YEN Member Insights

Matt D'Andria on Futurism in the Automotive Aftermarket

Matt D'Andria, 36 Years Old
CEO - Motorator.com; Co-Host - Adam Carolla's CarCast; YEN Member

About Matt
If you have spent any significant time at a SEMA event or media gathering, chances are you have either met Matt D'Andria or seen his work. The 36 year old Phoenix, Arizona native moved to Southern California years ago to be closer to the automotive aftermarket and has had been involved in dozens of digital media projects, from helping top automakers develop a digital footprint, to co-hosting Adam Carolla's popular "CarCast" and launching his latest venture - a unique online automotive community called Motorator.com.

Matt was inducted into the gearhead lifestyle early, helping his father restore a Fiat Spider when he was just five years old. He "helped" his dad by hitting the freshly restored sports car with a toy hammer. At 15, Matt restored a '65 Mustang with his brother, buying parts with money earned from a job at the local auto parts store.

Jon Pulli

Age: 30
CEO, Turn 14, YEN Member

We recently had the pleasure of catching up with a passionate SEMA member who is a leader in distribution side of the automotive aftermarket, Jon Pulli. Jon is currently the CEO of Turn 14.

Some of our readers aren't familiar with Turn 14; could you give us a brief overview on the company--and most importantly, your role there?
Turn 14 Distribution is a performance warehouse distributor focused on modern, post 2000, vehicle applications. I co-founded Turn 14 with Chris Candido initially to fill a void in the sport compact market for an east coast based distributor. As a co-founder I have done every job in the company but at this point, as CEO, I am able to focus my day-to-day on oversight and future planning. I spend most of my time strategically planning avenues for Turn 14’s growth in the short and long term. I feel a constant, yet welcomed pressure to achieve our target growth numbers. Distributors, when doing their job correctly, act as conductor between retailers and manufacturers. My goal is to grow Turn 14 which in turn benefits the brands we distribute, the retailers we service, and Turn 14 employees.

Mark Stek on....Building Value with Celebrity Customers

Mark Stek
Age: 35
Marketing Director, Kelderman Air Suspension Systems, YEN Member

At age 35, Mark Stek, an Oskaloosa, IA native, and Iowa State graduate, currently holds the position of Marketing Director for Kelderman Manufacturing. Also known to SEMA members as Kelderman Air Suspension Systems, Kelderman is a diverse and unique SEMA member company that manufactures and fabricates everything from agricultural parts to air suspension systems for a customer base that is as diverse as their products. A 12 year veteran with Kelderman, Mark grew up around the automotive industry as the son of a hot rodder, and now applies a synergy of his sports marketing / management degree emphasis with his hot rodding roots to foster relationships with celebrities to bring added value to both his company and his customers. We sat down with Mark to discuss his experiences working with VIP customers and how they may benefit other young executives in our industry. 

How did you get started with celebrity/VIP builds? 
Rampage Jackson approached us a few years ago at SEMA.  He already had a lifted truck, but really wanted our suspension on it.  Once the logistics were worked out, his truck came to our shop in Iowa and we totally transformed it.  We created a video for YouTube that showed the build from beginning to end and that has really increased our exposure.  Our celebrity clients, so far, all have reached out to us to receive our product. 

John Marshall On Building & Maintaining Contacts In The Automotive Aftermarket

Name: John Marshall
Company: Power Slot (Performance Brakes Business)
Title: National Sales Manager

About: John Marshall, the National Sales Manager for Power Slot, is a graduate of Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, IL. He is a first time father with a daughter born early last year. John has worked at several well known manufacturers within our industry over a period of 17 years and has great insight into a subject that is critical for young automotive aftermarket executives - building industry contacts throughout the various transitions in your career.

Tell us a little about yourself and what you do. How long have you worked in the industry and what other companies have you worked for or positions have you held as you progressed to your current position?
I am the National Sales Manager for Power Slot. I started in the industry in 1995 with Auto Meter Products. In 2000, I accepted a position with K&N Engineering as the Eastern Regional Sales Manager. In 2007, I accepted the position of Director of Sales with Power Slot. That same year Centric Parts acquired Power Slot and my title changed to National Sales Manager.

Mike Giles – SuperFlow Technologies Group

This month’s interview is with Mike Giles, Marketing Manager with SuperFlow Technologies Group headquartered in Des Moines, IA.

Mike, a graduate of the University of Iowa, has worked for SuperFlow Technologies Group, as it is called today - in some way, shape or form since he was 6 years old. At the present, Mike’s main job functions include a whole array of marketing functions, but above all it is his responsibility to manage SuperFlow’s brands and their respective images. Mike also oversees SuperFlow’s web developer and graphic designer, plans the tradeshows and make sure they happen without issue, coordinates the advertising schedule and budget, organizes email blasts, and writes press releases, newsletters and ad copy. “We’re a small company so we’re all asked to go above and beyond our core responsibilities, for me that is usually some minor IT work or building maintenance projects or anything else that needs some extra attention.”

What is your role at company and how many years there?
My current position is Marketing Manager and I have had that position since March of 2011. I’ve worked in the Marketing department since I graduated in May of 2009. Prior to that I’ve held positions ranging from lawn maintenance at age 6, to parts runner, to janitor. My dad was very clear when I was young that he wanted my brothers and me to be involved in his company if we chose to, but that like anyone else we would start at the bottom and work our way up.

Ed Monte on How to be Successful in Sales

Ed Monte, 39 Years Old
Director of Sales - MSD Ignition; YEN Member

About Ed
The consummate "nice guy," Ed Monte has a reputation in the automotive aftermarket as one of the friendliest, most outgoing and positive people you'll ever have the pleasure of meeting. Having worked his way up from taking customer service calls on the phone to Director of Sales at one of the most prominent brands in our industry, Monte firmly believes in the value of hard work, maintaining a positive attitude and building relationships.

Monte grew up in the Southwest and began riding Honda XR dirt bikes as a kid, exploring the desert and learning the terrain - a good primer for a budding desert racer. It also taught him to respect machinery. From there he became interested in off-road racing, but focused on business in school knowing he'd need a real "day job" to support his passion for racing. After earning his business degree and working for a speed shop that specialized in desert racing, the Texas native got his first job out of college with MSD Ignition.

Andrew Schroeder on… Recipes to Succeed 
Vice President, Ben Murphy and Associates; YEN Member  

About Andrew
Sometimes the path to success is right in front of you, other times it’s not even remotely close. The second option was precisely the “path,” if you will, for Andrew Schroeder.

Andrew is the Vice President of Ben Murphy and Associates, a national rep agency. Twelve years ago, Andrew was the manager of a pizza parlor in North Jersey. As his path would have it, the next thing he knew, he had found his calling as a manufacturer’s sales rep. 

So, how did a pizza parlor manager become an automotive sales rep?
I grew up around sports car enthusiasts and spent a lot of time at the racetracks when I was young. I relished the times I could help my uncle and brother work on their cars. The memories are countless and fond; the experience, which I did not know then, became the foundation for my lifetime career.

Mickey Andrade, 34 Years Old
Marketing/Motorsports Manager – HRE Wheels; YEN Member 

About Mickey
Mickey Andrade started out as an enthusiast, growing up in the suburbs of Akron, Ohio building models and collecting die cast cars. Andrade starting saving for his first car at 15, bought it at 16 and began modifying almost immediately. He read the car magazines and dreamed about future projects, but it wasn’t until he took a job in college at a sign shop that his future began to take shape. 

After seeing his skill at designing graphics for customer cars, the owner of the business bought an old box truck and they turned it into a mobile vinyl graphics studio. Andrade would travel to local car dealerships and stereo shops, where he would design, cut and apply graphics and pinstripes to cars for customers. As a result, his work was noticed and he was eventually offered a job at famous Modern Image Signworks in Huntington Beach, California – a long way from Ohio and the epicenter of the booming import scene in the ‘90s. 

Brian Reese, 36 Years Old
V.P. of Engineering, COMP Performance Group (COMP Cams); YEN Member 

Few individuals in the performance industry reach the Vice President level by the tender age of 36. However, even fewer work for a marquee manufacturer like COMP Cams, as Brian Reese does. With the flair of an entrepreneur and the experience of a highly trained engineer, Reese has overseen the development of some of the COMP Performance Group’s (which includes leading brands such as COMP Cams, TCI, FAST, ZEX, RHS, Inglese, Quarter Master and others) biggest product hits in the last few years, including the FAST EZ-EFI Self Tuning Fuel Injection and the COMP Cams Engine Oils. 

Brian cut his teeth as a GM Development Engineer before moving on as Chief of Engineering for SLP Performance Parts − a position he held for eight years. When the opportunity for the V.P of Engineering position at CPG opened up he was hooked. In this interview, Reese gives us insight into how a hard-charging young V.P. should lead and manage an organization’s best resource − older, experienced employees.

Sarah Stokes
Vice President of Sales, Local Motors

Sarah Stokes is the Vice President of Sales for a very unique business in the automotive industry. The Texas native graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelors of Business Administration degree in the Engineering Route to Business program. She then went on to Harvard Business for graduate school and received her MBA. Stokes has also served in the Marine Corps, which has given her a very valuable skill set. She now resides in Phoenix, AZ, where Local Motors is located.

Local Motors is a new American car company setting an exciting and sustainable course to design cars. Revolutionary yet simple, Local Motors creates a direct connection with customers who guide and participate in design development based on personal desires. The process is open source and the results are meaningful, exciting cars designed specifically for car enthusiasts. All chassis and body vehicle data is shared to make the experience more enjoyable.