Gary Akin

Past

• Vice President, Sales & Operations at American Suzuki Motor Corporation
• Region General Manager at Volkswagen of America
• Infiniti Brand Manager at Nissan North America

• Sales Operation Manager at Volkswagen Of America, Inc.
• District Manager at Ford Motor Company
• Pricing Manager at Echlin, Inc

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Education

• Pittsburg State University
• University of Kansas

Recommended

6 people have recommended Gary

Connections

161 connections

Industry

Automotive

Gary Akin’s Summary

An experienced business executive accomplished in developing and leading high performance teams in sales, marketing and service enviroments. Direct experience in network development, brand management, field team management, distribution, logistics and sales promotion. Interested in the growth and development of business enterprises.

Gary Akin’s Specialties:

Strategic business planning
Team building and leadership
Tactical business execution
Marketing plan development and execution
Initiative and creativity
Change management
Business development.

Gary Akin’s Experience

• Vice President, Sales & Operations

  American Suzuki Motor Corporation

  (Automotive industry)

  February 2007 — February 2009 (2 years 1 month)

  Responsible for the new vehicle and parts revenue, profit and operational success of the enterprise.
  •Achieved the two largest revenue years in company history, 2007 – 2008 ($3B).
  •Accomplished the best vehicle sales year in company history in 2007 (101,884 units).
  •Directed sales and production planning, vehicle pricing, and sales promotion activities.
  •Led network development and implemented representation policies, procedures and standards.
  •Managed and developed national and field sales, service and dealer development staff.
  •Facilitated and directed dealership relations and customer satisfaction efforts.

• Region General Manager

  Volkswagen of America

  (Public Company; VW; Automotive industry)

  August 1996 — January 2007 (10 years 6 months)

  Responsible for the attainment of sales and revenue targets and operations in the Western United States.
  •Managed largest volume U.S. Region for vehicle and parts sales
  •Responsibility for region marketing efforts and initiatives.
  •Conducted the consolidation of the Rocky Mountain Region into the Western Region.
  •Developed and guided regional staff and dealer contact teams.
  •Guided dealership relations and customer satisfaction efforts.

• Infiniti Brand Manager

  Nissan North America

  (Public Company; NSANY; Automotive industry)

  August 1990 — July 1996 (6 years )

  Control and align the Marketing activities of the Infiniti Brand to enhance effectiveness and efficiency.
  •Guided and integrated the implementation of Infiniti marketing activities.
  •Initiated and executed comprehensive marketing plans to launch Infiniti models.
  •Created a strategic vehicle life cycle marketing plan for Infiniti models to more effectively plan volumes, marketing and sales incentive expenditures.

• Sales Operation Manager

  Volkswagen Of America, Inc.

  (Public Company; VW; Automotive industry)

  August 1984 — July 1990 (6 years )

  Responsible for the attainment of new vehicle objectives in the Northwest United States.
  •Managed and developed Region dealer sales contact team.
  •Overall responsibility for Region marketing efforts and initiatives.
  •Coordinated the integration of the Northwestern United States dealer body into Volkswagen of America from an independent distributor. (Riviera Motors)

• District Manager

  Ford Motor Company

  (Public Company; F; Automotive industry)

  May 1983 — July 1984 (1 year 3 months)

• Pricing Manager

  Echlin, Inc

  (Automotive industry)

  June 1980 — April 1983 (2 years 11 months)

Gary Akin’s Education

• Pittsburg State University

  Kelce School of Business 1976 — 1980

  Activities and Societies:

  Phi Sigma Epsilon

• University of Kansas

  1975 — 1976

Additional Information

Gary Akin’s Groups:

Alliance of International Automobile Manufacturers - Delegate 2008 - 2009

•    Pittsburg State University Alumni
•    Auto OEM Network
•    Automotive OEM Professionals
•    AAE Group - Automotive Recruiting Firm - The "Automotive Aftermarket Experts"

Gary Akin’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch