Wade Kawasaki has been in the automotive industry since he was 10 years old, when he worked as an attendant at his father’s gas station in Los Angeles.
Over the past 37 years he’s been involved in just about every facet of the car industry, including manufacturing, warehousing distributor, and retail specializing in strategic planning, international sales, product development and business development.
Now, Kawasaki, the president and chief operating officer of the Coker Group, has been chosen as chair-elect of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), the trade association for the $33 billion-a-year specialty automotive industry. He will serve two years as chair-elect and will become the chairman in 2017.
“I am proud and humbled that I have been chosen to serve as the next SEMA chair-elect,” Kawasaki said in a news release. “A rising tide floats all boats – and it will be my mission as chair-elect and chairman to ensure the continued success of our industry.”
SEMA, which was founded in 1963, represents 6,814 member-companies, which is one of the largest groups of small businesses and job creators in the country, the trade group says. The SEMA Show in Las Vegas is one of the largest trade shows in the world.