CHOSEN BECAUSE: 

Since 2018, Jason Dale has been executive director of the Automotive Business School of Canada at Georgian College, which offers two-year diplomas and four-year degrees in automotive business and a one-year certification in dealership management. 

Dale, 47, leads the Ontario school — 110 kilometres north of Toronto — at a critical time for the industry. Automakers are scrambling to adjust to emerging tech trends, while dealerships face a critical skilled-labour shortage alongside a need to adapt to online retail. The graduates who leave the ABSC program will be poised to play an integral role as the industry adapts. 

Under Dale, the ABSC looks to expand its reach. The school is developing an aftermarket-executive-management program, Dale said, while efforts are under way to expand the student population’s geographic representation. About 90 per cent of ABSC students come from Ontario and nine per cent from Quebec. 

IN HIS OWN WORDS: 

“We’re trying to capture those students from the rest of the provinces. We’re the only automotive business degree in Canada, so we’re trying to get more awareness out there. Somebody told me when I first started here that the Automotive Business School of Canada was the best-kept secret. I don’t want it to be the best-kept secret.”