Bill Hanvey, President and CEO, Auto Care Association

Behzad sits down with Bill Hanvey, President and CEO of the Auto Care Association, who shares his extraordinary journey from journalism to industry leadership. Hear firsthand how Bill leverages storytelling and effective communication to drive initiatives and lead with purpose. Gain insights into his personal motivations and unique leadership style that emphasizes the importance of understanding the "why" behind every project.

We explore Bill’s formative years, highlighting how his disciplined upbringing and experiences at a Catholic military school shaped his professional ethos. Discover how his athletic background and structured educational environment have influenced his approach to leadership, balancing discipline with flexibility to harness his team's diverse strengths. Bill's reflections on his childhood, education, and early career offer a compelling look at the values that drive his success and inform his leadership strategies today.

In a time of crisis, true leaders shine, and Bill’s experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic illustrate this profoundly. From navigating industry challenges to making tough, integrity-driven decisions, hear how Bill and his team managed to steer through turbulent times. This episode is packed with lessons on ownership, overcoming adversity, and the enduring impact of personal growth on professional success. Don’t miss out on these valuable leadership insights that could transform your approach to both work and life.

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To learn more about the Auto Care Association visit autocare.org.

To learn more about our show and suggest future topics and guests, visit autocare.org/podcast

Episode Transcript

Behzad Rassuli (00:00):
I'm actually really excited to talk to you
today.
Yeah, me too, that came outcompletely wrong.
I'm excited.
Unlike other conversations,Okay, good thing we're not
starting yet.

(00:24):
Welcome to Auto Care On Air, acandid podcast for a curious
industry.
I'm Behzad Rasouli, Senior VicePresident of Strategic
Development at the Auto CareAssociation, and this is the

(00:45):
Driver's Seat where we embark oninsightful one-on-one
conversations with leaderssteering the companies that are
shaping tomorrow's landscape.
Today we're sitting down withBill Hanvey, CEO of the Auto
Care Association.
Welcome, Bill.

Bill Hanvey (00:56):
Thanks.

Behzad Rassuli (00:59):
Behzad, thrilled to be here, as always.
Well, now, this is our firstepisode and I can see how an
interview with the CEO of theorganization that's responsible
for the podcast could be kind of, at minimum, interpreted as
low-hanging fruit, but at worst,some kind of like self-dealing.
But the reason I wanted tostart off this podcast with you

(01:23):
is because, in thinking throughan initial list of guests, your
name came up on the guest listand the reaction was Well,
that's always a good sign.
Yeah, I'm glad to hear that,yeah, the reaction was we'll
definitely have Bill on becausehe's probably the most
well-known person in theindustry on because he's
probably the most well-knownperson in the industry.

(01:44):
But it got me thinking.
You know, I spent a lot of timewith you and we've been working
together for almost a decadenow.
If you can believe it or not, Iknow you probably are the most
well-known face and name and Ithink that could be true.
But you know, I've picked up alot of qualities and
characteristics and wisdom overthose years from you that we

(02:05):
worked together and, quitefrankly, I don't think many
other people could possibly knowyou on that level.
So, while you're known, Iactually think maybe not many
people really know you at all.
I would I would concur withthat Great.
So I hope that this podcastreally gets to you know, get
people to know Bill Hanvey alittle bit better, and the

(02:27):
purpose of the show is really toget to know the people who lead
organizations and theirinfluences, motivations and what
drives them, and so I thoughtthere's no better person to
start with than you.

Bill Hanvey (02:40):
Well, that's quite an honor and it, uh, it's been a
lifelong achievement for me Inthat lifelong achievement.

Behzad Rassuli (02:49):
did you ever think that one of those
achievements would be thatsomebody characterizes you as
the most well-known person inthis industry?

Bill Hanvey (02:59):
Never in my wildest dreams.
It was, um, no, but you know.
You know, but I always aspiredto a role such as this and I'm
an accidental tourist to theindustry, graduating with a
journalism degree way back when,back when we used typewriters.

(03:19):
Actually, you know, my intentwas to go into sports
broadcasting and I had a youngfamily and I think at the time,
uh, a cub reporter made twelvethousand dollars and I was, um,
fortunate enough to have beenhired by wix, uh, january 1st

(03:40):
1985, for the whopping salary of$17,000 plus a company car, and
the rest is history.
And on January 1st 1985, did Iexpect that this is where I
would be no, but I certainlyhoped it.

Behzad Rassuli (03:58):
So getting a journalism degree, thinking
about going into sportsbroadcasting you?
There's a, there's arelationship there that somehow
it also results in like a corneroffice position or leadership
role.

Bill Hanvey (04:15):
You know what I use my degree every day and you
know I, I, I I'm very much incontact with a lot of my fellow
alums, many of whom are in thatpure communication role, like
Stacy or any of our team taughtme to be a good communicator, a

(04:49):
good storyteller, someone thatcan put concept into either
verbalization or written or in apresentation mode.
So, although I'm not what theycall a pure journalist, I would
argue that I use that trainingand education every single day.

Behzad Rassuli (05:06):
So a lot of your job is storytelling.

Bill Hanvey (05:08):
Oh, most certainly, most certainly, especially in
presentations, to help peopleunderstand some of the issues or
initiatives that we're tryingto endeavor here at AutoCare.
And I think telling the storyin a colloquial way that people

(05:31):
can understand is so much moreimportant than the facts, the
data.
It's the why, and that's thefoundation really of journalism
is the who, what, when, where,why.
But the why is really importantand I think a lot of people
overlook that when they puttogether a program or a product,

(05:53):
what problem are you trying tosolve for?
And if you explain it to peoplein a way that they can
understand and this goes on, youknow, to management functions,
it goes on to initiatives orwhatever the case might be but
if you get people to understandwhy you are taking this position

(06:13):
or why you are introducing thisproduct, or why you are taking
this direction that you are, itmakes everyone's life a lot
easier.

Behzad Rassuli (06:22):
I'm so happy you said that, because this the
intent of this podcast is reallyto understand the why of Bill
Hanvey, so hopefully it givespeople even more context in
terms of when you're explainingthe why of something.
People understand where you'recoming from, that you're genuine
and thoughtful and caring, andso hopefully it applies a lot of

(06:44):
you know positive context to tosome of those presentations.
That you're genuine andthoughtful and caring, and so
hopefully it applies a lot ofyou know positive context to to
some of those presentations thatyou're having.

Bill Hanvey (06:49):
Sure, and and you know what?
Um to add to that, the why maynot necessarily line up with
everybody, right, but if you canexplain it in such a way, this
is why we're doing it.
You're not going to geteverybody on board, and that's
the second most important thingis listening, and if you can

(07:13):
understand people's objectionsand this all goes back to my
sales training too, when I wasin the field.
Everybody characterizessalespeople as outgoing,
extrovert talk, but I was kindof the opposite.
I was much more introspectivecustomers that I called on.

(07:42):
If they see you as someone thatcan listen, that's also just as
important as to explaining thewhy.
So how?

Behzad Rassuli (07:53):
much of your success, or your experience to
date, would you say, is based onthat initial journalism.
Kind of collegiate educationversus on the job, real life
lessons of listening andstorytelling.

Bill Hanvey (08:10):
Oh, I'm still learning, and I think that
that's an important point too isthat you have a good foundation
, but what you do with thatfoundation as your career
progresses is really important.
Is it a job or is it a career?
Do you really want to solvethis problem or you don't want
to solve this problem, or so?

(08:32):
It's a really good combinationof having a good foundation, as
I mentioned earlier, and thenbuilding upon that and getting
life experience, getting salesexperience.
Building upon that and gettinglife experience, getting sales
experience, marketing experience, operations and just

(08:53):
continually challenging yourselfso that you continually grow
and that you continually learn,and then that makes you a better
employee and a better person,in my opinion.

Behzad Rassuli (09:02):
Those, that listening ability you know, and
that desire to keep, keeplearning.
You said the rest is historyearlier on.
I'd actually like to dig intothat history a little bit.
I want to understand that makessense and it's intuitive when
you say that and it sounds likea great quality that everybody

(09:22):
should have to want to learn andlisten, but I don't know that
it is and I don't know if thatis natural or if that's trained,
or if you had a mentor orsomebody who taught you those
skills, and so I'd like to spenda little bit of time learning
more about your background.
Sure, and we'll go back as faras you're comfortable just to to

(09:45):
figure it out.
But do you, when you, when yousay things like I'm a constant
learner or I'm still learningtoday, or listening is um
critical or it's all about thewhy?
Do you remember somebody sayingthat to you when you were
younger?
Did you have a like a mentor oran influence?

(10:06):
Was it a parent or a teacher orsomething?

Bill Hanvey (10:08):
Absolutely, and my primary influencer, mentor, was
a legendary salesperson out ofNapa, syracuse.
His name was John Power.
I had the good fortune of beinghis partner for almost five
years and, as I mentioned, hewas a legend and very sharp

(10:30):
dresser, very command in anaudience with his oratory skills
and really had a very goodrelationship with the shops,
knew when to say no, knew whenthere was an opening, and John
just taught me a lot of lessonsabout life in general when you

(10:55):
go to a bar, don't linger at theback, put your money up front
and buy somebody around, and buysomebody around, and just
general social skills of beingable to survive this business.
And he was a tremendousinfluence on me, and not only me

(11:15):
but a lot of people in theindustry too.

Behzad Rassuli (11:18):
So when you met John, were these lessons you
were learning from himcompletely counter to things you
learned before?
I know we've spoken a lot andspent a lot of time together and
I know that you know yourbackground includes military
school includes.
You know sports like football.
Yeah, I believe Catholic school, catholic.

Bill Hanvey (11:40):
Catholic military school.
Catholic military school.

Behzad Rassuli (11:44):
That may explain a lot.
Yeah, I mean so that kind ofwell, I don't know what it
explains and I'd love for you toexplain that.
When I hear about John fromNapa, syracuse, being incredibly
influential to you, it mightjust be me and this might not be
useful to a ton of people, butthat feels like for the career

(12:07):
portion.
But there were ingredientsbefore that, oh for sure.
And so maybe just open-ended ifyou can spend a little bit of
time talking about your earlieryears.

Bill Hanvey (12:18):
Yeah, very typical suburban family.
My dad actually had a foot inthe industry.
He worked for Norton CoatedAbrasives and he goes sandpaper
right.
So I had an old partner thatused to say hey, he's as smooth
as a sandpaper salesman and veryfamily-oriented didn't have a

(12:38):
ton of money and veryfamily-oriented didn't have a
ton of money.
Growing up, my parents made ahuge sacrifice to send me and my
two brothers to Catholic schooland grade school I elected to
go to Christian Brothers Academyin high school, which is a
Catholic military school run bythe Christian Brothers.

(13:01):
You chose that.
Yeah, I've always beenfascinated.
They had a great sports program, discipline, cool-looking
uniforms, not co-ed, though.

Behzad Rassuli (13:11):
But it was.
I'm going to ask again, becausethat doesn't sound like
something that somebodynaturally chooses Are you sure
you weren't told to go there?

Bill Hanvey (13:20):
No, From day one.
I always wanted to go there.
To go there.
No, I from day one.
I always wanted to go there andit was a great experience for
me.
To you know I always I still be.
I may not look at or may not,you may not view this, but I've
always considered myself to bean athlete.
So in high school, track,baseball, football and the CBA

(13:44):
always had the.
You know, they were alwayscounty champs and you know, when
I was on the track team we werein New York state champions.
I was a long jumper, I was atriple jumper, 440 mile relay.
Baseball, shortstop, secondbase, good leadoff hitter and
then football.
I was the starting center at awhopping five foot seven at the

(14:08):
time.
I think I've lost a few and 155pounds at the time oh no,
kidding.
But quick off the line, smarterthan my nose guard in front of
me, and they took a big chanceon me.
But it really worked and wefinished my senior season eight

(14:30):
and one.
But you wouldn't look at me andsay, oh, there's a center, but
always taught a scrapper.
I'm small and I've always hadto fight for what I've had to
achieve.

Behzad Rassuli (14:44):
Do you have siblings?
Where do the scraps go?

Bill Hanvey (14:45):
from, yeah, older brother by four years, art, and
then a younger brother by eightyears, matt.
So middle child, as many of youcould probably foresee through
my personality traits and just areally good, tight-knit family,
went to high school, and thething that I still to this day

(15:11):
that I did in high school is Iset out my clothes every day.
In high school we had to polishour brass haircut inspections
and shine our shoes every night.
So that's something that I'vekept with me throughout the
course of my entire life.
You still do it today.
Oh, absolutely.
And discipline and organizationare the two things that really.

(15:34):
That taught me to be prepared.
It taught me routine discipline.
You know, being anextracurricular athlete, you
know your time was the mostvaluable asset that you had, and

(15:56):
that's even more so today.
So anything that I can do toout-organize you or
out-discipline you, I'm on it.

Behzad Rassuli (16:05):
I find that so interesting.
It's such a juxtapositionbecause when you say that I
absolutely see disciplineorganized, I can imagine you
setting your clothes out thenight before.
You should see my packingroutine and I can imagine and

(16:25):
we've traveled together, youknow you check the flight radar
religiously you know, I'm notsure how many days in advance,
but definitely all day that day.
And so you said that you knowthe discipline and organization
is key to your success.
But at the same time, you arean incredibly flexible executive

(16:48):
, and I know that because I'mnot the most organized and my
haircut is not prim and proper,I don't shine my shoes every day
.

Bill Hanvey (16:57):
I am jealous, though.

Behzad Rassuli (16:58):
But so I don't know how you.
How do you reconcile those twothings?
How do you have that in yourown life and you don't force
others or filter your life soyou're surrounded by people who
are the same way?
How do you also incorporatethat kind of flexibility?

Bill Hanvey (17:13):
And that's something I've learned along the
way too is that you can'timpose your routine or regime on
somebody else.
Everybody has a different wayof looking at things.
Everybody has a different wayof approaching things, and that
comes with experience too, Ithink.

(17:35):
For me in particular,recognizing the strengths of my
staff, knowing that you aregoing to be late for a meeting,
that's a granted yeah, but Iappreciate your flexibility with
that.
But you have to look at noteverybody is like Bill Hanvey

(17:55):
and not everybody is wired likeBill Hanvey, and that's what
makes me respect the auto careteam so much is because we all
each have our own operatingprinciples.
But the core principle for usis being a success, and the way
that you get there or the waythat you organize yourself,

(18:20):
that's on you.
But the discipline and theorganization might be done
through different methods, butas long as we get to the same
place and where we want to go,then have at it.

Behzad Rassuli (18:35):
Yeah, but how did you do that?
How did you go from somebodywho is surrounded by
organization discipline probablyin this Catholic military
school everyone is doing.
You know, the classes above youare shining their shoes and
they're organized and gettingtheir haircuts and the classes
below you are, and everyone hasthat expectation of one another.
Was there a point in your lifewhere, or do you remember a

(18:56):
couple of events, where you'relike you know what we get to the
same or better outcome and Ican just ease off of expecting
that kind of discipline fromother people.

Bill Hanvey (19:04):
You know, I I see that every day in terms of, well
, this is the way that I woulddo it.
And, um, you know, I even dothat with my wife in the kitchen
.
I am, uh, I love the cook, asyou well know, and, uh, I have
to work on not intervening andthat's something that I practice

(19:25):
here at the office, at home andto step back and be self-aware
that, okay, let's not be thekitchen tyrant here.
My wife has a good way to do it.
The end result is that dinnerwill be on the table.
It may not be the way that youdid it, but it's on the table.

(19:46):
And when I first started, fullguns, this is the way we're
going to do it, this is how it'sgoing to work, and I think that
the both of you can attest tothe fact that I have changed.
I hope that you can.

Behzad Rassuli (20:03):
Absolutely Right , but that's something that came
as I learned and developed as aleader too, and I think that's
why I'm harping on this so muchis because I do recall when you
started there was almost like apredetermined leadership style

(20:24):
and drive, and we'll get to that, and I have no idea how you
managed what you managed.
There were several challengesthat you faced in this
organization that not manyexecutives would normally face,
but I do wonder even now.
So when you started youprobably had that kind of hard
and fast here's how we're gonnado it.

(20:45):
And now you're on the otherside of the spectrum incredibly
flexible, like the dinnerexample is great.
You've kind of come to therealization, or you're at the
point where you will let go ofthe control of how to make
dinner and you will appreciatethat maybe there are some
flavors or some display on thepresentation of the food that

(21:07):
aren't the way you would havedone it, but actually it's
pretty cool, Absolutely.

Bill Hanvey (21:10):
Yep, and that's why it's so fulfilling for me to
work with different peoplewithin the industry, within my
own team, is to see them todevelop their own style, to see
them grow with the foundationsof their own discipline, their
own routine, and that's how Ilearned, too, is that, oh my

(21:35):
gosh, there's a different way toskin this cat.
So, in recognizing the factthat not everybody is driven the
same way, or not everybody hasthe same routine, it's also
helped me to identify other waysfor me to improve.

Behzad Rassuli (21:54):
Well for what it's worth.
I meant that as a compliment.
Also, did you observe this whenyou bring up the kitchen and
cooking?
And I don't want to get toopersonal, but did you observe it
with your parents too?
Was there any?
When you watched your parents,did you think?

(22:15):
Do you think back now onlessons you learned from parents
, or was it?
Most of your references so farcome from some things you
learned at school a lot ofon-the-job training.
Um, I know your dad was in thewar he was in korea.

Bill Hanvey (22:30):
Uh, twice decorated purple heart recipient.
Uh from brooklyn.
Uh, dad from brooklyn, mom fromqueens.
Um, my mom wrote my dad aletter in when he was in the
service.
My aunt said oh, there's aserviceman and creates my
brother.
Would you like to send him aletter?
So they met um, uh viacorrespondence.

(22:54):
Oh really, yeah, yeah, and uh,both, you know, from new york
city, and so journalism isactually Met via correspondence.
Oh really, yeah, yeah, and bothfrom New York.

Behzad Rassuli (22:58):
City, so journalism is actually
definitely in your blood.

Bill Hanvey (23:02):
I mean oh, yeah Right, communicating writing.
As a matter of fact, I stillwrite my granddaughter
handwritten letters every week,because who gets a letter now?

Behzad Rassuli (23:13):
Nobody, and is that something you've always
done, or did you just?

Bill Hanvey (23:16):
start doing it recently I've done it for
probably the past 10 years andshe'll be 16 in October Does she
write back Occasionally, muchshorter than mine, but I enjoy
it.
It gives me time away from theelectronics to communicate with
my granddaughter and pass onknow, pass on some stuff or just

(23:37):
talk about cooking.
She's a great cook too, and sowe found that common interest.
But you know, from my childhood, you know it was very much that
prototypical suburban lifestyleand it was a really wonderful
time to grow up.
I grew up in Albany, new York,born in Long Island, moved up to

(23:59):
Albany when I was three, sportsevery day, wiffle ball with the
McKennas.
You know they had five boys, wehad three boys and Malone's had
seven boys.
So it was just a.
It was bedlam in the summertime, bedlam in the summertime, and
you know you learn, you knowyou'll, you'll learn to fight

(24:21):
one day and then you're back thenext day and and playing again.
So you know my dad taught methe importance of of going to
work every day and being therefor your kids and showing up to
games and supporting you.
And my mom was more on thesofter side.
She taught me to cook, you know, drag the chair over to the

(24:42):
edge of the counter and help mixchocolate chip cookies.
So those are some things that Ipicked up from them, just to
you know.
Like I said, my dad worked hard, my mom was primarily a home, a
homemaker and, um, like I said,not a ton of money, but we were

(25:03):
always pretty happy, do?

Behzad Rassuli (25:06):
um, uh.
Another thing I know about youis that you're a history buff
Did.
Can you talk about that alittle bit?
Where did that come from?
What part of history are youfascinated in?
Does it have anything to dowith?
I try to connect dots.

Bill Hanvey (25:22):
Sometimes they're not there, but your dad being a,
that's a good dot becausereally one of the first trips
that I remember as a kid was amini vacation to Boston,
Massachusetts and my mom was ahistory buff too to Boston,
Massachusetts, and my mom was ahistory buff too.
So we did a little mini tour ofBoston, we did the Freedom

(25:43):
Trail, Paul Revere, and thesestories that you learn about as
a kid in grade school came tolife.
And now for me, with history, alot of people read business
books to improve, and what I do,I read biographies.
So I just finished a biographyon Captain James Cook, the

(26:06):
amazing explorer who discoveredAustralia, New Zealand, all the
way up to Alaska and wassubsequently killed in Hawaii.
But that history connection forme really teaches me about
leadership and to learn abouthow leaders in past eras or past

(26:32):
ages have faced insurmountablechallenges and how they overcame
them.
To this day I still go past theWhite House and I still wonder
what Abe Lincoln was thinking inthe throes of the war and the
burdens that he carried andsuccessfully unified a nation

(26:58):
that he carried and successfullyunified a nation.
So for me, learning abouthistory is just as important
about learning as the individualand how they were able to lead
a country, a revolution orwhatever the case might be, and
try and incorporate some of thatinto my leadership.

Behzad Rassuli (27:16):
I love that.
Are there certain books thatyou recall that just had a
profound effect on you today, orthroughout your life.

Bill Hanvey (27:24):
Oh, I think the book on Lewis and Clark was
fascinating.
They had a group of men thatwent from St Louis all the way
to Oregon.
They lost one person in about athree-year period and the
troubles that they encounteredand the leadership that they had
to exhibit.
Captain Cook was another greatone.

(27:45):
He also discovered propernutrition for sailors, so scurvy
was eliminated under his watchbecause he tried different
things.
And you know, just some of thethings that these leaders have

(28:05):
implemented have been utilizedto this day in terms of
leadership or practices thatthey incorporated into their
daily lives.

Behzad Rassuli (28:18):
When you talk to somebody, you're talking to me
right now, mm-hmm, do yousometimes think I would love
this person to read this book?

Bill Hanvey (28:27):
Oh, all the time.
Boys in the Boat.
Another, do you talk aboutteamwork?
Boys in the Boat fantastic bookabout teamwork.

Behzad Rassuli (28:38):
I'm going to not take that, as I need to work on
my teamwork.

Bill Hanvey (28:40):
Actually that was required reading at one point I
thought.
But those books that do comealong that exemplify teamwork
Boys in the Boat, the Lewis andClark book Team of Rivals was
another one by Kearns thattalked about President Lincoln,

(29:01):
how he had the courage to hirefor his cabinet very disparate
viewpoints and thoughts, salmonChase and some of the others,
and Se they, it was like herdingcats, but each one of those
cabinet members brought strengthto Lincoln's administration.

(29:23):
That was that helped himovercome the rebellion.

Behzad Rassuli (29:30):
So I totally see it now.
I mean just just in these firstfew minutes here.
I'm not sure how long we'vebeen going, but journalism
background helps you tellstories.
Your focus on history andbiographies helps you really
study leadership and it's notfrom business books.

(29:56):
And, uh, it's it.
It's not from business booksand I think that's.
It's just just knowing thatabout you so far really helps me
understand that some things youknow we're not going to learn
in a business book and yourcontext comes from historical
examples that have have a playedout ending.

(30:18):
Yeah right, it's not theory,it's not an equation, it is.
This is an example of somethingthat was done in history and
this is how it turned out.
We know the outcome, and so youget to.
You get to kind of pick, pickfrom history and pick the best
lessons and apply those to yourown life.

Bill Hanvey (30:36):
And really that's what helped me land about four
or five years, maybe four yearsago, on the auto care core
values of teamwork, curiosity,integrity and fun.
And I ask myself when I finishthese know, what are the common
characteristics that theseleaders had?

(30:57):
And I really boiled it down tothose four characteristics and
those are traits that I thinkthat every leader, that every
organization I value thosetraits incredibly as a leader
and we try to instill them inour staff here in our industry.

(31:18):
But after reading hundreds ofbiographies, I think those four
traits of leaders really helpedme mold my leadership style.

Behzad Rassuli (31:30):
So how do you apply those on a daily basis at
work?
Let's talk a little bit abouthow you work here at AutoCare,
so TCIF, and how do they show upfor you?

Bill Hanvey (31:40):
Well, teamwork, and especially you know especially
teamwork is laying out a visionfor, for the, for the team,
putting the right team in place,making sure that they all share
your common values, to makesure that they have the end game

(32:00):
in sight.
What are we trying to solve for, and how do they work with
other individuals?
Can we create an open,transparent relationship?
Teamwork also means emptyingthe dishwasher in the auto care
kitchen, and that's somethingthat you can't teach, and that's

(32:21):
why we look for people that gothe extra mile to ensure that
the team comes first rather thanthe individual, because when
the team come first, theindividuals come, not vice versa
.

Ted Hughes (32:36):
Hi, I'm Ted Hughes, executive Director of AWDA and
Senior Director of CommunityEngagement for the Auto Care
Association.
We provide our members withnumerous avenues for connection
and collaboration through ourdiverse range of committees and
communities.
Whether you're interested inadvancing your career through
the Women in Auto Care programor our vibrant Under 40 group,

(32:57):
or simply wish to network andglean insights from fellow
distributors, shops andmanufacturers, we have dedicated
committees and communitieseager to connect with you.

Behzad Rassuli (33:07):
Learn more at autocareorg slash communities
appreciate and I think we agreeon, is that when you have a
smaller organization we are 40something here um, having super
defined roles is probably anegative.
That you need people to havesome versatility, flexibility,

(33:30):
and they need to resemble moreof a swiss army knife than a
specific kind of cooking knife.

Bill Hanvey (33:36):
Yep, and that's why we really look to hire the
person rather than the traits.
As you well know, we go throughan interview process here for a
new employee and we let theteam judge them on their
capabilities, but the finalinterview is for me to see what
the fit is for culture.

Behzad Rassuli (33:57):
Can you?
You spent a minute on teamthere.
Curiosity you probably don'thave to go through all of them.
Curiosity, I probablyunderstood.
Integrity, though what doesthat mean to you?
How do you?
Why did that show up?
That's that word, to me is notsuper clearly defined, and I

(34:20):
think it's more through the eyeof the beholder.
And I understand what it isafter working with you for so
long in the interpretation forthe association.
But I'd love to know how youthink about that.

Bill Hanvey (34:28):
That's why I always ask prospective employees you
define integrity for me.
But I think that really came tofruition during COVID and my
goal was to do what was rightfor the industry, regardless of
how it affected the associationor whatever the case might be.

(34:51):
But that was a time that I hopeno one has to experience again.
But if you don't act withintegrity and if you don't put
your own ambition, your ownagenda aside for the betterment
of the team, that's really kindof my definition of integrity

(35:15):
that you would put aside yourpersonal ambitions or anything
else to make sure that the teamis successful.

Behzad Rassuli (35:23):
Now I don't want anyone listening to this to
take that as the answer to thetest, but that is important to
understand how you think aboutit, and you just brought up
COVID.
You just brought up COVID.
I do want to ask you about thatbecause the way I think about
this I personally have I viewall decisions and conversations

(35:44):
through this incredibly longtime horizon.
I always think we're at onepoint right now.
There was a time before andthere's a time after, and so the
time before influences the timenow and then what we do now
will morph and change over time,and in the history books of

(36:07):
CEOs there is a class that werein their seats through arguably
the most halting and disruptivechange ever to the economy
individuals, individualbusinesses and quite not
hyperbole, but to how we work asa society.

(36:29):
Mm-hmm, can you just talk aboutthat time period, because
that's not something that youlearn in a business book or in
business school.
I don't think they teach aclass on it.
It's possible that it's inhistory books, there might be
some closer analogies, but Idon't know what it would be like

(36:54):
, what it was like, to be inthat seat during that time.

Bill Hanvey (36:58):
It was daunting and right, wrong or indifferent,
everybody has their owncircumstance.
I have to make sure my family'staken care of, I have to make
sure I'm taken care of, I haveto make sure we're healthy, but
I genuinely felt the burden ofan entire industry on my

(37:19):
shoulders.
If we did not become anessential services, those doors
would be closed and millions ofpeople would be temporarily put
out of work.
So that's why we fought so hardto ensure that we were declared

(37:40):
as an essential industry.
Every night, I asked myself ifI was doing the right thing for
the industry not for auto care,not for Bill Hanvey, not for
Bill Hanvey's family, but forauto care.
And it was.
You just never knew what wasgoing to come.
Next is the hard part, and youknow there was this looming apex

(38:12):
show that you know, as all ofyou know, is a significant
portion of the revenue that weuse to service the members.
That was all at threat, but Imade the decision on March 12th
to close our office and our teamdidn't miss a beat, and that
was.
You know.
It was the hardest period forme as a CEO, but it was also the

(38:35):
most fulfilling period for meas a CEO to see how everybody
instantly changed gears, howeverybody instantly knew what
was looming ahead and reallypulled together as a team and
kept this industry's doors openIn the meantime, adding services

(38:57):
, adding benefits.
You know, trend lens was a wasa direct result from APAC or
from from the COVID outbreak,because we needed to have our
members have more data to makebusiness decisions.
So it was a very dark, verydifficult time for me as a

(39:18):
leader and I thank God that Iwasn't a rookie leader, uh, that
I had a little experiencebehind my belt.
But these were all unchartedwaters so you did the best that
you could.
You worked with, you knowintegrity and, um, you really
you know I really focused on theteam to make sure that they
were happy.
I understood that people hadtheir own personal circumstances

(39:40):
too, and I had to understandthat people were worried for
their own safety, so there was alot to balance.
Thank God, I've got a goodcoach that I can talk to and
help talk me off the ledgesometimes, but it was um tough

(40:01):
time but again, the mostcrowning achievement I think of
this association Did you whenyou recounted that it sounded
like there were times that youpossibly doubted decisions and
weren't certain what to do.
Yep, what does?

Behzad Rassuli (40:15):
that?
What does that feel like to you?
What is it?
You know, if you could justspend a second describing
pressure probably sounds obvious.
But what does doubt feel liketo you?
And then, how do you navigatedoubt, you know?

Bill Hanvey (40:33):
do you just plow through, or yeah, you've got to
own it, and that's the hardestthing to do is to now.
You've got to reconcile withyourself as a leader to say look
, this is on me and you're nothere by chance, but this is your
role as the president and CEO.

(40:55):
Your role is to make toughdecisions, and not every
decision is going to be an easyone.
But you've got to weigh thedifferent options.
You've got to engage your teamin this.
You need to listen, but at theend, that decision's on your
shoulders.
That decision's on yourshoulders.
But you come to accept that andyou come to earn that and you

(41:18):
come to understand that you'renot going to make everybody
happy with these decisions.

Behzad Rassuli (41:32):
But if that decision was made with the
overall good in mind.
Then I can go to bedcomfortable, so can I think that
sounds.
That sounds great, because theend result was, I think, success
on both sides.
The organization was successful, the industry was successful,
you navigated it.
Is there a time where you kindof trusted yourself and you said

(41:53):
, listen, this decision is on meand it was.
It just didn't work.
It was like a disaster.
Do you remember a time thatthat's ever happened?

Bill Hanvey (42:03):
How many do you want to?

Behzad Rassuli (42:05):
how many do you want me to go into?
I just don't want it to sound.
You know, I still think, evenhearing you talk through that it
didn't make me feel any betterhaving to do all that myself.
And I still can't, and maybe Ijust overemphasize this stuff.
And one thing you've helped mewith is the go at 80% mentality.

(42:32):
Go at 80% mentality.
Yes, I probably overthinkthings, but the enormity and the
stress that comes withnavigating and managing an
organization and industry.
And then you mentioned thepeople, even the people thinking
about them on a personal level,dealing with loss or dealing
with health issues.
They're scared.
I could possibly overthink that.

Bill Hanvey (42:56):
Yeah, but you know what you brought up.
A really good point and that'ssomething that I really do try
to emphasize is the fact thatlet's not let perfection get in
the way of progress.
So there are going to be somethings out there that don't work
, but I'd rather go to bed atnight saying look at, I gave it
a try.
And that's what I tell thefolks from Yang is that don't be

(43:19):
afraid to try, and I thinkpeople will get more respect
from their upper management orwhomever, if you raise your hand
and say, hey, look, I'm goingto give this a shot.
Some things that didn't work Ialways tell the story about when
I was at Fleet Pride.
We launched our new locatornumber 1-800-94-FLEET, and that

(43:42):
was set up by our CIO at thetime and he was leaving.
So we printed all the materials, call 894-FLEET to find a Fleet
Pride location nearest you.
And I get a call on my way tothe airport to go down to HDAW
where we were launching theFleet Pride brand, and my boss

(44:05):
said did you know that that 800number goes to an adult chat
line?
So lessons learned right.
So now, anytime we put a url ora phone number up, you call it.
Oh, that's fantastic.
But you, but you also.
So that the other and a lot ofpeople have heard this story too

(44:25):
.
But um, there's different waysto handle situations.
My immediate supervisor freakedout oh my god breathing.
He was on the phone, he was, itwas.
He was having a heart attack.
Just think about that.
What is going to happen?
What's going to happen.
And I felt so awful, I wasready to quit on the spot.

(44:48):
But then a day later, I get thecall from our CEO, who was my
immediate supervisor's boss, andhe called me.
He goes hey, hanby, how arethings at Fleet Porn?
So that's just another way ofshowing leadership style to say
okay, you know what?
Yes, your call is going to goto an adult chat line,

(45:10):
temporarily at least.
But he had some fun with it.
And I always find, too, bezod,if you hire quality people and
they make a mistake, they'll ownit.
And what did you learn from it?
What lessons did you get fromit?
How could it have gone better?
That's what I would rather seethan somebody that doesn't take

(45:31):
a chance.

Behzad Rassuli (45:32):
That and going back to the teamwork curiosity,
integrity and fun that's how Iinterpret integrity is just
because of maybe lack of knowinghow to answer that question.
My default is ownership.

Bill Hanvey (45:47):
Good point.

Behzad Rassuli (45:48):
And I personally I lean so heavily into owning
it because of what you just said, that at the end of the day, no
matter what happens, as long asyou take responsibility for
your actions and you takeresponsibility for the decisions
that you make, with that kindof mindset and that orientation,

(46:12):
you can go ahead and adjustbecause you're admitting when
you make a mistake or you'readmitting when somebody else
helped you with something youdidn't come up with yourself,
and that kind of ownership givesyou so much flexibility as an
operator.
So I appreciate that you saidthat.
Oh yeah, the human side of youthat came out during COVID,

(46:35):
that's do you have kids.

Bill Hanvey (46:37):
Yes, I have a daughter, katie, son-in-law Rob,
granddaughter Maura, who are inBoston, and then I have a son,
liam, who is in Florida.

Behzad Rassuli (46:48):
You obviously have kids, because you write
letters to your granddaughter,mm-hmm.
But how old were you when youhad your, your, your first kid,
21.

Bill Hanvey (46:57):
Young.
Oh, I was a junior in college.
I had our daughter, katie, so Idid my senior year of college
with, with, with.
My wife and Katie worked at thepizza shop to make money at
night, and it was a tough haul.
That's why that gig for Wixfilters at $17,000 plus a car

(47:20):
was just a blessing for me.
So you take responsibility.
You know that you've got thisinfant child that's helpless.
It's your role as a parent toto ensure that that young person
has the tools they need to be asuccess.

Behzad Rassuli (47:39):
So it's, and both kids made it easy too, but
did you, did you feel like at21,?
Maybe I'm projecting here, butat 21, having a kid still being
in school and trying to affordall of that, no-transcript.

Bill Hanvey (48:12):
Yeah, that that's a good question.
And so I started.
I liked it.
I liked the people, I liked theorganization.
I saw that I could use myskills in a different way than
for what I was trained to do.
So I never really looked backand said, oh, I could have,

(48:34):
would have, should have, butI've been just so blessed with
my kids and my family.
So, no, I don't look back andsay, oh, I wish I could have
been a sports broadcaster A.
I have a face for radio B.
You know it all worked out.

Behzad Rassuli (48:56):
I just imagine it was hard and maybe I can just
expand on why I'm on thisquestion I mentioned.
I view the world through thisreally, really broad timeline
and I have this belief that webecome the people we are through
the life experiences that wehave, and I can't imagine a life

(49:18):
experience as influential oraltering as having a kid when
you're 21, having to get a job,picking your career path, and
it's only because that's not thelife that.
I lived, and when I hear that, Ihear I just feel financial
pressure, I feel responsibilityat an age where I'm probably not

(49:41):
ready for that responsibility,and so when I think about the
life experiences that you getfrom that, I have this belief
that actually many of our lifeexperiences are relevant for a
certain time period in our lifeand should have an expiration

(50:03):
date.
But I think, through humanhistory, one of the things that
we observe, or one of the thingsthat I've observed, is that
sometimes events in a person'slife change that person
permanently, and so, withoutmaking it about you or me or any
one individual, what you see inpost-economic depressions is

(50:29):
people start putting money incans or hiding things and really
, really saving scraps.
What we saw post the 2008financial crisis is an entire
generation of people who,temporarily at least, lost a lot
of money, never reenter thestock market.

(50:50):
The stock market recoversbecause you have a whole new
generation of investors comingback in who don't have the
experience or trauma of seeingtheir portfolio, value or life's
worth kind of disappearovernight.
When I describe that, is thereanything going through that
period of your life that kind ofstuck with you or changed you

(51:12):
forever of your life, that kindof?

Bill Hanvey (51:13):
stuck with you or changed you forever.
Oh well, I failed to mentionthat in my junior year of
college I shattered my legplaying soccer.
So I was on crutches for a goodportion of my junior year and
that was really the hardestthing that I had to do.
And my parents came we're goingto pick you up, we're going to

(51:37):
take you home, like there is noway.
I'm going home, I'm going tofinish this out, I'm going to do
it.
So I traipsed around thatcampus uh, you know I hate to
sound like one of those old guys, but uh, in a plaster cast from
hip to ankle from October 30thuntil March 19th, and that was

(52:01):
the hardest thing I ever had todo.
And on top of that then I washaving a family.
So you can just imagine some ofthat.
At that point it was survival,yeah, but you know it, it worked
out.
And you know you just take itone day at a time, you take it
one task at a time.

(52:21):
You don't let it become umoverwhelming.
Find good people that you knowyou can use for an outlet, so
that really, you know, and incollege too, it you know.
We've talked a lot about theactual education, about it.
But in college I really foundmy niche as a leader too, and

(52:47):
you know a lot of people go well, what'd you learn in college?
Well, I learned to be a leader.
Oh, really, no, I didn't take aclass, but we're a very
close-knit community in collegeat St Bonaventure Crazy alumni,
great but it really taught meleadership in terms of the kids

(53:09):
that I was living with in thedorms and that helped me develop
.
Look at I, I don't mind being aleader.

Behzad Rassuli (53:17):
Just, you mean just socially.
You found yourself peoplecoming leaning on you to make
decisions and you learned totrust that kind of inner voice
to, and, and people you knowrewarded you for it by giving
you more responsibility kind ofstuff.

Bill Hanvey (53:32):
Yeah, exactly, and and came to find out I liked the
role.

Behzad Rassuli (53:38):
The reason I ask all these questions about your
background is because theorganization, whether you
recognize it or not, and I thinkit's super difficult for a
human being to be one person inone place, say at a job, and
then go back and be a completelydifferent person.

(53:59):
I imagine you're not 180degrees different at home than
you are from work, right?
So these behaviors and theseexperiences and these life
lessons from your entire lifeshow up today and we all, the
industry, you know, livesthrough and benefits from them
and experiences them with you,Sure.
So I think it's really importantto kind of spend some time

(54:22):
talking about those, If you canrecount for me.
We talked about auto care alittle bit.
I've had a conversation or twowith you about.
I was here when you started atAutoCare and I distinctly
remember meeting you for thefirst time through that

(54:42):
interview process.
Can you tell me about theinterview process at AutoCare
and just take me back to thattime when you were kind of
applying for the job?
Heard about the job, Sure.

Bill Hanvey (54:52):
Yeah, it was.
You know, and this role is issomething that I've always
aspired to and you know I was avolunteer for auto care or, at
the time, aaia, with theirmarketing and executives
committee and marketingcommunications committee, and
was always engaged in theindustry and that is something

(55:16):
that has stayed with me a long,long time is the people in the
industry really make this greatand I enjoy it.
So when the opportunity becameavailable, I'm like, hey, why
not?
So I put in my app.
We had an Auto Care Board CEOsearch committee, so I submitted

(55:43):
and I knew all of them andthere were absolutely
outstanding candidates thatapplied for the job.
I knew that it would be a toughinterview process and I, quite
honestly, I didn't give myselfmuch chance.
I wasn't a current, I wasn't aCEO at the time.
I had good experience with AASAand some of the roles that I

(56:04):
had in the industry.
But but again, like you know,like I tell my my Yang mentees,
raise your hand.
You're never going to getanything if you don't try it.
So I put in my app and Iremember we had to write a um, a
uh, an essay on on what wewould.
You know, what would my firstyear.

(56:24):
Look like at the auto careassociation.
What were some of the big goals?
And I thought big andespecially about this industry,
focusing on right to repairtechnicians and who are the
lifeblood of our industry, bythe way and just, I approached
it from a viewpoint of what Ihad learned along the way and

(56:46):
seeing opportunities within ourindustry to help it grow.
And so we had some in-personinterviews, and then we had some
in-person interviews, and thenwe had another in-person
interview, and I'll never forgetthe last interview.
They were kind enough to put meup at the Hayes Adams Hotel,
which is a very exclusive Rightnext to the White House, right

(57:08):
next to the White House and Itook a walk that night and I
took a walk to the WashingtonMonument.
I had never seen it before likethat close, in person.
I put my hand on it and I'mlike you know what?
If it works out, great.
If it doesn't, but give me thestrength of these past leaders

(57:29):
to help me be the best that Ipossibly can be.
And for some reason they boughtit.
And here I am today.
But it was so fulfilling for meas a non-CEO to say, okay, well,
we have faith in you and yourvision for this industry of what

(57:50):
you can do.
And when I say that theinterview room was filled with
industry dignitaries, it surewas intimidating, but I think
that they saw the fact that Ihad the right intentions at
heart, that I had some room togrow.

(58:10):
I think everybody conceded thatand I still have room to grow.
But it was an amazingexperience and I would not have
had that experience or thisexperience if I didn't gamble,
if I didn't say, hey, look, I'mgoing to give this a shot, I can
do this, and just havingconfidence in yourself to put

(58:31):
your hand up and say I'll giveit a try.

Behzad Rassuli (58:33):
Did you feel like you were ready for it
though?

Bill Hanvey (58:37):
Oh no, absolutely.
The day I walked in, I wasscared to death.
When I saw Bill Hamby,president and CEO, on that door,
I'm like, oh my God, what did Ithink of?
What was I doing?
But it worked out, and everyday has been a learning process.

Behzad Rassuli (58:53):
Who was the first person you called?
Who did you want to tell whenyou got the job?

Bill Hanvey (59:00):
I would have loved to have called my mom.
My mom passed when she wasyoung.
She was 56 when she passed andmy dad had passed too, but he
was 80.
So he lived a long, healthylife.
But there was a lot of doubt asto my earlier career decisions

(59:25):
and with my parents and to makethem proud and to have a son.
President and CEO of the AutoCare Association.
I know that that would havemade them both proud.
How old were you when your mompassed?
I was 24.
And so a pretty rough sequenceof events between 20 and 24.

(59:46):
But it really kind of made mewho I am today in terms of you
know, someone told me when Ibroke my leg well, god doesn't
give you anything more than youcan handle.
And so I'm like, well, man, Ithink I'm kind of maxing out
here Could we give it a breakfor a little while.
But those tests are what reallymake you a stronger person.

(01:00:09):
And and then I have absolutelyhad to overcome adversity,
physical adversity.
You know, I had to have two hipreplacements as a result of
that broken leg back in 1987.
Or no, excuse me, 1983.

(01:00:30):
Oh, excuse me, 1983.
So you know, you learnsomething every single day from
those difficult situations thatyou get.
And you got to make sure youdon't go down a bad path.
You got to make sure that yousay, okay, look, this is what I
did today, this is what Iaccomplished.
Did I sell any boxes today ordid I not sell any boxes?

(01:00:52):
And if I didn't, how come Ididn't?
And if I did, what made asuccess?
And then I always end the daydid I act with integrity?

Behzad Rassuli (01:01:00):
So just you telling that story helps me so
much understand where you comefrom and how and why you are the
way you are, are the way youare and it shows up in so many

(01:01:21):
little ways.
But those little ways give mepause and makes me, they make me
wonder where you get it fromand I'll give you a couple of
examples.
So I think I had an injury onceand you engaged with me about
the industry, about the injuryand the recovery, in kind of a.
It set me back a little bit.
I was a little bit confused,you know.

(01:01:47):
I was like why is he beinggenuine?
Does he actually care?
And knowing that you wentthrough such a traumatic injury
and knowing and experiencing howmuch that impacts somebody, it
helps me understand that you canactually you have kind of the
empathy and care to apply thatto another human being.
And more recently both myparents, you know, have have

(01:02:10):
gone right through cancer and Ican't thank you enough.
But more so, I genuinelycouldn't understand how you had
so much genuine care andauthenticity around your
questions and your concern forme and at the on the surface it

(01:02:33):
made me feel like a bad personbecause I don't know if I could
manufacture that or manifestthat for another person, but the
end result is I learned so muchfrom you in that moment how to
be.
You know you can be anexecutive, but you can also be a
human being and a caring,thoughtful person.
But now I have a better senseof where that came from for you.

Bill Hanvey (01:02:56):
Sure, and you know you have to be vulnerable and
you can take it both ways.
You know when somethingdifficult arises in your life
and you can either treat it as alearning moment that you can
help people, other people learnfrom it, or you can go down a
bad path and never recover fromit mentally.

(01:03:19):
And that's the hard thing iskeeping yourself mentally
focused on what are we trying toaccomplish and balancing that
between the human side of theequation.
So if you find a staff memberor a colleague that's having a

(01:03:42):
difficult time, you have tounderstand that that difficult
time is occupying a significantamount of their headspace and
that headspace is occupied.
So you have to recognize thatwhen you're managing people to
say, hey, look at this person'sbandwidth right now is pretty

(01:04:02):
small, or let's keep pushing,let's keep going, let's keep
going.
But that's something that, as aleader, you're setting somebody
up for failure if you don'tincorporate the human side of
their equation into the wholeprocess.

Behzad Rassuli (01:04:23):
Well, I thank you from the team side, at the
very minimum, yeah, and I knowwe all benefit from that.
You also have an incredibleability to adapt, to change, and
I mean this more tactically.
You, we change our database andyou're the first user of it.
We change our communicationsfrom primarily email to teams.

(01:04:51):
You know I can text youwhenever I want and we can
interact that way and you're notrigid in that regard.
And you, you, you change pretty, pretty rapidly.
You have to.
But how do you do that?
I mean, you know one of the Ithink that's one of the
qualities that sets leadersapart, especially leaders who've
progressed through theirpositions kind of over a long
period of time or have been in arole for a long time with an

(01:05:16):
increasing level of success is,I think, the one main quality is
that ability to process change.
So maybe you can just spend asecond on that.
You know, is it a consciousthing for you?
Do you face kind of a newtechnology?
What's your reaction to it?
Are you kind of like the restof us, like oh God, here we go,

(01:05:36):
or are you like nope, let's doit?

Bill Hanvey (01:05:39):
No, I'm, I'm uh, it's fascinating for me, and you
know, and you guys all knowthis expression that I use a lot
People are always supportive ofchange until it affects them.
Supportive of change until itaffects them and that's
something that you have to becognizant of, too is that change
is difficult for people, butit's necessary for people, and

(01:06:03):
you can either look at it one ortwo ways.
Nope, I'm never going to do this.
I'm just going to continuallybecome more and more obsolete,
or I am going to embrace it oruse it differently, or whatever
the case might be, but at leastunderstand it so that you can
talk to it and identify it.
But change for the sake ofchange is not always necessarily

(01:06:26):
good, but change for the goodreasons is something all of us
should embrace, and that's beenthe most fulfilling part of me
here, too, is that, you know,we've really changed the way
that our industry is portrayedin many ways in terms of our

(01:06:48):
financial contribution to theeconomy, in terms of the number
of people that we employ, and Isay my prayers every night and I
always pray for the 4.9 millionpeople in this industry that we
have the wherewithal to change,that we can keep up with the

(01:07:09):
times and that we're doing ourjob as an association to ensure
that we can change with thetimes too.

Behzad Rassuli (01:07:19):
Well, I mean, I can confirm that your version of
change in whatever you wrote inthat application kind of your
essay has been successfulbecause when you were, the
organization by probably anymetric is at an all-time high
and that is almost singularly inlarge part due to your

(01:07:40):
leadership, almost singularly inlarge part due to your
leadership.
The association is.
It's a nonprofit and I oftensometimes get confused.
Some people say I would love toyou know.
When we're in job applicationsor looking to hire somebody,
they say, oh, I want to work ata nonprofit so I can give back.

(01:08:01):
When you were applying for thisjob or thinking about running a
trade association, was it agive back opportunity for you or
was it a vehicle to get stuffdone and have an impact?

Bill Hanvey (01:08:16):
Oh, I would love to say that it was the altruistic
answer.
To say that it was thealtruistic answer, but it was.
This is a great business.
We're going to run the AutoCare Association like a business
because we have products andservices, just like any of you
that are listening.
So are our products andservices up to date?

(01:08:37):
Are they relevant, Do theyprovide benefits to our members?
And that's what's fascinatingto me, because I was able to
work in this industry for such along time that I was able to
identify some of those toolsthat this industry needed, like
demand index and trend lens andour product data standards.

(01:08:58):
And now we're seeing some ofthose products and services and
benefits grow worldwide.
And I think that that's thenext thing for us is you know,
how can we take what we've donehere in the United States and
allow other countries and otheraftermarket industries to

(01:09:23):
benefit from what we have donefor the betterment of those 1.1
billion now that are employedaround the world?

Behzad Rassuli (01:09:33):
Let's say that I want to make sure I address
this, because I work with you.
I know what I'm walking intowhen I walk into a meeting with
you, but if you're if somebodyelse was interviewing you right
now.
You know, let's say I'd nevermet you before and it's my my
first day on the job.
And I tell a colleague oh, Ihave a, I have a meeting with
Bill.
Any advice or anything I shouldlook out for?

(01:09:55):
What do you think people wouldsay about you, like what's the
thing that you're known to do?
Or ask you know, what's the,what are you consistently known
to do?
That somebody would tellanother employee, oh, bill's
going to probably say this, orask you about this.

Bill Hanvey (01:10:11):
Bill's a good storyteller, you know he can.
He can relate what, what'shappening.
He's compassionate, understandsthe employees, understands the.
But I think most importantly isthat what's really the most

(01:10:32):
interesting part of our jobs isthe way that this industry works
.
And it amazes me to this day,bezod, that we have millions and
millions of different partvariations, thousands of
different vehicle make, modeland years, but yet when John or

(01:11:04):
Jane Doe goes to their localindependent shop, they can
typically get their part, get itinstalled and be out the door
in a half a day.
And not many people reallyrealize the complexity of our
industry.
And that's what you know.
I think people that would metme, that would have met me for
the first time, would say he'spassionate and passionate about
the industry.
So a couple kind of just wrapup questions what's your

(01:11:36):
favorite part of the job?
Oh, being in the field, meetingthe members, interacting with
my team.
I think those are the two mostfavorite parts of the job Daily
routine.
You mentioned getting yourclothes ready for the next day.
But what's your daily routine?
Clothes are ready.
I'm up at 5.30, 6 o'clock.
I'm in the office by 7.30,drive in, drive in, try to

(01:12:01):
listen to some podcasts on theway in and on the way home
meetings.
I'm spending more time nowwhich I enjoy reaching out to
members, people I haven't heardfrom in a while, touching base.
So I'm doing that a lot more,which is what I enjoy.

(01:12:21):
I'm doing that a lot more,which is what I enjoy.
Filming interviews and talkingto Congress people.
Being on the Hill is reallyenjoyable too, because that's
nothing more than another salesjob.
I'm not up at 530.

Behzad Rassuli (01:12:36):
All right.
I'm well aware of that.
Is there anything else you wantto cover that maybe I haven't?
I haven't brought up.
You know, when you I probablygave you 48 hours notice that
I'd love to sit down and talkwith you and um, yeah, you know,
I I think a uh, every singleday.

Bill Hanvey (01:13:00):
I am thankful, uh, for the job that I'm in.
B I never take it for grantedand I always am so appreciative
of the support that the industryhas given to me.
And C, it's fun.
You know, I love my team.
They make me laugh, they makeme enjoy life.

(01:13:22):
I love my home life.
Right now I'm in a very goodplace, both professionally and
personally, and I think thatthat makes me a better leader
too.
When you're happy at home, itreally makes a world of
difference, and this job hasalso given me wonderful

(01:13:43):
opportunities to see the world,too, and to see how different
aftermarket industries work andhow they are managed.
That's been a fascinating partof the job too.
So I don't take it for granted,I love it.
It's a great industry and thepeople are what really make it
great.

Behzad Rassuli (01:14:03):
I have a final question here, and you're going
to be my guinea pig, but we allhave influences in our career.
You mentioned a few.
You mentioned some books.
You mentioned, you know, johnfrom Napa, syracuse.
I know I can picture previousmanagers or leaders or

(01:14:25):
colleagues and I can think ofspecific lessons or values that
they taught me.
I mean, I actually visualizethem in a situation and it's
either positive or negative.
It's like, oh, this didn't workout and that person really made
me.
They really let me hear it orhave it, or I really learned a

(01:14:46):
lesson from somebody and I wantto emulate that.
If I talk to somebody in fiveyears, 10 years, 15 years from
now, and they worked with BillHanvey, what do you want them to
say about you in terms of theimpression or impact you left on
them?

Bill Hanvey (01:15:06):
Without question, integrity.
That's it, that he lived andacted with integrity, that, you
know, had the benefit of theindustry at heart and always
tried to do the right thing andto some it may not be the right
thing, I don't know but if therewas one thing that I would like

(01:15:33):
for people to say is that heacted with integrity.

Behzad Rassuli (01:15:38):
Bill, thanks so much for taking the time with me
today.

Bill Hanvey (01:15:40):
My pleasure.

Behzad Rassuli (01:15:41):
I hope everyone enjoys this and learns a lot
about you and gets gets toexperience you in a way that the
rest of us at AutoCare get toexperience you on a daily basis.

Bill Hanvey (01:15:52):
Well, it's um, it's a joy, it's a blessing.
I love this place, I love thisindustry.
So thanks so much.
All right, thanks.

Behzad Rassuli (01:16:05):
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of
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To learn more about theassociation and its initiatives,

(01:16:26):
visit autocareorg.