In this issue, we are proud to feature the three CADA Laureate Award winners for 2025: Brent Ravelle, Ambassador Laureate, Michael Wyant, Innovator Laureate and Annie Laliberté, Retailer Laureate.
The CADA Laureates, and the program itself continue to grow in stature and importance each year.
CADA is finding more ways to lean on the wisdom of the Laureates to provide insights and guidance on key topics. They were an invaluable resource during the pandemic, sharing ideas about how to keep their dealerships operating in impossible circumstances. CADA also introduced a Laureate Perspectives video series that featured ideas on EV sales, leadership development and staffing and retention.
They are a treasured group that represent the best and brightest and top performers from Canada’s 3,200 dealers.
I’m sometimes asked by dealers what it takes to be a CADA Laureate award winner.
The easy answer is that the judging criteria are clearly outlined on the CADA Laureate website page.
I learned this a couple of years ago when I interviewed the program’s administrator Montie Foxwell. He explained that once a third-party group of experts narrows the hundreds of nominations each year to five finalists in each of the three categories, the final decision is made independently by judges from the Ivey Business School at Western University.
The judges aren’t from the industry, and don’t know whether these dealers are well known, or active with dealership associations, and it doesn’t matter if they are part of a large group or single rooftop operations. The winners they have chosen over the years truly represent a cross-section of the Canadian dealer body, and from every region of the country.
So, if you find yourself nominated and you want a shot at winning, study the judging criteria and make sure your submission has all the relevant information the judges need to select you. Nobody, not even CADA, can put their thumb on the scale and help you win the award — you are on your own.
In some cases, a dealership’s leadership team or marketing departments work on the submissions to ensure they cover all the bases and present the candidate in the best light.
The more complex answer to how to become a CADA Laureate award winner is: “just do the right things the right way every day as a dealer.”
I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing almost all the CADA Laureate award winners immediately after they’ve been notified by the CADA Chair that they have been selected.
They have many things in common. They almost always instinctively push back on the individual recognition and insist it’s a team recognition. They aren’t being disingenuous, they truly feel that way and see their own success as a direct outcome of building a powerful and positive team.
The other common trait they share is that they never set out to win a Laureate award — or any other recognition — they were pursuing business success, and beyond that they were striving for excellence.
When I talk with them, I’m always struck by their drive, restless spirit of innovation, willingness to try new things, and above all their passion for the industry and for their customers.
So if you are hell-bent on building and supporting a winning team, want to constantly strive to grow and improve your business, and have a deep respect and passion for serving your customers, you just might find yourself nominated for a CADA Laureate award — and you might just win.
Canadian auto dealer salutes this year’s winners, and also the dealers across Canada who do the right thing every day for their people and customers.
