Marckis Group adds to senior management

Gary Filippini has been named a senior managing partner at the Marckis Group.

Prior to his new role, Filippini had spent nearly 25 years with Subaru Canada in a variety of capacities including finance, customer loyalty, human resources and information technology.

The industry veteran said the time was right to make this move and that he is excited to join the established and well respected team at Marckis Group.

“While at Subaru, we relied heavily on the vast industry intelligence of the Marckis associates,” he said.

“They were instrumental in helping us build a cohesive and highly-capable team that would enable our organization to grow in sales from roughly 5,000 vehicles per year to nearly 50,000 today.”

He noted many people within the auto industry have a longstanding familiarity with the Marckis brand in terms of executive recruiting, however, as a result of growing client needs, the service offering has expanded in recent years to include HR consulting, outplacement services, personality assessments and a growing emphasis on contract and temporary assignments which help to deal with short-term business fluctuations or full-time headcount restrictions.

He said with the auto retail industry continuing to struggle with high turnover levels, many stores don’t have the time or resources to ensure the people they are hiring are the proper fit.

“Before making important hiring decisions, you want to make sure up front that the person is a good fit with the existing culture and expectations of the operation,” he said.

“Quite often, I don’t think enough time is spent understanding this aspect, which helps to perpetuate the turnover problem that many dealers and organizations face. As a result, you can spend a lot of time and money in the areas of advertising, recruiting, hiring and training new employees, but if the fit isn’t right, it adds to even greater disruption within your business operation – often adversely impacting customer and employee satisfaction and overall profitability.”

He said Marckis Group continues to be recognized for having a “keen understanding of the cultural nuances” of its clients.  This helps to ensure the people it places are compatible, highly effective and much more likely to stay and grow with the organization for many years to come, he added.

The company focuses on OEM’s, dealer groups, leasing and captive finance institutions, daily rental companies, software solution providers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers of automotive parts, advertising, marketing, remarketing, independent and franchised service and repair outlets, warranty providers, roadside assistance companies and a variety of other service providers to the automotive industry.