2021 Automotive News Canada All-Stars

Shifting delivery of thousands of vehicles to one coast from another is probably tricky at the best of times, never mind during a pandemic and its resultant supply-chain disruptions.

Adam Kostanowicz, Volvo Car Canada’s director of sales, led the team that transferred shipment of the Chinese-built XC60 crossover and S90 luxury sedan models to the Port of Vancouver from Halifax. It not only cut 9,600 kilometres from the journey by eliminating a trip south of Mexico and through the Panama Canal — and weeks off delivery times — but also reduced the automaker’s carbon footprint.

“On average, the Canadian consumer will receive their brandnew Volvo roughly one month sooner than before,” Kostanowicz told Automotive News Canada in September.

Kostanowicz, 41, joined Volvo in January 2018 as director of customer experience after stints at Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Ford. He was appointed director of sales a year later and soon began planning the shipping reorganization.

Born and raised in Mississauga, Ont., Kostanowicz graduated from York University with a commerce degree in business administration. Among other credits, he also earned a diploma from Mohawk College to be an automotive service technician and completed an executive management leadership course at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.