Larry Pavey, CEO of the Automotive Parts Services Group (The Group), was invited to speak at a recent meeting of Young Auto Care Network Group (YANG) members. The YANG meet-up was held on Sept. 13 in National Harbor, Maryland as part of the National Pronto Association Fall Shareholders Conference.
“I did not feel a history lesson would be of interest to a group of young leaders in our industry so my focus was on the future,” said Pavey. “We had a great discussion on the state of the auto care industry and the issues that everyone will be encountering in the next several years and beyond. I was very impressed by how informed and engaged the YANG attendees were. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but this old dog learned a few things from the Yangsters that we will be sharing with our membership.”
Over 45 young auto care professionals attended the YANG meet-up including members from distributors, suppliers and the Auto Care Association. Pavey’s presentation focused on the challenges confronting the auto care industry as well as opportunities for future growth. Two of the main issues discussed were the impact of potential legislation on the auto care industry as well as the issue of access to data. Among other topics discussed were electric vehicles, connected cars, mobility trends and autonomous vehicles. The event was sponsored by Pronto member A & Jay Automotive Warehouse Inc.
YANG was formed in January 2014 with a desire to help young professionals establish a circle of peers to grow with alongside their careers. YANG participants are future executive-level staffers of the auto care industry that see the value in establishing connections with other young professionals that will one day be business owners and key decision makers.
