Paul Williams, Charles Saillant join CADA Executive Committee
November 8, 2021
Paul Williams, Vice President and General Manager at Centaur Subaru in Calgary, AB, joins the CADA Executive Committee as its newest member after being nominated for Secretary-Treasurer to the Committee and its Board of Directors.
His nomination was confirmed on October 21 during the association’s Annual Members Meeting. Williams said he is honoured that his name was put forward and that so many dealers feel confident that he can fulfill the position.
“You get to work with the folks at CADA and the subcommittees and so forth and really dive into the learning process to be immersed in everything,” said Williams in an interview with CADA Newsline. “That's what I'm really looking forward to—it’s a lot of information all at once, but by the same token, it will be quite an education and I'm looking forward to that part of it.”
Williams is the Past President of the Calgary Motor Dealers Association, Past Chairman of the Motor Dealer Association of Alberta, and Past President and current Board member of the Calgary Motor Dealer Association and the Calgary International Auto and Truck Show.
He is the current Vice-Chair for the Calgary Motor Dealers Charitable Foundation, currently on the Board of Directors for the CADA Garage Insurance Committee and Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council (of which he was also the chairman in 2016), is on the Subaru Canada Western Dealer Board, and was on the Subaru Canada National Dealer Board—among others. He is also the recipient of the Alberta Motor Dealers Association Dealer of Excellence Metro 2017.
Williams is a second-generation dealer, after his father started Centaur Subaru in the 1970s, and worked in a number of different roles over the course of his career.
“I've always been told dealers are survivors, like we're the best at adapting to new economic and political changes and so forth, but this has been such a radical two years,” said Williams. “We’ve learned so much, and it's going to be really interesting to see how dealers continue to change, and what commerce in the automotive industry actually looks like when we come back to a bit of a normal feeling.”
Charles Saillant, President of Ste-Foy Toyota and Co-president of Groupe Saillant in Quebec City, QC, also joined the CADA Executive Committee, as First Vice-Chair. His new role involves representing the interests of the entire automotive industry at the dealership level, around national issues.
This means anything from evolving business models, to challenges connected with legislation and working with the government, to the shift towards more hybrid, electric, and hydrogen vehicles, among other things.
“Currently, with new technologies, there are also several manufacturers who are reviewing their data-sharing agreements. This is where a lot of assistance and advice is offered to ensure that we arrive at a win-win situation for both parties—for the OEMs and the dealers,” said Saillant. “Because these data banks really are the battleground for dealerships; this is really where we have all the value based.”
He also mentions a focus on recovery from the pandemic, and an eye on the next big challenge facing the automotive industry, which is the supply shortage.
“We, the automotive industry, are embarking on another crisis, which is the inventory shortage and it is excessively brutal, although it varies from one manufacturer to another. But there is no light at the end of the tunnel yet,” said Saillant. “So that is another file that we are focused on, but our control of the situation is limited. It’s a global issue.”
However, Saillant said they will be representing the interests of Canadian dealers, and will look at how they can ensure the rules of the game are fair. “Whatever and however many files we are working on, we have to be present to look after our interests,” said Saillant.