The International Automotive Remarketers Alliance (IARA) Canadian Committee has grown in spades since its inception in 2011. What started off with 13 members several years ago now is up to 35 member companies.

This growth has been greatly bolstered by the support of the committee's members, including Steve Macaluso, managing director, Canada, Copart, who will be stepping down from his role as co-chair of the committee.

However, Macaluso’s history in remarketing extends far beyond his tenure with the IARA. His venture into the industry began in 1997 when he served as territory sales manager for Canadian Auction Group. That company was eventually acquired by ADESA, which resulted in Macaluso holding various roles from 1999 to 2007 including operational and executive sales roles.  

Following his time with ADESA, he joined Manheim in 2007 to 2011 where he also held executive sales roles. Following his stint with Manheim, he moved to a company called CarProof as its director of corporate accounts until 2013. In 2013, he landed what is his current position at Copart.

But it was during his stint with Manheim in 2010 where he first became aware of the IARA and all that it offers remarketing industry professionals, which is also when he participated in his first Summer Roundtable.

“I immediately fell in love with what the Alliance was doing. I had been to many conferences over the years, and I felt that this was one of the most intimate settings where I felt people were really open to sharing challenges, collaborating on ideas,” he said. “I felt the crowd, being on a smaller scale, much more engaged and interactive and started to discuss some real industry challenges and ideas. And I thought: ‘We need to do this in Canada.’”

He and Lisa Scott, who currently is the president of PAR North America, pitched the concept of a Canadian Committee to the IARA Board. It was rooted in the idea of serving the needs of the remarketing industry in Canada by mirroring the techniques that support the U.S. industry, but offering it in ways which suit the Canadian market. The board was very receptive to the idea and helped the two establish the committee. The committee was initiated with Macaluso serving as the committee chairperson and Lisa Scott, who was with ADESA Canada at the time, serving as co-chair. The committee quickly acquired its 13 members upon its inception

“We’re proud to say, with the launch of the Canadian Committee, we put the ‘I’ in the International Automotive Remarketers Alliance,” he said.

Similar to the IARA itself, the Canadian Committee branches off into other sub-committees, mirroring other committees that the IARA has established, including a Membership Committee, a Technology Committee, Standards Committee, etc.

“The IARA is a platform and network to create something in Canada, but it also helps our Canadian counterparts become more aligned with our U.S. peers,” he said. “We look at opportunities and challenges in Canada, but we also look at U.S. opportunities and challenges and our Canadian members have become very engaged in the U.S. or IARA led initiatives.”

Looking to the future, things that excite Macaluso about the Alliance in the near future include the continued growth of membership base, and the improving attendance for Canadian members attending IARA U.S. meetings, including the Conference of Automotive Remarketing (CAR) and the IARA Summer Roundtable. He is also excited about the “fresh blood” stepping up to take on leadership roles.

“I’m in the midst of winding down my chair role in the committee, and I’m excited to announce we’ve elected a gentleman named Richard Pasta from CarProof to assume the role of Co-Chair for Canada. I’m stepping back, but we’re seeing the evolution of fresh ‘blood,’ and fresh new ideas,” he said.