James Lawrence

President/Founder

Power Automedia

CEO of Digital Media company in the Automotive Aftermarket.

Chief Executive Officer

Happy Companies

In the new era of work, building effective teams is more important than ever to organizational performance. Happy enhances organizational culture, communication and manager effectiveness at scale – making your people your competitive advantage. Happy is a coaching platform that uses behavioral science & AI to build a user manual for your entire team in less than 10 minutes.

CEO & Cofounder

Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA)

As SEMA's Chairman of the board, I worked with the SEMA Board of Directors, provide leadership to the SEMA's CEO and SEMA Executive Management team, and helped lead the SEMA Association toward the future. SEMA is the #1 automotive aftermarket association in the world representing more than $50B of revenue.

SEMA Chairman of the Board

SpeedVideo

CEO of subscription-based Live Streaming Motorsports Network. Sold to FloSports in 2021.

Select Council Leadership, FLN/Young Executives Network (YEN) at SEMA. Responsible for helping lead the Young Executive Network/FLN within SEMA along with the select council and Chairman.

Select Council Leadership, SEMA Future Leader Network

ProMedia Publishing LLC

Founder of event production/media business. Also I was responsible for charting the strategic direction for the company, new business development, acquisitions, financial operations, marketing including digital, print, radio, TV; and also oversaw media/publishing/content.

MotorTrend Group

As an editor for the Ford Media Group within Petersen Publishing (now TEN/Discovery/Motor Trend). I planned, coordinated, and developed a wide array of content.

Editor

I believe in PEOPLE.. and believe a great TEAM is the most important competitive advantage.

🌟 I'm focused on reinventing the future of work and how technology and people can work together to improve organizational culture. 🌟

I'm currently the Cofounder of Happy, a coaching platform that enhances organizational culture, communication and manager effectiveness at scale – making people a true competitive advantage. Happy uses behavioral science & AI to build a user manual for your entire team in less than 10 minutes.

💌 Want to chat? Send me a message or reach out to me at james@happycompanies.com

My journey to leadership wasn't straightforward. Early in my career, I learned the hard way that authority doesn't come from a title; it comes from genuinely understanding and connecting with your team. 

I've got an interesting background:
-launched four startups
-former CEO of Power Automedia
-former Chairman of the Specialty Equipment Manufacturing Association
-Earned two national championships in auto racing
-Earned two youth football championships as a head coach

I'm married to my amazing wife Melissa, and father to three kids–Bradley, Jordan and Taylor. 

When I'm not leading our team at Happy or spending time with my family, you'll find me:

-coaching youth football
-driving a race car faster than 200 mph
-diving into one of my favorite books, which range from "The Hard Thing About Hard Things" by Ben Horowitz to "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey.

I love public speaking on topics like innovation, leadership, organizational culture, and technology. 

I believe the cornerstone of every successful organization is its people. 

My mission is to unlock the power of human connection and happiness at work, using disruptive technology and innovative thinking. I love the process of creating things and collaborating with entrepreneurs, executives, and visionaries to solve real problems and improve the quality of work relationships.

American Expedition Vehicles

National Sales And Marketing Director

Detroit Muscle USA

* Launched the Detroit Muscle Lifestyle brand as a side hustle and quickly grew it to multimillion dollar business
* Established licensing programs for various chain store and mail order customers
* Established and managed a wholesale sales channel
* Launched Detroit Muscle Performance in 2023

Co-Founder 

Torqued Distribution

* Manage the global sales and marketing programs
* Launched and manage the new Detroit warehouse and national sales office
* Launched the industries first No Cost 3PL
* Manage the U.S. Exclusive distribution deals
* Nominated for SEMA's Channel Partner of the Year Award 2023
* Nominated for SEMA Board of Directors 2023

Head of Sales & Marketing

International Automotive Consulting Partners

* Launched the Serra Accessories in-dealer stores and online
* Created the Accessories Lifestyle program for licensed and OE accessories
* Launched the accessories and performances sales training systems

VP Global Automotive Consulting

Proform Parts (Specialty Auto Parts U.S.A., Inc.)

• Managed the global sales and marketing programs
• Launched the Perfect Launch(TM) and Race Series(TM) brands
• Handled OE relationships with Chevrolet Performance and Ford Racing
• Managed all trade show initiatives including SEMA, MPMC, PRI, and more

National Sales Manager

Visionary, passionate, and metrics-driven sales & marketing executive with over 25+ years of proven experience in the global automotive aftermarket.   My focus has been the elimination of the historical silos in sales & marketing and on building a collaborative and focused sales & marketing team.  

I have successfully led global sales & marketing teams as well as new product development teams.  Key projects include an online accessories program for a large new car dealer group, the trademarked WaaS(TM) program allowing midsize dealers immediate access to product fulfillment, and exclusive U.S. distribution deals for iconic U.K. and E.U. brands.

I am also an accomplished entrepreneur having co-founded the wildly popular Detroit Muscle USA brand in 2005 and later spinning off Detroit Muscle Performance in a joint venture deal with Thaze Competition, a successful IMSA team based out of Detroit, in 2023.

Always remember, the most dangerous words in the English language...

"It's always been done that way."

taplio

The Battle

James Lawrence

Lou Lobsinger

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