The inaugural Chairman of the Australian Motor Dealer Council, Doug Dickson, has decided to retire from his position after three very successful years.

In that time Doug, previously Managing Director of Mazda Australia, has successfully brought together the chairs of the franchise Dealer councils to listen to their issues from the coalface and develop strategies to address them.

Working closely with the AADA Board and Secretariat, Doug dealt with a range of important and complex Dealer issues, such as Dealer Agreements, pre-reporting and margin compression, calling upon his extensive experience and skills as one of the top auto executives in Australia. Under Doug’s guidance, the AMDC has also served an important role in promoting a productive working relationship between the OEMs and their franchised Dealer networks.

AADA Chairman, Terry Keating, praised Doug’s contribution to the success of both the AMDC and the new AADA.

“The establishment of AADA and then, shortly after, the AMDC, was an ambitious and courageous move at the time” Mr Keating said.

“To be successful it required the appointment of an executive of the highest pedigree and ability. AADA and the AMDC were fortunate to secure the services of Doug Dickson to serve in this important role. Without his guidance and standing in the Dealer community our association would never have made it.”

Through this work Doug has provided outstanding leadership and service to the AMDC and has contributed immeasurably to the AADA advocacy agenda. The AADA Board and Secretariat thank Doug for his work as Independent Chair.

The road to forming the AMDC was extensive, with major discussions first taking place at the 2014 AADA National Dealer Convention. During the Convention a number of Dealer Council chairmen met and unanimously agreed that brands should be represented through a national motor dealer council. From there a number of consultations and planning sessions were conducted ahead of another major foundation-setting meeting in December 2014, while the final structure and constitution were settled in March 2015.

The AADA Board invited Doug to take on the role because of his reputation for industry astuteness and his unique OEM-perspective, and he more than lived up to his side of the bargain.

Thanks, Doug, and all the best in your retirement.