Shaun Petersen joins NIADA staff; Steve Jordan named CEO

Shaun Petersen, who has served as outside regulatory counsel to the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association since 2012, will join NIADA’S association staff on a full-time basis.

Effective Jan. 1, Petersen will become senior vice president of legal and government affairs.

The association also announced that executive vice president Steve Jordan has been named chief executive officer.

Petersen is a former Ohio deputy attorney general who has done extensive legal work in the automotive industry. He has been working with NIADA on regulatory and compliance issues as a partner with the Ohio law firm of Mac Murray, Petersen & Shuster.

“My obligation to the association is to identify the best talent around and bring those people into the fold,” Jordan said. “Certainly, we appreciate the hard work and progress Shaun has made in helping us grow our voice here in Washington with federal regulators. He’s doing a phenomenal job and I’m excited to have him join the team full time.”

Petersen will continue his duties in helping shape NIADA’s policies regarding legislative and regulatory issues and establishing relationships with governmental entities, and will add the role of general counsel for the association.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity,” Petersen said. “The regulatory, legislative and public policy aspects of the used car industry are getting more attention than ever, so it’s vital to have a full-time presence to manage those affairs and ensure we’re minding the shop.

“The past four years on a part-time basis have been fantastic. I’m looking forward to doing it as a full-time job.”

Jordan was named CEO by a unanimous vote of the NIADA executive committee at its recent meeting. He joined NIADA in 2011 as chief operating officer and took over the association’s operations as executive vice president in 2013 when Michael Linn retired as CEO to become CEO emeritus.

As CEO, Jordan will remain in charge of NIADA’s day-to-day operations as well as heading the association’s direction and priorities for the future.

“Our intention from the beginning was always to phase Steve into the CEO job,” said Region II vice president Henry Mullinax, a member of the executive committee. “That process has now come to fruition.”

“Steve’s done a fantastic job. He’s the future of NIADA,” continued Mullinax. “He’s made decisions that have moved us forward tremendously, like coming here to Washington. Given where the industry is right now, that is probably the most important decision we’ve made. And that’s because of Steve Jordan. He’s established his leadership and his ability and has been a tremendous asset for us.”

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