Thomas Higgins, the incoming director of compliance at the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, acknowledges this is a strange time to switch careers.
Higgins spent nine years at the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, most recently as deputy commissioner of compliance. During his tenure, Higgins was in charge of the Division of Field Investigations, which conducted fraud inquiries; the Title Bureau; and the Office of Vehicle Safety & Clean Air.
Higgins was instrumental in transitioning the 10,000 franchised and independent dealerships in the state over to the Department of Motor Vehicles' Vehicle Electronic Reassignment and Integrated Facility Inventory registration system. He spoke with Staff Reporter Jackie Charniga about his priorities in his new role, the state's regulatory environment and his experience working with automotive dealerships.
Q: What was it like convincing New York dealerships to shift to a new system?
<…