Other speakers: Condoleezza Rice, Capt. Sullenberger and NADA's Tonkin and Wade
WASHINGTON (July 30, 2010) – Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., will be the keynote industry speaker at the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention & Expo in San Francisco next February.
Lentz, who started his career at Toyota in 1982 as the merchandising manager for the company’s Portland, Ore., region and was later promoted to general manager for the San Francisco and Los Angeles regions, will address attendees at the convention’s general session at the Moscone Center on Saturday, Feb. 5.
“Toyota has certainly been through some ups and downs this year,” says Jack Caldwell, owner of Caldwell Toyota-Scion in Conway, Ark., and chairman of NADA’s convention committee. “And Jim Lentz has been through it all. This will be a unique opportunity to hear him talk candidly about what Toyota has been through and where it is headed at a pivotal time for the company and the auto industry as a whole.”
NADA’s 94th annual convention runs from Feb. 5 to 7. Other convention speakers include:
Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state
Condoleezza Rice, who served as the 66th secretary of state of the United States from 2005 to 2009, is the keynote speaker on Monday, Feb. 7. Before serving as America’s chief diplomat, she served as President George W. Bush’s national security adviser. She is now a professor of business and political science at Stanford University and the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution. She has authored or co-authored a number of books on foreign policy. Her upcoming book, Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family is due out in October.
Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger, III, heroic pilot
Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger, III, the pilot who masterfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River and saved the lives of 155 people, is the keynote speaker at the Inspirational Service on Sunday, Feb. 6. The captain of what has been dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson,” Sullenberger is an aviation safety expert and accident investigator who also serves as the founder and CEO of Safety Reliability Methods, a consulting company dedicated to management, safety, performance and reliability issues. Sullenberger, born and raised in Denison, Texas, is the author of the New York Times best-selling book, Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters (October 2009). He was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by TIME magazine.
Ed Tonkin, 2010 NADA chairman
Ed Tonkin, vice president of Ron Tonkin Family of Dealerships in Portland, Ore., is the 2010 chairman of NADA and represents Oregon’s new-car dealers on the association’s board of directors. Tonkin, who will provide the Chairman’s Address on Saturday, Feb. 5, became a new-car dealer in 1981 after spending much of his childhood helping his father at the dealerships. As NADA chairman, Tonkin has traveled the globe speaking to diverse audiences about the challenges facing U.S. auto retailing. He was the dealers’ chief advocate on Capitol Hill, arguing against including dealers in the Wall Street reform bill. He also represented NADA abroad on many occasions, including a trip to New Delhi, where he spoke to Indian dealers about the wildly successful “cash for clunkers” program.
Stephen Wade, 2011 NADA chairman
Stephen Wade, president of Stephen Wade Auto Center in St. George, Utah, is a multifranchise dealer and the 2011 chairman of NADA. Wade, who will provide the Incoming Chairman’s Address on Monday, Feb. 7, became a new-car dealer in 1973 and has represented Utah’s dealers on NADA’s board of directors since 2002. He also owns southern Utah’s only TV station, KCSG, and served in the National Guard from 1969 to 1975.
TIME Dealer of the Year
The national winner of the TIME Dealer of the Year will be announced at the general session on Saturday, Feb. 5.
About NADA: The National Automobile Dealers Association, founded in 1917, represents nearly 17,000 new-car and -truck dealers with about 37,500 franchises, both domestic and international. For more information, visit www.NADA.org and www.NADAFrontPage.com.
For more information about the convention, visit www.NADAConventionAndExpo.org. Media registration will begin in the fall.
Contact:
David Hyatt
Vice President
NADA Public Affairs
(703) 821-7120
dhyatt@nada.org
Charles Cyrill
NADA Public Affairs
(703) 821-7121
(216) 870-8837 (mobile)
ccyrill@nada.org