Over many years and many roles, I’ve had the chance to collaborate and commiserate with a remarkable list of professionals, partners and friends. I’d like to take a moment to recognize three of those people. Two of them played pivotal roles in my career. And I’m confident one is about to.
First, I’d like to share a bit of my history First, I’d like to share a bit of my history with John Carmichael, who just retired from his role as CEO of OMVIC. As we’ve reported in this magazine, John had a remarkable career. If you aren’t familiar with some of his achievements, I encourage you to learn more. Take a look on canadianautodealer.ca.
John always made himself available to me for questions large and small, but there is one particular meeting I would like to focus on. Interestingly, it was our first one.
When I initially had the idea for Canadian auto dealer and Affaires automobiles, I needed to understand whether others thought it would be a valuable addition to the industry. Three stakeholder groups were key: advertisers; CADA and the provincial dealer associations; and above all, dealers.
John was my first call. He agreed to meet, hear me out, and share his thoughts. He gave generously of his time and feedback and more than anything, he showed enthusiasm for what the magazine could become.
The wind he blew into my sails was instrumental in making it all happen, and I’ve never forgotten that. Thank you, John. For that meeting, and the many that followed.
I’d like to highlight another retirement, the end of a career that might be less well known but that for me was foundational. Ron Salmon has retired from his role as a member of our advertising sales team at Canadian auto dealer and Affaires automobiles.
When I started my career in advertising sales in 1992, I joined a small but successful publishing company focused on the heavy truck market. Their success was in no small part due to their primary sales resource. That was Ron.
I joined the team as a junior who had never sold an ad in my life. Ron mentored me, showed me the ropes, and made it a lot of fun. We covered a lot of miles, worked a lot of trade shows, launched new magazines, and grew the company.
Years later, long after I’d left that company, I again found myself needing a seasoned ad sales pro. I reached out and was thrilled that Ron accepted and joined the team at CLB Media. He quickly became a central figure in a large business development team of more than 20 people.
You can see why I made the same request of Ron a third time, years later, to bring his skills and experience to Universus. Ron, I’m grateful that you again came to help. Thank you for being my teacher, my partner, and my friend.
And I’d like to highlight a new start.
Ricardo brings a powerful combination of experience, energy and drive to our team.
Universus is thrilled to welcome Ricardo Hernandez to our team. Ricardo will fill Ron’s shoes, working with our clients to develop the digital and print campaigns that power our magazines and make it possible for us to serve this remarkable industry.
Ricardo brings a powerful combination of experience, energy and drive to our team. In fact, many of our clients may recognize him from previous automotive roles. Ricardo knows dealers, and knows automotive. We can’t wait to see the impact you’ll have on the Universus team.
So thank you, John. Thank you, Ron. And welcome, Ricardo.
