In this episode of DriveTime, John Kairys, executive director, Automotive Aftermarket Charitable Foundation, talks about the AACF’s origin, reach and significance in the automotive aftermarket.

Kairys emphasizes that while the Automotive Aftermarket Charitable Foundation (AACF) has evolved significantly since its founding in 1959, its mission remains unchanged: helping industry members facing financial hardship. What began as a small effort to support widows of aftermarket professionals has grown into a structured, well-funded organization serving individuals and families impacted by illness, accidents, death or natural disasters.

In this episode of DriveTime, Jeff Blocher, Director of Sales, Traditional Aftermarket, MANN+HUMMEL Filtration, talked about MANN+HUMMEL’s brand lineup (MANN, WIX and Purolator) and the unique brand strengths that differentiate the company’s products in the competitive automotive filtration category.
Blocher also discussed how the company prioritizes education in the field to ensure customers choose and install the right filters for every application. He referenced the important interaction between the counter professional and the technician; the most important link in the chain of distribution many would agree.

In this episode of DriveTime, Joseph Saoud, VP and GM of US, Canada at DRiV discussed the principles he believes are most essential to driving growth and delivering exceptional service for DRiV customers.
It starts with a great team — and how you lead them, how you set the right expectations, how you put the right people in the right role and how you track performance, Saoud explained.

Morgan Stanley Managing Director Simeon Gutman breaks down the real forces shaping today’s automotive aftermarket—from tariff uncertainty and pricing pressure to shifting consumer behavior and the accelerating “big getting bigger” trend. Gutman explains the stark divide between large public companies with sophisticated analytics and smaller private businesses still wrestling with inventory movement, vendor shifts, and rising costs.

He also highlights where pricing has already landed, what’s still coming, and why failure-driven categories remain resilient even as discretionary spending shows early signs of softening.

Mike Spagnola is passionate about ensuring that SEMA gives back to the community by helping bring the next generation of students successfully into the industry. One way is through the SEMA scholarship program that it gives out hundreds of thousands of dollars to students every single year, Spagnola said.

“We offer a scholarship program for students. I’m really passionate about that. My ability to come through the automotive network really affords me the opportunity to give back now in so many ways.”

In this episode of DriveTime, Dave Johnson, president and CEO, ASE discusses how ASE is adapting its certification programs to keep pace with technological advancements in vehicle systems.

ASE will be restructuring its certifications to better align with where the industry’s going, particularly in the electric vehicle (EV) and ADAS categories.

In this episode of DriveTime, Chip Hanson, Chairman and CEO of J-B Weld Company, discusses the wide appeal of the company’s line of J-B Weld adhesives. Hanson explains how the company is preparing to launch a new adhesives for professionals to meet growing demand and expand beyond the DIY market.

In this episode of DriveTime, Stefan Feder discusses Continental Automotive’s new independent company, now called AUMOVIO. He leads the Automotive Aftermarket, North America, for Continental.

Feder explains what the AUMOVIO Continental Spinoff means for the company’s brands and the customers it serves. He believes the automotive industry is undergoing a huge transformation.

“There are a lot of big mega trends which are tackled in this automotive sector, and therefore the company feels that we are much better off independently as a very focused sector on our own because Continental as a whole is covering many different industries,” explained Feder. “Being independent makes us faster and more agile to react to these changes.”

In this episode of DriveTime, Cassie Bell, chief people officer at NAPA, discusses the automotive technician shortage. She explains how big of a gap she predicts over the next few years.

Looking ahead to 2027, Bell said the industry lacks about 800,000 techs. “So, if you want perspective that’s about the size of Atlanta and if we think about the population there,” Bell said.

In this episode of DriveTime, Matt Crumpton discusses his work with 18,000+ NAPA Auto Care centers across the U.S. He serves as director of auto care programs at NAPA Auto Parts. He highlights the most urgent training needs, including ADAS Training for Technicians, and extended reality tools for emerging aftermarket technologies.

Crumpton pointed to ADAS as one of the most exciting emerging technologies. “It’s also the fastest growing, even over EVs, because of the amount of saturation in vehicles. It is very lucrative,” he said. According to Crumpton, many NAPA Auto Care centers have invested in ADAS. These centers reported an extremely quick ROI. “We even have one of our former council members that it’s now 20% of his business,” Crumpton said.