The Auto Care Association today announced that Ron Rossi, MAAP, will be retiring from his role as director of market intelligence at the end of the year after nearly five decades in the automotive industry.
“Ron Rossi has exemplified what it means to be an Auto Care Association employee in every way imaginable,” said Bill Hanvey, president and CEO, Auto Care Association. “His drive to not only improve the association’s standing in the market intelligence community, but to also showcase why analytics are essential to the health and future of the entire aftermarket community, has allowed our industry to evolve and grow without missing a beat. Ron will be sorely missed by the entire industry.”
Rossi added nearly 14 years of his expertise to the Auto Care Association, and his contributions will help to carry the industry forward into the future as the association continues to find new ways to apply and expand the reach of his valuable research and analysis. In addition, Rossi has held leadership roles across a broad range of automotive companies.
His humble beginning in the automotive industry was a part time job as a customer service agent at a local car dealership while attending Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. After graduating from college, he started his professional career as an administrative assistant working in the budget and statistics department at Laclede Gas Company in 1970. Rossi then joined Carter Automotive and worked in several functional areas including product management, supply chain management and as manager of its corporate-wide cost reduction/operations improvement department. After the company was sold to FederalMogul in 1985, he joined Moog Automotive as the manager of marketing administration. Responsibilities included pricing administration, market research, catalog production and catalog database development.
Rossi joined Typortonics, a St. Louis-based typesetter and automotive aftermarket software developer in January 1999 as the director of marketing. In 2001, he joined Delphi Automotive Systems as catalog manager in Troy, Mich. His responsibilities included supervision of a catalog database manager, research analysts, typesetters, printers and assisted with market research projects for the DPSS (Delphi Product and Service Solutions) division.
“Ron has been a mentor to many, and his influence has made an indelible impact on generations of professionals at the association,” said Hanvey. “I want to thank Ron for all he’s done for the development and progress of the Auto Care Association and our entire industry.”
Rossi and his wife Anne will celebrate their 50thwedding anniversary in 2020 and are the proud parents of their three children Adam, John and Susan who are now living in Denver, Colo., Tampa, Fla. and Alexandria, Va., respectively.If you would like to send a message of congratulations or well wishes to Ron Rossi, he can be contacted at [email protected].
