On August 1st, 2022, the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) announced the appointment of its new Chief Executive Officer, P. Matthew Pohlman. Former AIAG CEO J. Scot Sharland has retired after more than seventeen years of leadership, allowing for Pohman to step into the role. The exiting CEO had this to say about his successor.
“I am truly excited about AIAG’s future and cognizant of the fact that the AIAG experience will, and needs to be, very much different than it is today…Great organizations don’t look back…they evolve and move forward faster, and Matt Pohlman is the right guy to take AIAG to the next level.”
Sharland joined AIAG in 2005 after a lengthy career with General Electric, as the VP of Marketing and Sales with American Team, Inc., as Managing Director of Framatome Connectors, and finally as Managing Director for Grote & Hartmann GmbH in Germany, where he successfully established startup operations in North America, both in the US and Mexico. Sharland joined AIAG to leverage this global experience and lead collaborative industry initiatives to drive cost and complexity from the supply chain via global standards development and harmonized business practices.
Scott Gray, then chairman of the board with AIAG, had this to say of the appointment at the time:
“Scot Sharland has a dynamic personality and is an experienced professional with an impressive and extensive industry background – in both North America and globally…We have an ambitious agenda for AIAG and believe Scot’s leadership will enable the association to continue improving supply chain business processes and support our OEM and supplier members as we face the challenges and issues of these trying industry times. We welcome him aboard.”
By most accounts, Sharland has been successful – Sharland worked diligently to extend AIAG’s presence and support in the southeast United States, Mexico, and around the globe and AIAG membership increased exponentially to its current count of more than 4,000 member companies, including the latest innovators in automotive, electric and autonomous vehicles, military, aerospace, heavy equipment, electronics, semiconductors, and more. Success being measured by much more than growth, however, Pohlman will be tasked with the same directive as his predecessor, that being the mission of the AIAG to drive out cost and complexity from the automotive supply chain through greater collaboration amongst OEMs, suppliers, logistics providers, government and academia.
With his entire career to date in the automotive industry, Pohlman brings a wealth of experience in virtually all areas of supply chain management – including supplier quality, manufacturing, production control, distribution, purchasing, sales and marketing, reverse logistics, customs, and even last-mile delivery to retail stores derived from 38 years working in-depth for a range of leading tier one suppliers, including Delphi, Federal Mogul, and ZF. In his words:
“For the past thirty-eight years, I have been involved with the global automotive industry at both the domestic and international level, across all facets of the supply chain. I have also lived and worked in the U.S., England, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Canada – all of which has allowed me to develop a unique perspective that I look forward to sharing with the AIAG team, our volunteers and members, and the automotive and mobility industries more broadly.”
Pohlman also served on the Board of Directors for the Motor & Equipment Remanufacturers Association (MERA) from 2011-2013 and the AIAG Board of Directors from 2015-2017 prior to his new appointment as AIAG’s new CEO. He is also currently a Board member for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), Eastern Michigan (Great Lakes) Roundtable. Aside from taking over the helm as CEO, Pohlman will also be assuming J. Scot Sharland’s position on the International Automotive Oversight Bureau (IAOB) Board of Directors at the end of 2022.
“I am excited to be leading such an important professional organization – which I’ve been associated with for many years now – and eager to explore new opportunities to grow and transform AIAG in response to industry needs. As the automotive and mobility industries continue to evolve, we are already working to set the tone for future innovation and expansion, and look forward to offering even more value to members and non-members alike.”