Welcome, Mr. President By Katie McDonald NMEDA Manager of Communications & Social
As we welcome in the new year, we also welcome a new NMEDA President. The ever witty, insightful, and punctual (he’s never missed an article deadline!), Christian Quandt of Advanced Wheels. No stranger to NMEDA or the NMEDA Board of Directors, Christian has most recently served as Vice President, and Representative at Large prior to that. Though he refused my congratulations and insisted (in jest?) that he turned down the position twice, Christian was kind enough to virtually “sit down” with me, and answer a few questions to help us take a peek into the mind of the new NMEDA Board President...
1. Well, you are a legacy! Your father, John Quandt, served as NMEDA President from 2000 to 2003. What are your thoughts on being, essentially, EXACTLY like the Bush family? It is an honor to our family to think that 20 years apart our peers still think that a Quandt would be a good steward for the presidency of the organization. Or is it that they knew then and now that we don’t often say, “no”? Our family has given a lot to this organization, but we’ve taken back just as much from the relationships we’ve made and the things we have learned. 2. Tell us about your personal history—where you grew up, family, education, favorite sports teams, other info you’d like to share. I grew up an only child in Connecticut where I played sports and worked at our shop since I was 12 years old. My wife, Crystal, and I have two children, and I coach their sports yearround. I have a Bachelor’s in
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NMEDA Circuit Breaker
English Writing from Westfield State, and an MBA from UMass. I’m an avid New England sports fan, and attempt to play golf and fish whenever I have time.
manager to another employer. Once I came back full-time I realized that this business had a better future for me than education did.
3. Obviously, your family has been in auto mobility for some time. How did you personally get involved and when did you decide you wanted this to be your career?
4. Could you summarize your personal business philosophy?
I started my career at my parents’ business at 12 as a janitor, and
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I’m competitive and want our business to grow and be as successful as possible, but we do that only in a way that is customer-focused and executed with honesty and integrity.
Our manufacturers and dealers are going to be challenged like almost no other two years in this industry’s history, and NMEDA is positioned to help the industry communicate and collaborate as that change occurs.”
then “go-fer” when I got my license, so by the time I was in college I wanted to do anything BUT go to work for my father. I taught middle school special education for about a year but then came back to work for my father when he lost his business
Treating everyone the same way, whether they are a customer, employee, vendor, subcontractor, has been a reason that our company has many long-time employees, return customers, and steady growth.
