The Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA Canada) announced the election of four new directors to the 2023-2024 AIA Canada Board of Directors, along with further changes to its Board during the 81st Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on May 3, 2023.

The event was held online as part of ongoing efforts by the Association to remove barriers to participation by members from across the country.

New directors

The newly elected members of the Board are:

Jasna Smiljcic, Senior Director and Country Leader – Gates
Jasna Smiljcic has over 20 years of experience in the auto care industry. In 2019, she joined Gates as the industrial replacement sales director, Canada. Since then, Jasna was promoted to Canadian country sales director and more recently to senior director and country leader.

Jason G. Herle, Chief Executive Officer – Fountain Tire
Jason Herle joined Fountain Tire in 1994, holding several positions in Western Canada before being promoted to chief executive officer in 2022. He is currently a board member of Fountain Tire Ltd. and GlassMasters Autoglass and is the past Chair of the Finance Committee for the Western Canadian Tire Dealers Association.

Michael O’Callaghan, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President, Operations – Craftsman Collision
Michael O’Callaghan has 35 years of automotive industry experience, both on the shop floor and in the head office. Michael is an auto care sector promoter and regularly sits on committees representing the industry. At Craftsman, Michael oversees operations and human resources, with a focus on financial and operational sustainability.

Micheline Davies, Senior Vice President of Automotive – Canadian Tire
Micheline Davies leads Canadian Tires over $4 billion cornerstone Automotive portfolio, which includes Canadian Tire businesses, as well as the Petroleum and PartSource banners. Micheline spearheaded the Canadian Tire Women’s Leadership Network, and in 2020 was a winner of WXN’s Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.

You can find the full biographies of the new board members in the 2023 Nominating Committee Report, available for free on the AIA Canada website.

The new directors will serve on the AIA Canada Board of Directors until the 2026 AGM.

Changes to the Executive Committee

The AIA Canada Board of Directors has appointed the following members as the Executive Committee:

• Shannon Spano, Vice-president of Sales, Wakefield Canada, was elected to chair.
• Ryan Bruno, President, CSN Collision Centres, was elected to first vice-chair.
• Tony Kuczynski, President and CEO, Mister Transmission, was elected to second vice chair.
• Jason Yurchak, Senior Vice-president, Worldpac Canada, was elected to the role of immediate past chair.

AIA Canada also tanker former directors Bob Jaworski and Graham Jeffery for their commitment and service to the Board.

The remaining AIA Canada Board members and terms that were voted on at the last AGM will remain in place.