Hella President Named SEMA Chairman-Elect

Mitch Williams, president and chief operating officer of Hella, Inc., has been elected to the position of Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) chairman-elect.
He will serve two years as the chairman-elect, under incoming chairman Corky Coker, and then will begin his term as the head of the SEMA Board of Directors in July 2005. As chairman, Williams will be responsible for steering the board of the automotive specialty equipment market’s largest association.
The industry’s leading trade association, SEMA is involved in a broad spectrum of activities, from hosting the SEMA Show in Las Vegas annually to advocating consumers’ rights to drive accessorized, customized and vintage vehicles.
Williams began the first of three terms on the SEMA Board of Directors in 1998. While on the board he participated in numerous committees and task forces, demonstrating a wide range of automotive and legislative knowledge. In 2001 his contributions to the industry and the Association were recognized when he was selected as the SEMA Person of the Year during the 2001 Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week, held yearly in Las Vegas.
During an automotive career that has spanned almost thirty years, Williams has held nearly every automotive job possible and raced on both an amateur and a professional level. After working his way through Emory University as a BMW and Audi service technician, he spent eight years with S.E.V. (now Valeo), before joining Hella in 1984. Since 1988 Williams has been president & COO of Hella, Inc.
Hella, Inc., began their affiliation with SEMA in 1983, and the company is a member of 5 SEMA councils (PRO, TCAA, SCC, SRMA, and ARMO). Hella, Inc., is a member of the Hella North America group of companies, a subsidiary of Hella KG, Hueck & Company, of Lippstadt, Germany. Hella is a worldwide leader of advanced automotive lighting and electronics technology, marketed in over 150 countries with approximately three and one-half billion dollars (2.9 billion Euros) in sales globally.