Driving Growth & Building Impactful Partnerships: My Quest to Deliver Value both Professionally and Personally
As the person responsible for building mutually beneficial partnerships with OEMs, large dealer groups, lenders, and other industry partners, my role at Tekion involves driving growth opportunities and managing long-term relationships. This entails navigating the complexities of multi-layered organizations, multi-faceted solutions to difficult problems, and sophisticated deal structures. However, the satisfaction I derive from leading a team of Tekion professionals to find mutually beneficial solutions for both parties is truly rewarding.
Passionate team of automotive technology and software veterans
I am blessed to be surrounded by automotive business veterans and modern SAAS technologists who (just like me) are deeply passionate about solving industry problems. Moreover, this shared passion and determined attitude permeates the entire organization enabling scale, speed, and innovation at a level that I have not experienced in any other workplace prior to Tekion.
While I deeply engage in strategic meetings and work with prestigious clients, I also make it a priority to be actively involved with my team, fostering a culture of hands-on participation and accomplishment. My leadership style revolves around comprehensively understanding problems, co-creating effective solutions, getting buy-in, and subsequently empowering leaders within or outside of my team to execute various parts of the solution, while always keeping the client’s needs front and center.
I possess an engineering and business background like many of my colleagues at Tekion. Over the years I have recognized the value of empowering others rather than relying solely on my technical capabilities. This approach allows for better scalability and diversification as the company grows.
Creating an environment for learning and growth
My goal is to create an environment that not only encourages learning, growth, and accountability, but also promotes a collaborative atmosphere rather than one where orders are simply given or everything is handled solely by myself. By doing so, not only do I empower my team members, but I also enable them to cultivate their expertise and contribute to the overall success of Tekion. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement, we ensure that our team remains at the forefront of the industry and can easily adapt to new challenges and opportunities. That said, there is also a place for respectful debates and well-informed off-mainstream thinking, for I truly believe that diversity creates the best solutions in the end.
Proud moments: driving industry-revolutionizing concepts
We all have moments of pride, and one of mine occurred approximately twelve years ago. I successfully persuaded my supervisor at a prior employer to open up their Finance and Insurance systems to other third-party developers via UX applications and web services. The goal was to democratize access to closed systems in order to deliver better car buying processes online. My team (at that time) and I were not the best creative marketers, so we simply coined this feature as “Digital Retailing” since the term “Digital Marketing” was already familiar to most in the industry. Little did I know that this would help start something special in the automotive retail industry! Today, Digital Retailing has become a distinct category that shapes the future of the industry.
But that was just the start! I have had the privilege of embarking on an extraordinary journey with Jay and Guru, driving the vision of Tekion across continents and industry segments. The path we tread resembles running a marathon, but our determination to make Tekion one of the most significant accomplishments in auto retail technology of the 21st century strengthens with every mile that we leave behind us.
Balancing work and interests
I can go on and on about my professional career and my excitement about Tekion. However, let’s take a quick detour to discuss my personal interests and passions. One such passion is wine. I have extensively studied wines under some of the most renowned names in the wine business while visiting the most beautiful environments on earth. Additionally, I find solace and meditation in skiing, as it demands my complete focus and clears my mind of any distractions. Sailing, on the other hand, provides me with a source of inspiration and guidance akin to that of a life coach. As you can see, I love to live life — every minute of it!
Takeaway
Overall, Tekion has been an amazing place for me, and just when I thought I knew a lot about the automotive business, I realized there is much more to learn. I’ve continued to grow every day! And just as I have grown, I hope to witness the personal growth and success of my team members. I am always ready and willing to offer any necessary assistance. I am here for my fellow Tekionites!
About the Author:
The blog is written by Amit Maheshwari, EVP, Business Development, Enterprise Accounts, and M&A at Tekion Corp.
