TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED

How a split-second decision led a surf dude to become CEO of Hyundai Canada

- MARISA COULTON

"I never believed I was smarter or more talented," says Hyundai Canada CEO Don Romano, "but I figured I could work harder than anybody else."

Growing up, Don Romano never pictured himself living in Canada, much less serving as chief executive of Hyundai Canada. He thought he’d become a pilot and spend his life in Southern California where he grew up.

Romano was a California kid through and through. He spent his days surfing.

“As a young kid growing up, all your friends surf,” he said, “and so you get a board, you go to Huntington Beach, you paddle out, you get knocked around and then eventually, you begin to get the hang of it.” He even surfed competitively at his universities: California State and Pepperdine.

In the meantime, he worked part-time for cargo airline Flying Tiger out of Los Angeles International Airport. It was a good gig, but it didn’t last long.

“One day I showed up and they were out of business,” Romano said. “They’d shut down.”

Romano got back in his car and drove off. He spotted the Nissan headquarters from the highway.

“I thought, ‘Hey, it’s a big building. They probably need people.’ So I pulled in,” he said. “The receptionist kind of laughed and said, ‘We don’t need pilots here,’ ” but she gave Romano an application anyway. He got the job.

This split-second decision turned into a decades-long international career in the auto industry. Romano climbed the corporate ranks at Nissan, Mazda, Toyota and finally Hyundai, where he now serves as CEO.