel, which will include:

• David Barbeau, vice president global independent aftermarket business unit, Delphi Product & Service Solutions;
• Jeff Brekke, president, N.A. automotive aftermarket, The Gates Corp.;
• Jim Duckworth, president, Quaker City Motor Parts (NAPA);
• Tim Lee, President, Lang Distributing Inc.; and
• Roger McCollum, president, N.A. Williams Co.
 
“AASA recently released a Special Report on this subject, ‘AASA Channel Partners Study: The Role of the Sales Force in Aftermarket Parts Distribution,’ which gives the results of our landmark survey of aftermarket channel partners to discover which full service supplier programs and services are of value to channel partners and which are not,” said Steve Handschuh, president and COO of AASA. “We are opening our 2010 Vision Conference with this panel discussion, comprised of representatives from several points in the aftermarket supply chain, to examine this important topic more fully.”
 
The AASA Vision Conference format is conducive to this discussion, Handschuh noted. “When we established our Vision Conference three years ago, our goal was exactly this type of discussion,” he explained. “Our annual Vision Conference allows us to provide a forum for AASA full-service supplier members to engage in candid, open discussion of this important topic.”
 
AASA Vision Conference 2010: “Know Your Parts,” exclusive to AASA member companies, will kick-off with a Welcome Reception on the evening of Tuesday, March 16, following meetings of the AASA Board of Governors and AASA councils.
 
The program will begin on Wednesday morning, March 17, with keynote addresses by aftermarket channel partners, best practice presentations by members and panel discussions of trends and challenges affecting automotive aftermarket suppliers.
 
Featured keynote presentations will include Larry Magee, chairman, CEO and president of Bridgestone Retail Operations LLC and executive vice president of Bridgestone Americas Inc. (BSAM), the largest network of company-owned automotive service providers in the world — more than 2,100 tire and vehicle service centers across the United States — including Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, ExpertTire and Wheel Works store locations; Eric Hurst, Ph.D., professor of economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and top-rated speaker from AASA Vision Conference 2009; and Mike Hanley, global automotive leader, Ernst & Young, discussing, “Driving Business Success in these Dynamic Times.”
 
Other highlights will include:
• “Your Association at Work,” presented by AASA council chairmen;
• “Member Spotlights,” featuring innovative business solutions at AASA supplier member companies;
• Government affairs discussion led by Ann Wilson, senior vice president of government affairs, Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA); and
• Presentations on new AASA initiatives.
 
The AASA Vision Conference 2010: “Know Your Parts” will conclude at approximately 5 p.m. on March 17 with a Networking Reception. Additional AASA council meetings are scheduled for Thursday, March 18, at the InterContinental following the conference.
 
Ernst & Young is the AASA Vision Conference 2010 premier sponsor.
 
Details about the AASA Vision 2010 Conference, including keynote speakers, panelists, Vision Workgroup Sessions and online registration, are at the Conference Web site, www.aasavision.org.
 
Event registration is available by clicking here.

On this page, visitors have the option of registering electronically or downloading a fax-back form. AASA full service supplier members who register before Friday, Feb. 12, will be entered in a drawing for three iPod Touches.
 
Hotel reservations at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare, Rosemont, Ill. can be made by clicking here. The AASA Vision Conference 2010 room rate of $129 per night and guaranteed room availability expire on Friday, Feb. 22.