By the time you read this, I will be close to completing my term as the chairman of the SEMA Young Executives Network (YEN). As I reflect back, one phrase rises to the top of every thought: Just do it. I didn’t know anything about the industry when I accepted a new position with a leading...

How can the industry help attract and “train up” the next-generation workforce? One way is to connect with colleges, universities and trade-school programs to offer paid or unpaid internships to qualified, enthusiastic students. There is great value in offering these opportunities to students who...

Tammy Holland has been involved in the automotive specialty-equipment industry for more than 14 years with Comp Performance Group in sales communications, and she has been active in the industry since 1999. She is the mother of two children, 20-year-old Brittany and 15-year-old Draven, and she...

The Wheel & Tire Council (WTC) started in roughly 1996–1997 as the Wheel Industry Committee (WIC). Larry Anderson was essentially the founder; he pushed for years to create this thing and managed to get many companies—competitors, no less—in the same room for the greater good. That is no doubt why...

If that sounds overstated, consider that worldwide shipments of smartphones in 2010 alone—mobile phones running a BlackBerry, Android, Apple, Palm or Windows operating system with advanced features, such as Internet access—were 270 million units, a 55% increase over 2009. Tablet devices, such as the...