As the remarketing industry has changed, so too have its professionals. Tim Meta, the incoming president of the IARA, is preparing for the industry’s future in one of the bests ways he can: by being closely involved in industry discussions with the IARA.

As the 16th annual Summer Roundtable fast approaches, Meta, has opened up about his thoughts on the future of the IARA and the industry as a whole.

Wow, IARA has a lot going on and I am excited to head down to the Music City for the 2017 Summer Roundtable.  With all the economic, technology, and regulatory changes taking place, our members’ key job elements and responsibilities will also change.  IARA is a great way to stay ahead of the curve.  There is no better way to obtain information on these changes than to talk to your peers and business partners.  IARA structures our meetings in a roundtable environment to promote the exchange of ideas between all relevant parties.  

The IARA Board of Directors recently invested in a new website IARA.biz that will make networking and collaboration even easier for its members.  The IARA has established several strong committees that also promote cooperation between peers and vendor partners.  The Standards Committee has several members, including a co-chair, who serves on the NAAA Standards Committee.   The cooperation between these two Standards Committees enables suggestions, questions, and recommendations from Alliance members to be heard by both associations. 

Meanwhile, a compliance committee was recently established at the request of Alliance members and this committee has representation from several lenders and vendor partners.  Several of our partners have allowed members of their legal teams to be part of this committee.  As issues have come up and are presented, the committee members created great dialogue and perspective which benefits all involved.

Our committees will be also discussing and collaborating on how new models, such as electric/ hybrid automobiles and autonomous vehicles, will affect our Alliance members remarketing strategies.

I am also excited that the location of the 2018 IARA Summer Roundtable has been announced! The JW Marriott Marco Island Resort will provide a more relaxed atmosphere, but you can be sure there will be plenty of strong content and up-to-date pertinent information provided to all IARA Alliance members.  We are hoping Alliance members can take advantage of this beautiful vacation property and possibly bring family and friends to extend their stay either the weekend before or after our meeting.