Jason Lightbody starts his day before most people wake up.
As vice president of tire and oil operations at Houska Automotive, Lightbody is up at 5 a.m. checking emails and in the office by 6:30 a.m. By 7 a.m., things start to get busy – wholesale deliveries begin to get processed and retail and commercial customers are calling for tires, service appointments or diesel emissions tests.
For the next 11 hours, when Lightbody’s workday ends, he’s non-stop running to make sure everything is organized, visiting commercial tire customers and finishing paperwork.
With the amount of time and constant pressure at work, it can be hard to stay motivated. But, for Lightbody, when asked what motivates him to get out there every day, he seems to enjoy the challenge.
“It’s a lot of fun and I enjoy proving the naysayers wrong,” says Lightbody. “There are a lot of people who don’t think we can be successful against the big tire manufacturer-owned commercial tire centers. We are still a family-owned company and we take tremendous pride in going into battle everyday and being successful.”
To help keep his sanity after the long hours spent at work, Lightbody says he’s received great advice from Jim McWilliams, a previous business owner and employer: “When you go home at night, forget about the workday.”
For Jason, this advice has proven to be true and helps him unwind and de-stress when he returns home after work.
When spending 12 hours a day on the job, it’s important you enjoy what you do. Luckily for Lightbody, he does.
When asked what he likes most about the tire industry, he said, “I love interacting with the fleet owners and operators. Some great friendships have developed out of this career path.”
Lightbody began his career in the tire industry nearly 12 years ago, starting at a Goodyear branch in 2005 as a technician. From there he was quickly promoted to general manager of three stores by 2008.
After leaving Goodyear, Lightbody started his journey at Houska Automotive in 2010 and eventually, after hard work and dedication, he was promoted to vice president.
Fun Fact: If Jason could meet anyone, dead or alive, he would choose to meet Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric. Lightbody regards him as a great business leader who was able to lead a multinational company across multiple business platforms.
