The Equipment and Tool Institute announced that its Board of Directors named Greg Potter as the organization’s new executive manager effective Nov. 1, 2014. Potter has been actively involved in ETI since 1985, holding many positions within the organization, including three terms on the Board of Directors, President of the ETI Board of Directors from 2004 – 2006, Technical Manager from 1994 -1997, Scan Tool Group Chairman from 2010 to present, as well as serving on various committees, including the Marketing and Program Committees. Potter also received ETI’s highest honor, the “ETI Founders Award”, in 2010 for his outstanding contributions to the Institute.
Potter has over 28 years’ experience in the automotive industry and has been a full SAE member for 19 years and currently participates in over 25 SAE and ISO Committees, served on the Board of Directors for I-CAR International from 2006-2013, and has been involved in NASTF since its inception. He holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration, Bachelors in Science – Electrical Engineering and A.ApS – A.E. - Mechanical Engineering Technology.
“Greg is absolutely the right choice for this role,” said Neil Davis, president of ETI’s Board of Directors. “His energy, tenacity, experience, and established relationships in the industry will enable the Institute to grow and evolve into the future while bringing greater value to ETI’s members and their customers. ETI’s Board of Directors is confident in Greg’s ability to head the Institute and promote its mission and objectives.”
“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead ETI into the promising future and carry forward the important work of this great institute,” said Potter. “We are facing many new challenging issues, and I look forward to working alongside ETI’s Board of Directors to build upon on our rich history, to be an advocate for the membership, and to represent our industry as a whole.”
Potter succeeds Charlie Gorman, who became ETI’s Executive Manager in 2003 and led the company through many changes within the industry. Gorman is well known for his volunteer efforts to promote government/industry cooperatives, as agencies seek to enforce and manage emissions legislation and regulations. In 1998 he was awarded the prestigious "ETI Founders Award" for rebuilding the Institute's technical group structure so that it would be better aligned with accepted automotive industry standards and trends. Gorman will continue on at ETI for an interim period to ensure a seamless transition.
“Charlie is well respected and knowledgeable within the industry and has an incredible ability to understand, simplify and support the challenges that ETI member companies and their customers face in repairing vehicles correctly,” said Neil Davis. “The Board of Directors sincerely appreciates his dedication and contributions over the years. We will miss his stewardship and hard work as we move into the new generation of the Institute.”
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve ETI as its executive manager for the last 11 years,” said Gorman. “I have been very fortunate to work with some great people and companies on issues that have defined our products and our market. It has always been my personal mission to do everything possible to give the automotive tool and equipment industry an honest, straightforward and unified voice in the automotive repair industry, and for the most part I think all of us working together have accomplished that.”
Regarding the appointment of Mr. Potter, Gorman commented, “I have no doubt that the right person for the job is Greg Potter. There is no one I know who has been more actively involved in ETI than Greg and the most amazing part is that he has done it all as a volunteer. Now that he will be able to apply all of his attention to ETI, I think we will see some amazing things happen.”
