-
Welcome to Auto Parts Forum
Whether you are a veteran automotive parts guru or just someone looking for some quick auto parts advice, register today and start a new topic in our forum. Registration is free and you can even sign up with social network platforms such as Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.
-
Similar Topics
-
By Counterman
Matt Crumpton says: “I was drawn to the automotive aftermarket because this is an industry that brings a broad range of car lovers together, from technicians to drivers.”
In this installment of “
link hidden, please login to view…,” get to know Crumpton, his role at link hidden, please login to view, industry involvement, what initiatives at NAPA he’s most proud of, his personal mantras, and much more. Tell us about your role and what you like best about it.
I manage program development across three major business sectors within the NAPA Auto Care program: partner relationships (with AAA being our largest and longest tenured partner with overlapping NAPA Auto Care programs), program enhancements for NAPA Auto Care, and Autotech technical training. What makes all three successful is the incredible team we have at NAPA. I like the fact that it is fast paced, always evolving and has tremendous impact on our business and the success of our customers. What attracted you to the automotive aftermarket?
I grew up around cars and they will always be a passion of mine. I was drawn to the automotive aftermarket because this is an industry that brings a broad range of car lovers together, from technicians to drivers. NAPA in particular, has an impressive network that is doing a lot to drive the aftermarket forward. This business is unique, challenging and ever changing, which has kept me interested after all these years. Tell us about your industry involvement?
I am involved in several car care ministries, and extremely passionate about the “Slow Down and Move Over” campaigns to protect our roadside heroes. Name a favorite trip or place on your “bucket list” you’d like to see?
Italy is probably at the top of my list. What do you do when you’re not at work?
Mostly think about work! Hahaha.. Mostly I spend time with my amazing wife, my grown kids and time at the lake. What’s your favorite book and why?
Anything by Lee Childs and industry articles. What initiatives you’ve participated in within NAPA are you most proud of?
That is a tough one, if it spans my entire career at NAPA, then it would have to be the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund which serves United States military personnel injured in performance of their duties. Since 2012, NAPA’s support has helped the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund build five Intrepid Spirit Centers across the U.S., which brings the care of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes treatment to more military personnel across the country. You started out as an auto technician. How has what you learned in that role transferred over to the executive side of things?
It gave me a unique perspective and insight into what impacts our customers every day and taught me the importance of great work ethic and the drive to always look for educational opportunities. What is your personal mantra?
I have two. Always do what is needed before what is wanted. Never ask anyone to do anything that you would not do yourself. Who was your childhood hero, and who is it now?
Hands down John Wayne, now it is my father without a shadow of a doubt. The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view -
By Counterman
Every so often, our editorial staff selects one aftermarket industry professional to get to know a little better. Participants are asked to respond to a series of questions that can be answered in about the same amount of time you might spend chatting at the office coffee pot or waiting for an elevator. In this installment of “5 Minutes With,” we get to know a little more about longtime aftermarket professional Ted Hughes. In October 2022, the Auto Care Association named Hughes as its new senior director of community engagement and AWDA executive director.
Q: Tell us about your new role and what you like best about it.
A: I have a passion for our industry that was planted nearly 25 years ago and has been cultivated by the people and companies I have worked with during my time in it. So, the thing I like most about my new position is the ability to interact with so many of the people and the companies that made our industry what it is today. The automotive aftermarket was built on the foundation established by traditional parts distribution and having spent my entire career up to this point on the manufacturing side, I had the opportunity to work with them and understand the nuances of this business. As Executive Director of AWDA, getting the chance to work with true legends of our industry day in and day out is something I am very excited about.
Q: What career would you pursue if you didn’t do what you do now?
A: Since this is the only thing I have ever known, it is difficult to think of what else is out there. Aside from the aftermarket, sports are such a huge part of my life, so I would like to think that it would be something in sports. I am not naïve enough to say that I would be the general manager of the Detroit Lions (although I think ANYONE could have done that job the last 60 years and done better), so I will stay away from that. I am not a person that wants or needs the spotlight on me – I prefer to work hard behind the scenes to help the people who deserve it be the successful ones with the light shining on them. Therefore, my career would be a caddie on the PGA Tour. The ability to work alongside the best players at their craft, people who know the meaning of hard work, plus enjoying the camaraderie of working alongside other people who share the same values as me would be a dream come true. In fact, that sounds an awful lot like the opportunity I have within our industry.
Q: What advice would you give your 20-year-old self just starting out?
A: HAVE PATIENCE!!!! The old saying says ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day,’ and that is true of anything worth having – even a career in this great industry. When starting out, keep your head down, work hard, take it all in. Take the opportunity to learn every day, whether it is from people showing you how to do things right, or those who are showing you how not to do things. Every experience should be a learning experience and whether you are 20 or 47, you must keep learning from all of your experiences.
Q: Do you make New Year’s Resolutions or set annual goals for yourself? If yes, what’s your process and what goals do you have for 2023?
A: Professionally I think we all have to have goals – most of us are familiar with the S.M.A.R.T. system and utilizing that to create a roadmap to navigate the upcoming year – so yes, I do have those. However, from the personal side, I try not to restrict myself to specifics and become so focused and targeted that I miss out on opportunities to enjoy life. Simply put, I want to make it through another year, and I want to try and make the world a little bit better place as I navigate through 2023.
Q: Do you have a favorite podcast or YouTube channel? Please share!
A: I mentioned that sports have always been a big part of my life, that started when I first began playing hockey at age two. Growing up in Detroit, or Hockeytown as it became known throughout the 90s and early 00s, that love of hockey has never left me and I still get the chance to get out and skate as often as possible. The emergence of podcasts as a content medium has enabled us hockey fans to see the sport from a different perspective and nobody does it better than Spittin’ Chiclets. The flavor the hosts bring to our sport, within a context that hasn’t been done before, is so refreshing I look forward to every episode.
Q: Skill Check: Think fast – does your car have a cabin air filter and do you know where it is located?
A: NO BRAINER!!! I drive a 2020 Ford F-150 and the cabin air filter is located directly behind the glove compartment in front of the passenger seat. Working for MAHLE for so many years, I know the importance of cabin air filtration and have installed multiple premium cabin air filters myself.
Q: Name a favorite trip you’ve made or one place on your “bucket list” you’d like to see?
A: I have been blessed to attend The Masters Tournament a couple of different times in Augusta, Georgia. I believe there is no place on God’s Earth as beautiful as Augusta National Golf Club. No matter how many times one can visit, it can’t possibly ever get old – and to possibly one day have the ability to PLAY Augusta National would be beyond ‘Bucket List,’ but would be a real dream come true.
Q: What one word would your co-workers use to describe you?
A: Committed (at least I hope).
If you know someone who would make a great candidate for “5 Minutes With” email AMN Editor Amy Antenora.
The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view -
By Counterman
When Brian Norko, senior vice president – commercial business operations, NGK Spark Plugs (U.S.A.) Inc., interviewed for the management trainee program at Federal-Mogul, he says he “didn’t know anything about manufacturing and … wasn’t a car enthusiast.”
That didn’t slow him down when it came to carving out an incredibly successful career in automotive. Now with roughly 35 years under his belt, Norko says he still lives by the guidance he was given by the mentors he had while just starting out.
“Fortunately, I had an angel in Southfield, Michigan, who was keeping his eye out for me,” said Norko. “His name was Don Thorpe, God rest his soul. He was the national sales manager for the sales division that called on NAPA and every time I would come back to Southfield, he would always look me up and we’d have lunch or have dinner. He wanted me in the sales group. He got his wish and I went into to NAPA sales for Federal-Mogul. I spent some time there and then I went into heavy-duty sales, and then into distribution. Then, they brought me back to be in finance. So, the first eight years, I really got a good dose of being a management trainee in different functional areas from sales to distribution and finance.”
Norko credits another important mentor in his career for helping him learn the key to being a successful sales professional.
“Another strong mentor was
link hidden, please login to view, God rest his soul as well,” said Norko. “Bob was the national sales manager of heavy-duty sales at Federal-Mogul and really taught [me] the foundation that I still use with my group. The first thing he said to me when I took the job up in Minnesota in heavy-duty sales was, ‘You know, Brian, I really don’t care about writing big orders here. The next three or four months, what I care about is you get to know your customers and establishing a very good relationship with your customers. When I come back up in four months, I’m going to talk to some people and see if they know you,’ and he did.” The experience Norko gained while working in a variety of roles in the Federal-Mogul management trainee program made him a firm believer in the value not only of relationships, but in having a wide variety of skills as an aftermarket executive. When speaking to students about potential career paths in the aftermarket, this is something Norko is passionate about.
“When I speak to classes or I speak to students, the one thing they ask me is how can they find that type of job, and why is it important? And what I always come back to as I deal with this today at NGK is an organization can’t have all specialists. They can, but it may make the process of strategy or problem-solving a little bit more cumbersome or time-consuming than having maybe 30-40% of your population that has spent time in sales, marketing, manufacturing, distribution, finance, etc. By having that background, those people are able to help others understand who the customer is and, and maybe some of the problems or challenges they have with the organization.
“I mentioned Bob Show earlier. Bob always said there’s really two functions of a company from his viewpoint. His two focuses of a company were to get a customer – which if you work for a company like NGK or a company that has a lot of strong brands and high market share, that’s pretty easy to do because people want your product. Sometimes the more difficult thing to do is to keep a customer,” Norko says. “When you’re trying to keep a customer and you have people working in your team who are just not sales people, but also come from the distribution side, the manufacturing side, the finance side, they’re able to bring solutions to help you keep that customer. So, I think it’s really important to have some generalists within your team and not all specialists. That’s a message I share here at NGK all the time as I try to get people to move around within the organization just to become stronger. And really it makes the career more interesting. I’ve loved my career for the last 30-plus years. I wouldn’t change it for anything with the experience that I had and and the people that I’ve met.”
In this episode, Bill and Brian also dive into:
8:29 Mentors; 10:45 Identify the need and provide the solution; 12:10 The value of brands and quality products; 12:15 The value of strong brands in making life easier in sales; 14:35 The technician shortage; 20:30 AMN Drivetime’s NEW “Lightning Round” “AMN Drivetime” is sponsored by Litens.
link hidden, please login to view link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view -
By Counterman
When Brian Norko, senior vice president – commercial business operations, NGK Spark Plugs (U.S.A.) Inc., interviewed for the management trainee program at Federal-Mogul, he says he “didn’t know anything about manufacturing and … wasn’t a car enthusiast.”
That didn’t slow him down when it came to carving out an incredibly successful career in automotive. Now with roughly 35 years under his belt, Norko says he still lives by the guidance he was given by the mentors he had while just starting out.
“Fortunately, I had an angel in Southfield, Michigan, who was keeping his eye out for me,” said Norko. “His name was Don Thorpe, God rest his soul. He was the national sales manager for the sales division that called on NAPA and every time I would come back to Southfield, he would always look me up and we’d have lunch or have dinner. He wanted me in the sales group. He got his wish and I went into to NAPA sales for Federal-Mogul. I spent some time there and then I went into heavy-duty sales, and then into distribution. Then, they brought me back to be in finance. So, the first eight years, I really got a good dose of being a management trainee in different functional areas from sales to distribution and finance.”
Norko credits another important mentor in his career for helping him learn the key to being a successful sales professional.
“Another strong mentor was
link hidden, please login to view, God rest his soul as well,” said Norko. “Bob was the national sales manager of heavy-duty sales at Federal-Mogul and really taught [me] the foundation that I still use with my group. The first thing he said to me when I took the job up in Minnesota in heavy-duty sales was, ‘You know, Brian, I really don’t care about writing big orders here. The next three or four months, what I care about is you get to know your customers and establishing a very good relationship with your customers. When I come back up in four months, I’m going to talk to some people and see if they know you,’ and he did.” The experience Norko gained while working in a variety of roles in the Federal-Mogul management trainee program made him a firm believer in the value not only of relationships, but in having a wide variety of skills as an aftermarket executive. When speaking to students about potential career paths in the aftermarket, this is something Norko is passionate about.
“When I speak to classes or I speak to students, the one thing they ask me is how can they find that type of job, and why is it important? And what I always come back to as I deal with this today at NGK is an organization can’t have all specialists. They can, but it may make the process of strategy or problem-solving a little bit more cumbersome or time-consuming than having maybe 30-40% of your population that has spent time in sales, marketing, manufacturing, distribution, finance, etc. By having that background, those people are able to help others understand who the customer is and, and maybe some of the problems or challenges they have with the organization.
“I mentioned Bob Show earlier. Bob always said there’s really two functions of a company from his viewpoint. His two focuses of a company were to get a customer – which if you work for a company like NGK or a company that has a lot of strong brands and high market share, that’s pretty easy to do because people want your product. Sometimes the more difficult thing to do is to keep a customer,” Norko says. “When you’re trying to keep a customer and you have people working in your team who are just not sales people, but also come from the distribution side, the manufacturing side, the finance side, they’re able to bring solutions to help you keep that customer. So, I think it’s really important to have some generalists within your team and not all specialists. That’s a message I share here at NGK all the time as I try to get people to move around within the organization just to become stronger. And really it makes the career more interesting. I’ve loved my career for the last 30-plus years. I wouldn’t change it for anything with the experience that I had and and the people that I’ve met.”
In this episode, Bill and Brian also dive into:
8:29 Mentors; 10:45 Identify the need and provide the solution; 12:10 The value of brands and quality products; 12:15 The value of strong brands in making life easier in sales; 14:35 The technician shortage; 20:30 AMN Drivetime’s NEW “Lightning Round” “AMN Drivetime” is sponsored by Litens.
link hidden, please login to view link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view 
-
By Counterman
When Brian Norko, senior vice president – commercial business operations, NGK Spark Plugs (U.S.A.) Inc., interviewed for the management trainee program at Federal-Mogul, he says he “didn’t know anything about manufacturing and … wasn’t a car enthusiast.”
That didn’t slow him down when it came to carving out an incredibly successful career in automotive. Now with roughly 35 years under his belt, Norko says he still lives by the guidance he was given by the mentors he had while just starting out.
“Fortunately, I had an angel in Southfield, Michigan, who was keeping his eye out for me,” said Norko. “His name was Don Thorpe, God rest his soul. He was the national sales manager for the sales division that called on NAPA and every time I would come back to Southfield, he would always look me up and we’d have lunch or have dinner. He wanted me in the sales group. He got his wish and I went into to NAPA sales for Federal-Mogul. I spent some time there and then I went into heavy-duty sales, and then into distribution. Then, they brought me back to be in finance. So, the first eight years, I really got a good dose of being a management trainee in different functional areas from sales to distribution and finance.”
Norko credits another important mentor in his career for helping him learn the key to being a successful sales professional.
“Another strong mentor was
link hidden, please login to view, God rest his soul as well,” said Norko. “Bob was the national sales manager of heavy-duty sales at Federal-Mogul and really taught [me] the foundation that I still use with my group. The first thing he said to me when I took the job up in Minnesota in heavy-duty sales was, ‘You know, Brian, I really don’t care about writing big orders here. The next three or four months, what I care about is you get to know your customers and establishing a very good relationship with your customers. When I come back up in four months, I’m going to talk to some people and see if they know you,’ and he did.” The experience Norko gained while working in a variety of roles in the Federal-Mogul management trainee program made him a firm believer in the value not only of relationships, but in having a wide variety of skills as an aftermarket executive. When speaking to students about potential career paths in the aftermarket, this is something Norko is passionate about.
“When I speak to classes or I speak to students, the one thing they ask me is how can they find that type of job, and why is it important? And what I always come back to as I deal with this today at NGK is an organization can’t have all specialists. They can, but it may make the process of strategy or problem-solving a little bit more cumbersome or time-consuming than having maybe 30-40% of your population that has spent time in sales, marketing, manufacturing, distribution, finance, etc. By having that background, those people are able to help others understand who the customer is and, and maybe some of the problems or challenges they have with the organization.
“I mentioned Bob Show earlier. Bob always said there’s really two functions of a company from his viewpoint. His two focuses of a company were to get a customer – which if you work for a company like NGK or a company that has a lot of strong brands and high market share, that’s pretty easy to do because people want your product. Sometimes the more difficult thing to do is to keep a customer,” Norko says. “When you’re trying to keep a customer and you have people working in your team who are just not sales people, but also come from the distribution side, the manufacturing side, the finance side, they’re able to bring solutions to help you keep that customer. So, I think it’s really important to have some generalists within your team and not all specialists. That’s a message I share here at NGK all the time as I try to get people to move around within the organization just to become stronger. And really it makes the career more interesting. I’ve loved my career for the last 30-plus years. I wouldn’t change it for anything with the experience that I had and and the people that I’ve met.”
In this episode, Bill and Brian also dive into:
8:29 Mentors; 10:45 Identify the need and provide the solution; 12:10 The value of brands and quality products; 12:15 The value of strong brands in making life easier in sales; 14:35 The technician shortage; 20:30 AMN Drivetime’s NEW “Lightning Round” “AMN Drivetime” is sponsored by Litens.
link hidden, please login to view link hidden, please login to view The post
link hidden, please login to view appeared first on link hidden, please login to view.
link hidden, please login to view
-
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now