Dayco makes leadership changes

Tyler Samagalski (left), Shannon Lara, and Thomas Fontana have taken up new leadership roles at Dayco.

T.J. Fontana

Thomas J. (TJ) Fontana has been appointed director of sales, North America for Dayco, a supplier of engine products and drive systems to the automotive, industrial and aftermarket industries.

Fontana will lead the light and commercial vehicle aftermarket segment and Samagalski will head up the industrial, fluid power and performance markets for the U.S. and Canada.

With 30 years of progressive leadership experience at Tenneco and Johnson Controls, Fontana brings with him a wealth of industry relationships, channel strategies and advanced program development skills in commercial vehicle, retail, light vehicle and program groups. His experience and customer focus will be vital to the growth of all product categories and to ensure a premium mix of Dayco products within each channel.

In a related move, Tyler Samagalski has been promoted to director of industrial, fluid power and performance markets, North America.

Tyler Samagalski

Well-known in the Canadian market, Samagalski has been with Dayco for 10 years, where he developed a strong understanding of the company’s products, technologies and services as a regional manager in Canada. He quickly emerged as a stand-out in the organization and advanced to a leadership position as director of the Canadian aftermarket.

In his new role as director of industrial, fluid power and performance, Samagalski will be able to fully utilize his robust knowledge of Dayco’s extensive product lines – especially hydraulics – to deliver growth in the industrial segment.

Finally, Shannon Lara has been named director of marketing for Dayco’s North American aftermarket.

She will work directly with Fontana and Samagalski to deliver new products, programs and applications to the market, driving sales and increasing customer satisfaction through targeted industry-specific and voice of the customer research across North America.

Lara is a highly accomplished marketing and communications veteran with more than 25 years of experience in brand strategy, B2B and consumer campaigns in the automotive aftermarket.

Shannon Lara

Most recently, she led marketing for NORMA Group’s aftermarket and OE businesses, though she gained the bulk of her aftermarket experience during her tenure at Honeywell International as senior global marketing communications manager for the company’s transportation systems business unit. In this role, Lara launched numerous brand campaigns and digital initiatives that drove sales for the FRAM, Prestone, Autolite, Holts, Bendix and JURID brands. At Dayco, Lara will develop and deploy a coordinated and disruptive marketing strategy to drive brand recognition and sales growth in belts and power transmissions.

Dayco’s most recent organizational changes in sales and marketing will better position the company’s aftermarket business for strategic and synergistic growth. Fontana, Lara and Samagalski will report directly to Tom Tecklenburg, vice president of Dayco’s North American aftermarket.

“With the addition of the sales and marketing expertise and leadership provided by TJ, Tyler and Shannon to an already solid regional team, we’re well positioned to accelerate the growth of the business, while also improving customer satisfaction,” said Tom Tecklenburg.

Dayco is a global leader in the research, design, manufacture and distribution of essential engine drive systems and aftermarket services for automotive, truck, construction, agriculture and industrial applications.

Dayco has more than 40 locations in 22 countries and over 4,500 associates.

www.dayco.com