Former President & CEO Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association – Bethesda, Maryland
Gene A. Gardner Former President and CEO Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association Bethesda, Maryland Gene A. Gardner is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), a Bethesda, Maryland-based, not-for-profit trade association serving the needs of its member companies representing the full spectrum of the motor vehicle aftermarket. AAIA member companies manufacture, distribute, and sell motor vehicle parts, accessories, tools, equipment, materials and supplies. The organization is comprised of manufacturers, distributors, jobbers, wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers’ representatives, and other companies doing business in the automotive aftermarket. Mr. Gardner became President and CEO of AAIA in 1999 as a result of the consolidation of the Automotive Service Industry Association (ASIA) and the Automotive Parts and Accessories Association (APAA). He had served as President of ASIA from 1994 to 1999. Prior to that he spent 35 years with the E.I. DuPont Company whose $3 billion automotive business primarily specializes in paint, plastics and elastomers. In his capacity as the Association’s Chief Executive Officer, he oversaw the administration of all eight membership divisions of the organization, managed the Association’s professional staff, and represented the Association in various coalitions and partnerships within the industry. A 1958 graduate of the University of Colorado, Mr. Gardner is now retired and lives with his wife in Delaware and South Florida.
