Seminars
Porsche Speaker Bio’s for Parade 2017 – Spokane, WA
Larson, Grant (PAG, Director of Special Vehicles - Style Porsche)
Grant has been designing cars ever since he was 5 years old. After studying Industrial Design at
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and Transportation Design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Grant spent the first 3 years of his career at Audi in Munich. In 1989 Grant joined Porsche as an Exterior Designer. His projects ranged from the Boxster show car and production car, followed by the Carrera GT show car, the 997 and 997 Turbo, as well as the Panamera. Since his appointment as Director of Special Projects, his projects encompassed the 911 Sport Classic, 997 Speedster, both Boxster Spyders, the 991 Targa, as well as various special editions, race cars, and VIP cars. Grant is also a huge fan and collector of air-cooled boxer-engined Porsches and VW’s.
"The Boxster Development Story" (Tues., July 11th)
Grant will take us in to an in-depth firsthand historic look into what it was like to develop the first Boxster beginning in 1991. This will be described with many images and stories not yet shown, beginning with the first ideas all the way through to the production car, and where we stand today.
"The Anatomy of a Porsche Roadster" (Thurs., July 13th)
Manny Alban and Grant Larson will discuss a variety of design-related subjects, focusing on Porsche Roadsters, Spyders, Speedsters, and Boxsters of the past and present. This will be done with live sketching via an overhead projector.
Lennon, Andrew (PCNA, Product Manager, Sports Cars)
Andrew started his career as an automotive technician while studying mechanical engineering before proceeding with technician training through the Porsche Technology Apprenticeship Program (PTAP). After graduating from the program in 2005, Andrew joined the Technical Support group of Porsche Cars North America. He has held various positions within PCNA over the past 12 years involving Technical Support, Regulatory Affairs, and E-Performance. In January 2015, Andrew completed Gold level certification in the Certified Porsche Technician program before accepting the role of Product Manager for Sports Cars at PCNA.
"GT Product Line and the new 911 GT3" (Tues., July 11th)
"Born in Flacht. The new 911 GT3" (Fri., July 14th)
"Rocket. Science. The 918 Spyder" (Fri., July 14th)
"Porsche E-Performance. The new Panamera E-Hybrid" (Fri., July 14th)
Kukavica, Mike (PCNA, Collision Repair Technology Instructor)
Mike has spent his career in the collision repair industry, focused on returning damaged vehicles to pre-accident condition. His career started in the workshop, and after ten years honing his skills, he moved into the technical training field, helping other technicians improve their skills and learn new concepts. For the last nine years he has worked at PCNA, training technicians, motorsports teams and also insurance companies. In addition, he manages the Porsche Approved Collision Center Program, which seeks to improve both the quality and experience that Porsche customers receive when in need of repairs to their vehicle.
Turner, Frank (PCNA, Approved Collision Center Administrator)
Frank has over 20 years of experience in the automotive aftermarket, managing brands and programs in both hard parts and appearance accessories for distributors, dealers, motorsports teams and OEM manufacturers. He is currently the Approved Collision Center administrator PCNA.
"Collision Repair at 190MPH" session by both Mike & Frank (Fri., July 14th)