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.

Happy Companies is changing how companies enable coworkers, leaders, and managers to work more effectively together. Happy's software platform will help people to better understand and communicate with each other, improve work relationships, resolve conflicts, and decrease ramp time for new team members. Happy will integrate AI-driven guidance, coaching, and valuable insights that are available anytime and anywhere. Happy will feature a beautiful user experience, AI technology, natural language processing, behavioral science, and world-class coaching tools together in one app.

Co-Founder

Consultant

Responsible for the major financial, human resources, and office management functions of the business operations.

Vice President, Administration and Accounting

Thor California

Planning Coordinator, Sr. Sales and Marketing Administrator

National RV

Sales & Marketing Assistant

My joy at work comes from helping others, building exceptional teams, and coaching those around me to do their best. My team has always been at the center of my proudest professional moments, and I feel deeply that the heart of every organization is its people. 

I believe in the power of breaking down barriers through doing the work to understand each other and the connection that can bring. I push myself daily to be courageous enough to "get uncomfortable" - because that is where the growth happens. 

I have worked with some of the best over the years and learned a lot along the way. I feel blessed to move on to a new adventure where I can put my heart into something that matters so much—helping people be happier at work.

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The Battle

James Lawrence

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