Sanjay Patel: Driving innovation and excellence
As ISN approaches its 40th anniversary in 2025, Sanjay Patel—the senior vice president of marketing and merchandising—stands at the forefront. His career in the automotive industry has provided him with invaluable insights and lessons that have shaped his approach to business and innovation. A key figure at ISN, Patel continues to drive company success and propel the company into the future as it celebrates a milestone year.
Patel’s Career
Patel started his career in the automotive industry 35 years ago as a technical support manager for Dinan Engineering. Six years later, Patel moved on to work for General Motors, as a parts and service director for the New Vehicle Dealership Group in the parts and distribution sector. As director, he oversaw five locations in the Central Valley of California.
“At that job, I was able to take all the technical knowledge that I had and apply it to serving our customers better,” Patel says. “I learned how to ensure that technicians were efficient in getting things done in a timely manner and getting repairs done correctly the first time.”
While working at General Motors, Patel’s successful work ethic was recognized by Genuine Parts Company. This led him to joining Genuine Parts Company where he had roles of increasing importance ending with the role of new business development manager of the Western Division of NAPA in 2007.
“At NAPA, I honed my skills in and around sales, operations, and supply chain and customer service throughout the network of company-owned and independent stores,” Patel says.
After working at NAPA for eight years, Patel then moved on to work for a slew of other companies—Pep Boys, to XL Parts, to Icahn Automotive—until he ended at Advance Auto Parts in their Carquest division from 2017-2024. While in these various roles, Patel picked up important lessons that he continues to use to this day.
“I’ve learned that you could have the best laid-out strategy in the world, but if you don't have the right people in the right place, it makes it very difficult to be successful,” Patel says. “I also learned to value strategic leadership. Being able to design and implement strategies and navigate dynamic business landscapes across teams and cross-functional partners is vital in customer-centric organizations.”
In 2024, Patel made the move to ISN where he is currently amping up to enact several new initiatives to celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of its Tool Dealer Expo trade show.
Built for Growth
As Patel has settled in at ISN he has learned what sets the company apart from others in the aftermarket industry and is continuously working to develop them into the future.
“One of the key differentiators at ISN is our distribution network,” Patel says. “The awesome teams that are built here and the solutions that are offered with some of the industry’s highest quality suppliers that we do business with. This is what our customers really resonate with.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Patel hopes to continue to let those relationships flourish and to have a strong plan in place that is executable to ensure ISN has the right team for the job.
“We want to continue to build upon the momentum that we have,” Patel says. “We want to continue to collaborate with our key suppliers to ensure that we can execute at a high level of service. To leverage our programs, events, and promotions that strategically position us to continue to grow and take market share.”
ISN views itself as more than just a tool and equipment provider. It sees itself as a solutions provider and it is looked upon as a trusted partner with all its suppliers. As a result, one of the ways that ISN is continuing to its high level of service is by ensuring that its suppliers felt seen and heard.
“A lot of the things that we're going to be doing to celebrate our Tool Dealer Expo highlight this,” Patel said. “What we plan to do involves collaboration with our suppliers, and bringing our customers even better, more robust deals than they've seen in the past.”
To further solidify everything that ISN is looking to do within the next year, and to continue to push its employees towards growth, it has internally adopted a new motto, “ISN is built for growth.”
“The motto is a great nod to the past,” Patel says. “It establishes that we come to the table with the experience and the relationships to get things done and that because of that, we are ready to grow and branch out and continue to be a market leader in this this segment of the industry. It’s a nice tag that describes our outlook for 2025.”
