Founded in 1958, the Association Committee of 100 is comprised of CEOs who represent association members before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors. The group enhances lobbying and coalition work, recommends programming and strengthens outreach to the business and association community.

"Being named to the Chamber’s Committee of 100 is the top honor in America for association executives," said David Caracci, AAIA chair. "This national recognition of Kathleen’s leadership qualities is clearly well-deserved on a personal and professional level, but also elevates AAIA’s stature and showcases the automotive aftermarket industry."

In other AAIA news, the association has appointed Ron Rossi director of market research. Rossi has more than 30 years of experience in market market research, forecasting, strategic planning, supply chain and catalog management and has worked in the aftermarket division of Delphi Automotive for the last five years.

Previously, Rossi served as director of marketing for the IntelliPart division of Typotronics and manager of marketing administration for the Moog Automotive division of Federal-Mogul.

Rossi has served as chair of the AAIA Market Research Committee and is a member of the National Catalog Managers Association. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis.