Automotive News Canada - November 2020 - 12

* N O V E M B E R 2020

A 'human strategy' helps growth in three countries
By JIL McINTOSH

" To be good at this, you
have to understand the business, the mission and the strategy. I treat people with respect
and I'm clear with them, and
they're willing to help me,
too. "

OSHAWA CORRESPONDENT

ANDREW BLAIR

HE DIDN'T FIND THE AUTO
INDUSTRY, IT FOUND HIM

FOR A NEW COMPANY,
expansion must be robust
yet sustainable. At electric-vehicle manufacturer
ElectraMeccanica's office in
Vancouver, Human Resources
Director Andrew Blair is preparing the company as it
grows in Canada, the United
States and China, where production began earlier this
year.
" I set the human strategy for the organization, so
the departments work together seamlessly. When our new
CEO joined in 2019, he set out
an aggressive expansion plan,
so I have
to map out
our benefit
plans and
get data for
salaries and
bonuses.
Blair said
he has to
recruit people " who are passionate and
believe in the vehicle. I also
ensure legal compliance in
our employment agreements
because the laws are always
changing in all three countries. "
Blair, 29, studied human
resources at British
Columbia's Kwantlen
University, and then did paid
internships and contract
work. He was offered a fulltime position at a water infrastructure company, " where I

JULIAN PASTORE

DEALERS ARE HIS AUDIENCE
AND HIS CLIENTS

Andrew Blair helps
ElectraMeccanica's executive
team map the company's
business plan.
PHOTO: ELECTRAMECCANICA

had to look after 650 employees. It was fun, but challenging. "
ElectraMeccanica reached
out to him, and he joined in
April 2019.
" I always had a bit of passion for automotive, but
growing up in Vancouver,
there isn't an auto industry here, so I never thought
about it as a career. I was
happy in my last company,
but this was an opportunity.
[ElectraMeccanica is] completely rewriting the playbook,
and it's exciting to be here. "
He communicates remotely with personnel working
at home due to the COVID19 pandemic but goes to the
Vancouver office to interact
with essential employees. He
always worked with the China
location through email, and
similarly now with the U.S.
office due to travel restrictions.

AUTOMAKERS AND THEIR
franchised retailers have to
work together. It's a symbiotic
relationship that requires an
effective liaison. As manager
of dealer and network development for Volvo Cars Canada
in Richmond Hill, Ont., Julian
Pastore makes sure both sides
are successful.
" I work with our 36 retailers across Canada, with head
office, and I'm a primary support for our regional operations staff, " said Pastore.
" My job focuses on overall
network health, facility compliance and market representation, and each requires their
own skill set. "
The 30-year-old developed
his auto passion early.
" My dad was a car salesman, and still sells cars to this
day. The most exciting thing
for me growing up was seeing what car he would bring
home. "
His house was near an Audi
dealership.
" I was there every day, bugging them with my resume
in hand. They hired me, and

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Julian Pastore
works to
strengthen
Volvo's
dealer
network.
P H O T O : V O LV O
CARS CANADA

I worked as a detailer while I
was in high school. "
Through his job, he
learned about the Automotive
Business School, headquartered in Barrie, Ont., where he
earned a diploma in automotive marketing and then a full
degree in automotive business
management.
" Right out of school, an
opportunity came up with
Mitsubishi Motor Sales in an
entry-level dealer-development
role. I was there about five
years and worked my way up
to a specialist position in the
department. "
He joined Volvo in 2017 in
his current position.
" My typical day is fielding
questions from retailers and
working with our executive
team, our field staff and legal
team preparing contracts,
monitoring trends and continually evaluating markets
across the country as we make
network decisions.
" We've officially launched
our electrification program for
dealers, and that's taking up a
lot of my time. We'll have the
XC40 Recharge [electric vehicle] at the end of this year, and
they have to have everything
in place. Everything is a learning experience, and I welcome
it with open arms. "

ROMARIC
LARTILLEUX

TALKING PRODUCT IS
'THE BEST JOB I'VE EVER HAD'
FOR SELF-DESCRIBED " CAR
nut, " Romaric Lartilleux, getting paid to talk about vehicles is a dream come true.
" My job is to promote the
brands and product lineup to
Canadian media, and through
them, to the public, " said
Lartilleux, manager of public relations, External Affairs
Department at Toyota Canada
in Toronto.
" There are two others on
the team, and we plan launch
events for new models, make
sure we have the right cars in
Romaric Lartilleux promotes
Toyota vehicles to Canadian
news outlets, through press
releases and by hosting driving
events. P H O T O : T O Y O TA C A N A D A

the press fleet and take care of
the media site where we have
all our press releases. "
Lartilleux, 42, was born
in Paris, " and my mom said
when I was 2 or 3, I was looking at cars. I thought I would
be a car designer, but realized
you have to be talented for
that. "
Instead, he earned a
mechanical engineering
degree, which required him
to do internships. His first
was installing door handles
on Peugeot's assembly line,
and then he had a term with
automotive supplier Valeo.
His final placement was in
the accessories department at
Toyota France.
" I was hired in 2002, so I've
only ever worked for Toyota
[since]. I moved to the technical-training department, and
then I was an area sales manager. I traveled 60,000 kilometres per year visiting dealerships. "
He wanted to move to
another country and applied
to Toyota Canada, arriving in
January 2012.
" I was a product trainer, hired mostly for my ability to speak French and train
Quebec salespeople. "
He also delivered technical
presentations to journalists
and liked it enough to become
a public-relations consultant
in 2015.
" My boss moved to marketing in 2018, and I took over the
manager position.
" Being able to speak
English and French is an asset
for the job, and being a car
person is, too. This is the best
job I've ever had. " - ANC

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Automotive News Canada - November 2020

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