American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 236 March 2019 | Page 17

Robin Bradley Publisher [email protected] Pictures by Sara Viney [email protected] At the Tucker Dealer Expo at Fort Worth, Texas in late January, AMD sat down with new Motorsport Aftermarket Group (MAG) CEO Hugh Charvat and found a man at ease with the challenges and opportunities he faces, and is determined to take the first steps on a road that should see MAG successfully draw a line under its recent past. harvat brings a rare combination to one of the market’s hottest of hot seats - a blue chip business resume and a genuine passion and enthusiasm for powersports and motorsports of all kinds. He has extensive experience in leadership roles at companies providing aftermarket products in the automotive and truck business. In his most recent role at APC Automotive Technologies (APC), he led an organization with more than $600m in annual revenue, 1,500 employees and nine locations in North America. Before APC, he was Chairman, President and CEO of Schrader C www.AMDchampionship.com International and had global responsibility for Schrader Electronics, Schrader Valve Group and Plews Edelman. At the time MAG Chairman Bob Pieser announced Charvat’s appointment, he said that he was “blown away” by the answer when he asked him what was in his garage. “Beyond his work resume, he’s got a genuine passion for having fun on two and four wheels. He owns a Suzuki SV650 and a GSF1250S for track day fun, along with a selection of sports cars. His interest in fast cars isn’t just casual. He’s been both a competitor and instructor in sports car racing, having competitive licenses with SCCA, the BMW Club and the National Auto Sports Association and been a national AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - MARCH 2019 17