Women in Auto Care Announces 2025 Award Recipients at AAPEX: Photo Gallery

Women in Auto Care, a community of the Auto Care Association, announced its 2025 award recipients Wednesday during the Women in Auto Care Awards Ceremony, held at this year’s Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo in Las Vegas, according to a press release. The Women in Auto Care Awards annually recognize the exceptional women and companies driving the automotive aftermarket forward, celebrating leadership, achievement, and advocacy across the industry.

Women in Auto Care sits at the intersection of heart and hope, reminding us that heart is what sustains a community, and hope is what propels it into the future,” Olivia Droney-Newton, senior vice president of category management and customer insights for NA Williams said at the breakfast where the awards were handed out. “Hope is what provides scholarships to young women interested in entering our industry, and it's heart that helps us keep them there to help shape what we will become.”

Meanwhile, Female Shop Owner of the Year, Shari Pheasant, reflected on her 10-year journey as a member of Women in Auto Care back to when it was called the Woman's Board with no more than 50 members. She delivered her speech this week to a ballroom of 425 women, shop owners, and industry supporters and encouraged those in attendance to get involved, show their support, and be there for one another to continue to raise the bar for the entire profession.

“When we collaborate, we share knowledge and we support one another across our brands, across the bays, and across our belief systems,” she noted. “We become unstoppable, because when we lift each other up, the entire industry rises.”

The winners of the 2025 Women in Auto Care Awards are:

• Lifetime Achievement: Courtney Pedler, CEO, Autology Data Management
• Outstanding Achievement: Olivia Droney-Newton, senior vice president, category management and customer insights, NA Williams
• Female Shop Owner of the Year: Shari Pheasant, co-CEO, A Master Mechanic
• Women of Excellence: Heather Antrim, commercial category manager, AutoZone
• Women of Excellence: Lauren Briggs, director, sales and marketing, NAPA Auto Care
• Women of Excellence: Tracy Capriotto, director of content, producer, Remarkable Results Radio
• Women of Excellence: Cass Tomac, senior manager, strategic sourcing, Highline Warren
• Company Ally of the Year: Highline Warren
• Women in Auto Care Champion of the Year: Amy Steele, vice president, Nexa Motion Group (NMG)

In the press release, Women in Auto Care Elle Lawhead commended all of the 125 nominees for their dedication to the industry and encouraged others to acknowledge their success for a job well done.

“Over the years, these awards have celebrated women across diverse roles in our industry—from warehousing and heavy-duty to shops, manufacturing, and technology—spanning positions such as shop owners, HR leaders, marketers and CEOs,” she noted. “Please join us in congratulating the 2025 Women in Auto Care Award winners!”