Sean Stevens appointed vice-chairman for VIA
Sean Stevens, chief executive officer of VINZ, has been announced as the board’s vice-chairman for VIA.
Chris Stephenson, chief executive of the Enterprise Motor Group, has been voted in as the first chairman of the board of directors of the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VIA).
His appointment is part of the major restructuring of the organisation following its annual general meeting in July, which was the last time it was to have a national executive with co-chairmen and a two-branch system.
Stephenson, pictured, joined Enterprise as national manager 12 years ago. He was then promoted to chief operating officer of Enterprise and Community Financial Services in August 2015 before becoming CEO in October 2019.
Sean Stevens, chief executive officer of VINZ, has been announced as the board’s vice-chairman. Its other two members are Ken Quigley, managing director of Jacanna Customs & Freight, and Matt Battle, general manager at Moana Blue.
David Vinsen, VIA’s chief executive, told Autofile Online: “I’m very pleased to be working with Chris, the other board members and our council moving forward.
“The whole of the association has been restructured and it’s great to have some fresh eyes looking at the issues. There is real enthusiasm from everyone.
“VIA’s board is solely focused on the association’s governance. When it comes to industry issues and how to deal to with them, that is the property of our council.”
Stephenson was among those working on VIA’s new structure over the past year-and-a-half and served on its interim board.
“I’m excited to be involved and to have worked on this as part of the team helping to design the new structure,” he said last month.
“Like any organisation, VIA needs to keep changing as it continues to ensure members have a strong advocacy group working on its behalf.”
How it works – at a glance.
VIA’s board of directors is tasked with governance responsibilities. As such, one of its immediate priorities will be the short to medium-term financial performance of VIA.
The strategy and policy direction of the associations will now be determined by the newly formed council, which is a collaborative cross-section of members. They will meet up to four times a year and directly engage with the CEO and VIA team on matters important to the industry.
The next council meeting will be held during October in Auckland and will be available for all VIA members to access via a live video-conference link.
