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2019 Women & Automotive: Profiles in Leadership honorees

Since launching the Women & Automotive: Canadian Leadership Forum in 2016, Cherokee Media Group has honored and recognized a group of Canada’s leading women in automotive each year through our Women & Automotive: Profiles in Leadership program.

Not only have these groups been recognized in the January/February editions of the Auto Remarketing Canada magazine, but they have also been honored at awards luncheons onsite at the Women & Automotive events.

And many honorees have been included in the event’s star-studded speaker lineups themselves — folks like Cox Automotive Canada president Maria Soklis, TradeRev and KAR Auction Services’ Becca Polak, TRADER Corp’s Samantha Huen, and many more.

Each year, these profiles and the event itself gives Auto Remarketing Canada the chance to share leadership lessons and thoughtful insight on the auto industry. And this year is no different.

Without further ado, here are the 2019 Women & Automotive: Profiles in Leadership honorees.

• Andria Zanchin, Principal and Executive Vice President, Zanchin Automotive Group
• Ashley Middleton, Account Director, Sales, Dealer Groups, TRADER Corporation and autoTRADER.ca
• Deborah Butt, Consultant – Service Process Development, Toyota Canada
• Joanne Peddle, Leader, Product, SCI MarketView
• Jennifer Hurdman, Dealer Services Consultant, Industrial Alliance Dealer Services SAL Group
• Laura Zanchin, Principal and Executive Vice President, Zanchin Automotive Group
• Lynn Martin, Regional Human Resources Manager, ADESA
• Michele Wedemire, National Operational Excellence Manager, Manheim Canada
• Sandra Kim, Director of Human Resources, TradeRev
• Sarah Budd, General Manager, Budds' Mazda
• Stephanie Turner, Senior Manager, Business Development & Strategy, Cox Automotive Canada

These women will share their stories and perspectives in the January/February print and digital editions of the Auto Remarketing Canada magazine and at the upcoming Women & Automotive Canadian Leadership Forum, which is once again scheduled to follow the Auto Remarketing Canada conference on March 21 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.

The Profiles in Leadership program drills down into what it takes to be a leader in today’s automotive industry, as well as what makes it unique and challenging to be a woman in auto — and how to tackle the steps and hurdles to automotive career success.

In these features, we approach questions like how to describe leadership style, what leaders have inspired these professionals throughout their career, what paradigm shifts they’ve encountered since entering the auto industry and more.

To learn more and register for the Women & Automotive event, visit https://www.womenandautomotive.com.

Remarketing’s Under 40 honorees for 2018

From dealers to auction executives, from leading professionals at third-party providers and auto finance companies — and everywhere in between — the Canadian auto industry is full of young men and women who have achieved massive success at an early age.

That’s why for the fourth consecutive year, Auto Remarketing Canada is excited to honor “Remarketing’s Under 40.”

Thank you to all who nominated folks for this year’s awards program.

While we could not include everyone who was nominated, it was truly inspiring to see the young people who are making waves in Canada’s remarketing space.

The 2018 honorees will be recognized in the special on-site conference edition of Auto Remarketing Canada magazine and during a March 28 luncheon, sponsored by EBlock, during the Auto Remarketing Canada Conference.

The complete list of Remarketing’s Under 40 honorees is below: 

TradeRev joins CARPROOF as Auto Remarketing Canada 2018 presenting sponsor

The Auto Remarketing Canada Conference team announced Tuesday that TradeRev has joined CARPROOF as a presenting sponsor for this year’s event.

Along with presenting sponsors TradeRev and CARPROOF, key industry associations like the CFLA, IARA, AMVOQ and others have come onboard to host this event in Toronto, whose content is specific to the used-car, auto finance and remarketing industries in Canada.

For more information and to register please visit: http://arcanada.autoremarketing.com.

The agenda is stacked with experts who will provide smart analysis, market intelligence and valuable takeaways to help remarketing and fleet executives, franchise and independent dealers and auto finance leaders chart a path to higher profits and success in 2018.

In addition to executives from the presenting sponsors, the lineup of speakers includes the following (and many more):

Dennis Ephlin, IBM Automotive Center of Competence
Robert Karwel, JD Power
Rachel Lee of Kijiji and Jennifer Gausby of BrandSpark International
Kevin Coombs, TRADER.ca
Matt Fabian, TransUnion Canada
Brian Murphy, Canadian Black Book
Brian Osler, OMVIC
Ryan O'Connor, eBlock/eDealer
Galen Gower, Carfinco
George Steinsky, Hyundai Capital
Gordon Taylor, BMO
Keven Cliché, Autonum Capital
Shannon Friesen, Canada Drives
Shim Mannon, White Clarke Group

Early registration savings is now available at arcanada.autoremarketing.com.

While there, be sure to reserve time on March 29 for the Women & Automotive: Canadian Leadership Forum. High-profile table sponsorships are currently being reserved. More information can be found at womenandautomotive.com.

Questions about sponsorship or exhibiting can be directed to conference chairman Bill Zadeits at bzadeits@cherokeemediagroup.com.

Nominations open for Women & Automotive: Profiles in Leadership

Auto Remarketing Canada is excited to one again feature the Women & Automotive: Profiles in Leadership in conjunction with the Women & Automotive: Canadian Leadership Forum.  

In the January/February issue of the magazine, we will be compiling Q&A/profile stories about women in the Canadian auto industry who exemplify the best in leadership.

We would appreciate any suggestions you might have on auto industry leader(s) for us to profile this year.

If there are any outstanding folks you have in mind, please email joverby@cherokeemediagroup.com by Friday Dec. 8 with the following:

— Her name, position and company

— Her email

— Her top leadership qualities

Please note that this is not limited to the used-car business.

And please feel open to nominate folks outside of your own company, as well.

These folks can be from any area of the Canadian automotive industry at large: retail, wholesale, OEM, dealers, finance, aftermarket, technology, vendors and so on.

 Thank you for being a part of this great series!

From the Editor: Behind the scenes at conference time

If you want to know how much the Auto Remarketing Canada Conference has changed since it started, you have to go back to, well, where it started: Dearborn, Mich. 

Before moving back-and-forth between Toronto and Montreal (and eventually making Toronto our home), we held the inaugural ARC event in Dearborn way back in 2006. 

A fine city from what I understand and, of course, the home of Ford Motor Co. 

But it’s not exactly, ya know, Canada.

Locations aside, this year’s Auto Remarketing Canada Conference — which begins Monday and is the 10th installment of the conference — has evolved from the first one. And for that matter, the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth ones. 

Sitting in the captain’s chair for these conferences since 2007 has been Marilu McQuilkin, who is the director of meetings and events at our company (i.e. the Boss of All Bosses).

She and I joined the company the same year, and one of my first assignments was to work with Marilu on helping to promote that spring’s conference through our new Auto Remarketing Canada enewsletter. 

Our company’s President of Planning, the Oligarch of Organization, Marilu has had a bird’s eye view (well, when she stands on a step ladder) on AR Canada for a decade. If anyone knows this conference, it’s her — so I went straight to the source to chat about the conference's evolution.

The biggest difference she has noticed is the number of dealers, which continues to grow.

Marilu also said there have been big changes in the content at the conference. And one of the biggest shifts is happening this year.

In response to feedback from our attendees, we are expanding the content offerings for the event this year to include tracks.

In addition to the large-scale keynote sessions and the hands-on, interactive workshops, we will have a select group of sessions that will allow attendees to go deeper into specific areas of interest — Retail, Remarketing and Auto Finance. 

She brings up another good point: as the landscape of the Canadian used-car industry has shifted, so has the growth of the conference. 

And that, of course, impacts the type of content we have, speakers, and so forth. 

One of the strongest additions to our conference work in Canada has been the launch of the Women & Automotive: Canadian Leadership Forum. Started last year, Marilu said one of the big reasons for its success was the strong names and speakers behind it. 

And having the honorees from our inaugural Women & Automotive: Profiles in Leadership program just makes it even stronger. 

One thing you may notice that’s different about this year’s Women & Automotive event (which is being held on Wednesday) is the actual structure of the day, Marilu said.

Last year mirrored typical conference scheduling with session, break, session, break and so forth. 

Now, we will have more content with fewer breaks to take full advantage of the day. 

And the main takeaway for anyone who attends Women & Automotive: Canadian Leadership Forum is this: you’ll get actionable items that can further your career. 

Less storytelling, per se, and more of a leadership guide, Marilu said.

These folks taking center stage at Women & Automotive, she said, know how to set themselves apart in the auto industry.

And as Auto Remarketing Canada begins its 10th event and Women & Automotive its second, we hope these conferences can help you continue to do the same.

Women & Automotive panelists offer insight on auto industry, careers & car tech

Auto Remarketing Canada has done it again! After a year of industry growth, they’ve built an innovative conference full of leaders and experts ready to share their knowledge and experiences.

With the conference broken into three tracks this year — remarketing, retail and finance — dealers and associates will find it easier to navigate sessions.  

Personally, I’m most excited about sitting on a panel at the Women & Automotive: Canadian Leadership Forum  on April 5. I recently connected with fellow panelists, Susan Gubasta (Mississauga Toyota) and Kim Miller (ADESA Toronto) to talk about the industry, career challenges and self-driving cars.

There is no doubt that change is constant, and something both women spoke to when asked what they like about our industry as a whole.

Susan Gubasta (SG): No two days, hours, minutes, weeks, months or years are the same.  It is constantly changing and morphing. Just when you think you have seen it all, something else happens and you think, “Wow, didn’t see that coming!”

Kim Miller (KM): Without a doubt, the relationships. Despite all the incredible technological advances, the industry is still sculpted and driven by an incredible group of professionals.  The automotive world is dynamic and fast-paced, which keeps me engaged in the constantly changing landscape.

With any career, I believe it’s natural when faced with challenges to question your path. I asked both women about their careers and challenges they’ve faced. Both women shared humble insights and advice.
 

SG: I’ve learned over time that we all have challenging periods in our lives and it is ok to question if what we are doing is right for us.  I learned to not beat myself up and allow myself the time to figure out the answer. There is always a solution and I learned how strong I can be and finally gave myself some credit.

KM: Challenging decisions are a reality, although it may seem cliché I truly believe the best decision are the ones where you are true to yourself. 

Self-driving cars, and technology is of course, a hot topic! It’s clear these women have a lot in common when I asked them what year they think they’ll buy their first self-driving car.

SG: That means I have to give control over to the car … Correct?  I love to drive, so once I get past that, I can’t see myself getting an autonomous vehicle for at least 10 years.  Maybe by then I will be tired of driving!

KM: For me…when I am unable to drive, until that time I enjoy driving too much.

Susan and Kim are great representatives for women in our industry. With recruitment continuing to be a challenge that we face, I’m holding an open casting call for all change-loving, self-loving, and drive-loving females out there!  

I have to agree with them both when it comes to our industry, career challenges and love for the open road. I can’t wait to meet and connect with more women and men in our industry at the Auto Remarketing Canada Conference and Women & Automotive: Canadian Leadership Forum April 3-5! See you there!

Logan Keirstead is Accu-Trade Canada’s regional account director and an honoree in our Women & Automotive: Profiles in Leadership. She is also a speaker at that conference. Keirstead can be reached at Logan@accu-trade.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/logankeirstead.

Awards on tap at AR Canada, Women & Automotive

Remarketing’s Under 40: Nominations end Wednesday

From dealers and entrepreneurs, to auction executives and auto lending professionals — and everywhere in between — the Canadian auto industry is full of young men and women who have achieved massive success at an early age.

That’s why for the third consecutive year, Auto Remarketing Canada is honoring “Remarketing’s Under 40.”

And we are now accepting nominations for this year’s awards.

If you know a deserving colleague in the remarketing space who deserves this recognition, simply fill out Remarketing’s Under 40 nomination form.

Potential honorees could include but are not limited to the following fields of the Canadian auto business that impact the remarketing segment: auto auctions, dealers, lenders, technology providers, vendors, trade associations, automakers, governmental agencies, and more.

The nomination period for the awards program opens today and will close Wednesday Feb. 22.

Nominations can be made here. 

To be considered for the award, nominees must be under the age of 40 at time of nomination and currently work in the Canadian automotive business.

Those selected to receive the award will be recognized during a ceremony at the upcoming Auto Remarketing Canada Conference, in Toronto at the Westin Harbour Castle, scheduled for April 3-4.

Recipients will also be recognized in the March/April print edition of the Auto Remarketing Canada magazine, which is the on-site issue for the conference.

AR Canada’s editorial and conference teams will be following up with recipients regarding the print publication material and conference details. 

Auto Remarketing Canada Conference to use content tracks

When you make your way to the annual Auto Remarketing Canada Conference this spring, you will likely notice one big change, in particular, to our agenda.

In response to feedback from our attendees, we are expanding the content offerings for the event this year to include tracks.

In addition to the large-scale keynote sessions and the hands-on, interactive workshops, we will have a select group of sessions that will allow attendees to go deeper into specific areas of interest — Retail, Remarketing and Auto Finance.

Here’s how that breaks down:

• Remarketing Track:  Content, presentations, data and analysis focused on increasing professional knowledge and skill sets surrounding the wholesale buying and selling/remarketing of used vehicles.
   
• Retail Track:  Strategies, best practices, training and technology presentations with emphasis on improving dealer results and profitability in the retail sale of used vehicles.
   
• Finance Track:  Data, analytics, trends and training via executive and dealer sessions adding to the knowledge and skills base, with information tailored to drive organizational success in the financing of used vehicles at the dealer level and the management of loan and lease portfolios at the bank, captive and finance company level.

These hyper-focused track sessions will enable attendees to self-select the content and speakers that best fit their professional area of interest.

And in any combination.

So, if you go to a Remarketing Track session and choose to go to a Finance Track session next, great! If want to stay in the Remarketing Track the whole way through, wonderful!

The world is your oyster, friend.

In other words, don’t feel pigeon-holed into any one track. Just know that it’s there to help you select the best sessions for you.

To see the agenda and a breakdwon of the tracks, visit https://arcanada.autoremarketing.com/agenda/

For full information about the conference, visit https://arcanada.autoremarketing.com/

Still time to nominate Women & Automotive: Profiles in Leadership

Since opening up nominations in early January, we’ve already had a few strong nominations roll in for a new upcoming feature dubbed “Women & Automotive: Profiles in Leadership.”

The profiles in this feature will be part of the Special Conference Edition coverage in the March/April issue of Auto Remarketing Canada.

So, what are these profiles all about?

In conjunction with the Women & Automotive: Canadian Leadership Forum, we will be compiling a handful of profile stories about women in the Canadian auto industry who exemplify the best in leadership.

Thus far, the nominees have included the dealership world, auto finance and auto technology.

“And that’s a great first step,” said Auto Remarketing Canada senior editor Joe Overby. “We are looking for nominees in any and all areas of the Canadian car business.  

“The goal is to have a mix of retail, wholesale, OEM, remarketing dealers, finance, aftermarket, technology, vendors and so on,” he said.

So, if you know someone who represents strong leadership qualities in the auto business, we want your input.

If you have a suggestion for an auto industry leader(s) for us to profile, please email joverby@cherokeemediagroup.com by Feb. 3 with the following:

• Her name, position and company.
• Her email
• Her top leadership qualities.

Again, this is not limited to the used-car business.

We want to represent the Canadian auto industry at large.