A Letter from the President

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Our mission is to champion the business interests of the supplier community — a commitment we proudly embrace.

As I reflect on the past year, the events that rocked the automotive industry and our lives in 2020 and early 2021 were beyond imagination just over a year ago. The pandemic halted businesses and confined our daily lives,; social unrest caused a renewed focus on race relations around the globe; and the U.S. presidential election brought more change to the political environment. As these examples demonstrate, relying on past events will not enable automotive suppliers to adequately assess the future demands of manufacturer’s and vehicle owners.

This Association Update is a reminder of where we have been as an association. Like many organizations during 2020, OESA rapidly learned to be more innovative, more thoughtful, and open to new ways of getting things done. OESA adopted new business practices to continue to deliver value to our members and the industry. At the start of the pandemic, we developed new resources and shared industry sentiments and best practices to keep our members abreast of the evolving landscape. We moved networking and programming to a virtual platform, and took on new initiatives to foster greater diversity, equity and inclusion in our industry. We developed programming to share the changes from a new U.S. administration. We educated members on Capitol Hill of our industry’s economic might, and lobbied on issues such as global trade, tariffs, and materials shortages.

OESA could not have done any of these things without the unwavering support from our board of directors supplier and affiliate members, and sponsors. OESA is honored to work with and for the supplier community. And, we continue to evolve to champion the changing business interests of OESA members. As the past 18 months has demonstrated, automotive suppliers have the resilience and unprecedented opportunity to forge new “norms” and drive the industry forward. OESA is committed to supporting suppliers now and during future challenges.

As always, please feel free to contact me or any member of the OESA staff when you need information or assistance.

Julie A. Fream President and CEO