Leadership development and BUSINESS succession planning are two major concerns for the commercial vehicle industry and the Joe Gear Companies are at the forefront of these issues. To address these challenges, Rudy Niswanger, Joe Gear’s Vice-President, participated in Heavy Duty Leadership, the University of the Aftermarket’s comprehensive leadership development program.
The class was held on Northwood University’s campus in Midland, Mich.
Heavy Duty Leadership is designed to foster the development of the next generation of heavy-duty parts distribution, manufacturing, service, association and fleet management professionals. The Heavy Duty Leadership program was taught by industry leaders in collaboration with faculty at Northwood University’s DeVos Graduate School of Management and the University of the Aftermarket. Areas of study will include:
– Global competition in heavy-duty technology,
– Succession planning,
– OEM dealers as customers and competitors,
– Industry supply chain trends and challenges,
– Team management and development,
– Strategic management of internal assets,
– Developing your uniqueBUSINESS strategy in multi-channel markets,
– Industry case studies,
– Mentoring and leadership, and
– Guest speakers from the commercial vehicle industry.
The curriculum featured an ideal blend of industry analysis, discussion and debate of new challenges and competitive strategies, individual skills training in team management, leadership roles, strategic thinking and planning, and more.
Meritor Senior Executive Pedro Ferro served as the opening keynote speaker. His speech highlighted the importance of focusing on the 20% of projects, people, and ideas that bring about 80% of the results and how to get the most out of the resources that you have.
Ferro is an experienced heavy-duty industry leader, currently serving as the senior vice president and president of Meritor’s Aftermarket & Trailer Group. In this role, he is responsible for managing all aspects of the company’s aftermarket and trailerBUSINESS which supplies axles, brakes, suspension parts and other replacement and reman products to commercial vehicle aftermarket customers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America and Asia Pacific.
Through this segment, the company also supplies a wide variety of undercarriage products and systems for trailer applications. Ferro is also an officer of the company.
