Effective immediately, Keith Whann is stepping down as the general counsel to the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association. Whann has served as general counsel to NIADA since 1995; and in 2002 he received the Ring of Honor award, the association’s highest non-dealer commendation.

“I have been blessed to work with NIADA these last 16 years, and I consider it an honor to have represented their interests being the voice of dealers as NIADA’s general counsel for as long as I have,” he said.

According to the association, Whann fulfilled members’ needs for legislative and regulatory education and training. For years, he presented dealer compliance seminars across the country, which later evolved into pioneering on-demand and live webcasts through NIADA.TV.

More recently, Whann’s Car Counselor’s TARP (Together Automotive Retailing Prospers) program brought lenders and dealers together at a time when funding was difficult to find. His “Dealer Tech 2.0” series stresses the importance of social media interaction for dealers, according to association officials.

They went on to say that he “has been instrumental in representing the interests of car dealers in Washington, D.C. He has participated as an industry expert in all recent FTC roundtable sessions, as well as meeting with various members of Congress, White House staff, the Department of Defense, Small Business Administration, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Keith for over thirteen years, and I truly appreciate the contributions he has made to NIADA and the industry as a whole,” stated Michael Linn, NIADA chief executive officer. “Keith and I have created some ground-breaking innovations, such as the NIADA.TV network. I personally look forward to working with him on industry related projects in the future.”

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and our dealer members,” continued Linn, “I would like to express my deep appreciation for his dedication and loyalty to NIADA and we wish him continued success in his ongoing ventures.”