Up on stage

I had quite a thrill last week.

I was invited to serve as a session moderator during Heavy Duty Dialogue (HDD) ’12, the theme of which was: The Global Commercial Vehicle Industry.

If you’re not familiar with HDD, it is an exceptional business conference for executives in the global and domestic on-and-off highway, heavy duty and commercial vehicle industries.

A yearly event, Heavy Duty Dialogue is held the day prior to the annual Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW) - the largest North American gathering of the independent heavy duty industry.

The HDD session I moderated was the North American Aftermarket Chanel Outlook.

Market analysis

In this session, Kumar Saha an industry analyst with Frost & Sullivan’s Automotive & Transportation practice, presented an analysis of the heavy duty aftermarket channel, and covered the changes and drivers anticipated for all parts of the distribution chain.

He addressed the challenges facing suppliers, fleets, dealers and independent distributors, and discussed the evolution required of each of these “players” in the aftermarket.

In addition, Saha offered ideas and suggestions on how to succeed in the aftermarket by anticipating the coming challenges and recognizing the pitfalls to avoid. 

Under the lights

HDD is held in the Terry Fator Theater, located within The Mirage hotel in Las Vegas, NV.

Factor, a very accomplished ventriloquist, is a successful headliner on the Las Vegas Strip, and his theater seats more than 300.

It was great fun to be up on stage, bathed in spot lights, in front of a packed audience, moderating my session.

It brought back memories from years ago when I worked in Southern California as a truck editor by day and did stand-up comedy at night.