Coach K to headline AAPEX breakfast

The winningest coach in NCAA men’s basketball history will headline the AAPEX 2026 Keynote Breakfast this fall.

Mike Krzyzewski, better known as Coach K, led Duke University to five NCAA championships and coached the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team to three gold medals during a 42-year career defined by sustained success amid constant roster turnover and mounting expectations.

He will speak about leadership, teamwork and adapting under pressure.

“It is called Duke basketball, but the team changes each year,” Krzyzewski told LEADERS magazine in a 2023 interview. “You have to adapt to change, and things are always changing.”

That message is expected to resonate with an aftermarket industry grappling with evolving vehicle technology, trade uncertainty, shifting EV adoption and ongoing labour shortages.

AAPEX organizers pointed to a March 2026 survey of 448 U.S.-based aftermarket professionals that identified uncertainty as the industry’s top challenge. Supply chain concerns remain especially acute, with seven in 10 respondents pursuing supplier diversification initiatives.

“Coach K’s experiences are especially well-suited to deliver the right message at the right time at AAPEX 2026,” said Emily Poladian, president of MEMA Aftermarket Suppliers, which co-produces AAPEX alongside the Auto Care Association.

Auto Care Association president and CEO Bill Hanvey said Krzyzewski’s experience developing new talent year after year mirrors challenges facing aftermarket businesses today.

“Coach K served as a basketball coach for 42 seasons — that’s 42 times he had to lead raw, young talent and forge them into a cohesive team,” Hanvey said. “There’s an amazing similarity to that legacy and what thousands of aftermarket businesses are facing right now with the skilled labour shortage.”

Krzyzewski’s career was not without adversity. Early in his tenure at Duke, the Blue Devils struggled through losing seasons and public calls for his dismissal before the program emerged as a college basketball powerhouse.

Beyond coaching, Krzyzewski co-founded the Coach K Center on Leadership and Ethics at Duke University and continues to teach leadership at the Fuqua School of Business.

AAPEX 2026 will take place November 3-5 at the Venetian Expo and AAPEX Forum in Las Vegas. The keynote breakfast is scheduled for November 3 at the Venetian Hotel’s Palazzo Ballroom.