Organizers of the 11th annual Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week announced a new leadership team, theme, and keynote speaker for the conference taking place Jan. 25-28, 2016, at The Mirage in Las Vegas.

The new event co-chairs are Rob Phillips, president and COO for Phillips Industries, and Jorge Mederos, CEO of Super Truck Parts. Don Purcell, partner at Stone Truck Parts, will serve as the vice chair.

HDAW chairpersons are responsible for the strategic leadership of the event and are involved with the volunteer and staff program planning teams consisting of over 40 individuals from aftermarket suppliers and distributor companies.

The 2016 HDAW’s theme is “Heavy Duty Aftermarket 2.0: Upgrade Your Business.”

“As a supplier, it is important to understand the business climate that our distributors are facing” said Phillips. “The theme of Heavy Duty Aftermarket 2.0: Upgrading Your Business, intends to focus on the relationships between the independent aftermarket distributors and their suppliers and how both can continue to grow by learning about ways to upgrade their services and product offerings.”

Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week 2016 will offer attendees four days of education programs, a product expo, peer networking and social activities and one-on-one meetings for suppliers and distributors.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Frank Luntz, author of “Candidates, Consultants & Campaigns.” Luntz is an influential political pollster and has been an advisor to numerous U.S. candidates. He is credited with being one of the strategic architects behind the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in 1994.

In his keynote, Luntz will speak about how choosing the right words can change the course of politics and life in the country. He will offer a behind-the-scenes look at how the tactical use of words and phrases affects things like buying habits, voting habits and belief.

“How we communicate with people and systems today, will not be appropriate tomorrow,” said Mederos. “We want this year’s conference to provide a glimpse of what’s coming down the road, and what we need to be doing to upgrade our businesses, so we can grow and prosper well into the future.”

For more information on the event, click here.