The three panelists that will be taking part in the highly-anticipated OEM panel at the 2016 CADA Summit met recently with key members of the planning team to discuss their session.
The meeting was led by Niel Hiscox, panel moderator and publisher of Canadian auto dealer at the magazine’s offices in Markham, Ont.
Panelists, including Don Romano, President and CEO of Hyundai Auto Corp., Stephen K. Carlisle, President and Managing Director of General Motors of Canada Ltd. and Maria Stenström, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group Canada Inc. will look at the different opportunities and challenges they foresee beyond the horizon for the auto industry.
“Of all of the years since we’ve had these panels, I don’t think there’s ever been a more challenging year ahead of us. We can see it now in the economy, we can see it in changing demographics, we can see it in changing technology,” said Romano, in an interview with Canadian auto dealer.
For Carlisle, the CADA Summit poses the perfect opportunity to get dealers and manufacturers together to face these issues.
“We’re in a dynamic industry. There is a bright future. We are in a period of great change and we are well positioned for it. We’re going to have to get together as a group and plot out our future,” said Carlisle.
The panelists said attendees can expect plenty of engaging and thought-provoking discussion.
“We all have different perspectives. We all make different products. We all approach the market in different ways. You’re going to get a very vibrant discussion on different topics. You’re not going to get a homogenous approach to every issue…I think that’s healthy. That’s what Canada is all about,” said Romano.
“That’s why the CADA Summit is great. It gives us an opportunity to come together and discuss outside of the normal day-to-day business,” said Stenström.
TD Auto Finance is the exclusive sponsor of the CADA Summit, to be held Feb. 10 at the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto. The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association are the hosts and organizers of the annual event.
Visit: www.cadasummit.ca for the full agenda and to register. Be sure to register right away, as the CADA Summit has sold out the first three years.
Look for exclusive coverage of the 2016 CADA Summit in the March issue of Canadian auto dealer magazine.
