The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) board of directors presented President and CEO Steve Handschuh with the association’s highest honor, the MEMA Triangle Award, at its Nov. 28 meeting in Southfield, Michigan.
Handschuh is retiring as MEMA’s top executive on Dec. 31.
“Steve’s leadership, his vision and his passion for our association and the industry truly exemplify the MEMA Triangle Award’s mission of honoring selfless contributions to the motor vehicle supplier industry,” said Daniel Sceli, chairman of the MEMA board of directors and CEO of Peterson American Corp. “While we will miss Steve’s guidance at MEMA, we are proud to add his name to the list of industry legends who have received the MEMA Triangle Award.”
Handschuh joined MEMA in 2006 as the president and chief operating officer of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), MEMA’s light-vehicle aftermarket division, and was appointed president and chief executive officer of MEMA in October 2013. In that position, Handschuh led MEMA and its four divisions: AASA; the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA); MERA – The Association for Sustainable Manufacturing; and the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA).
Much of Handschuh’s 40-year career was dedicated to the automotive aftermarket industry. He worked for Genuine Parts Co./NAPA Auto Parts for 18 years, including serving as NAPA president from 1998 to 2004. He also served as senior vice president, commercial, at AutoZone. Handschuh began his career as an outside salesman for Mighty Auto Parts, where he rose to vice president, sales and marketing.
MEMA and its division have been presenting the Triangle Award since 1974. It is awarded periodically to the person, persons or organization whom the membership of MEMA and its divisions choose to honor for their contributions to the supplier industry.
Past recipients of the MEMA Triangle award include Marc Fleischaker, chairman emeritus of Arent Fox; Michael Cardone Jr., director, owner and chief strategy officer, CARDONE Industries; Bob McKenna, retired president and CEO of MEMA; David O’Reilly of O’Reilly Automotive Inc.; the late Joseph M. Magliochetti of Dana Corp.; Tom Gallagher of Genuine Parts Co., Bill Long, president of AASA (then of DANA/Echlin); the late Frederick Mancheski of Echlin Inc.; John Riess (then of The Gates Rubber Co.); the late Larry McCurdy (then of Moog Automotive); and Jack Reilly (then of Tenneco Automotive).
