“Letter to our 2,682 Gruppers”
I am reaching out to you today to inform that I am stepping down as President of the M Gruppe. Furthermore, as none of our current team members feels they can take over the position and the organization, this also means the dissolution of the M Gruppe. This has been a very difficult decision for me to make, but one I must do at this time. At your convenience, I hope you take the time to understand some of the reasons behind this decision, outlined below.
The origins: For over 5 years I put my heart, soul and mind into a dream of mine, which was to build the most passionate, structured club, exclusively for BMW M-owners. That vision was born from my own need to share my passion for these amazing cars with like-minded enthusiasts who ‘spoke the same language’. In all, I devoted more than 10,000 hours and other resources to this project. Together with the impressive men and women of the Team M Gruppe, our common effort created a community like the no other the BMW M enthusiast world had seen. We welcomed enthusiasts in 48 US states and 21 other countries and offered over 500 events, including some bucket list items like the Nürburgring BMW M Performance Training in 2016 and 2017. We also pioneered several initiatives within the BMW M enthusiast world, namely our M Gruppe Juniors focusing on the young enthusiast and led by an incredible 12 year old young man who never ceased to amaze me with his maturity and deep knowledge of BMWs. We also created 3 other sub-organizations dedicated to the heritage of the BMW M brand, performance driving & education and female enthusiasts. Much of our success was due to the support of several BMW dealerships, who understood that vision and trusted in me to make it happen. Many thanks to Amanda Schrider-Rhodes of BMW of South Austin, John Kobell of Classic BMW of Plano, Maria Moncada-Alaoui of BMW of West Houston and Pedro Bologna of BMW of Tenafly.
The officialization process that wasn’t: As I have said many times in the past, the ultimate goal had always been to become an official BMW club. That would allow us to receive formal endorsement from the brand we cherish, promoting it in a robust, systematic way, and cementing a close relationship with BMW M. Initially we thought we could do that directly with BMW. In the Summer of 2018 we were informed that the only path forward would be under the BMW Car Club of America. After numerous discussions with BMW of North America and BMW CCA, in February 2020 we were offered the opportunity to become a CCA “non-geographic chapter”. However, when we considered the requirements being presented to us, our Team unanimously voted to decline the offer. The main reason for us was the fact that we would have to extend membership to any interested person, regardless of vehicle ownership. That in itself would defeat the purpose of this club. Additionally, we did not support charging a membership fee. Our position has always been that any fee is already paid when we buy our car(s), promote the brand, purchase ancillary products etc. Most likely it would also have disenfranchised hundreds of our international Gruppers. A few weeks later we learned that the BMW CCA started an “M Chapter” to cater to that general audience. Next, given our international scope, we were put in contact with a BMW club umbrella in Germany. After months of intense work preparing documentation and self-educating in the necessary steps, the process came to a halt. While we were never completely clear about all the reasons, we understood there were “issues” and concerns raised by some individuals in the BMW club environment, also in the US. We were unable to proceed, despite our requests for guidance and numerous efforts to address each one of the “issues” presented to us (not all of them were).
In sum: The past 18 months have been a huge energy drain and have somewhat affected my own passion as well. Managing the M Gruppe has gone from being a hobby, to a part-time job to a full-time job at times. So the moment has come for me to focus on my professional future and development.
What continues ahead: To those of you on Facebook, Houston Area Director Brian Casagrande wants to take over the closed group in that platform under the name(1) ”BMW M Owners International Club”, also to recognize our international Gruppers. The management change will be announced in that group once it takes effect.
Additionally, M Gruppe Heritage Director Andrew Baird has expressed interest in doing a spin-off of that M Gruppe sub-organization to create an independent, stand-alone club for owners of heritage BMW M cars. Andrew and I will work on that project and he will contact those of you with heritage M cars to extend an invitation to join this new club. It is however Andrew’s wish to keep this club local to Texas. You may contact Andrew at
BMWMHeritage@gmail.com
While I am deeply saddened by this, know that the past 5 years were filled with unforgettable moments for me, thanks to you, to the friends I made and all the people who shared my vision. This unique experience offered me lessons on humility, leadership and so many more elements that have all contributed to my personal growth. I will always carry all that with me.
Adriana
(
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriana-diesen/)
P.S.: My deepest thanks to all of the incredibly competent people in the Team M Gruppe. What we built here has no parallel in the history of the BMW M enthusiast world. The unconditional passion, the high quality in everything we did, the integrity with which we always acted. Be very proud! Others can copy us; they will never be us.
The Team M Gruppe
• Ali Aziz (M Gruppe Juniors Director)
• Andrew Baird (M Gruppe Heritage Director)
• Anis Arafat (NY Metro Area Director)
• Arslan Akhtar (Brand Management Director)
• Brant Peterson (Central Florida Area Director)
• Brian Casagrande (Houston Area Director)
• Brian Schwab (Virginia Area Director)
• Chris Campbell (Alaska Area Director)
• Christi Redfearn (WO///MEN of M Gruppe Director)
• Christina Guzman (San Antonio Area Director)
• Chuck Ange (NY Metro Area Director)
• Daniel Ullenes (Houston Area Director)
• Dmitry Gelfand (Greater Philadelphia Area Director)
• Eric Nelson (Dallas-Fort Worth Area Director)
• Farhan Qureshi (Motorsports Council - NJ)
• Garrett Kaprielian (Northern California Area Director)
• George Baker (Motorsports Council - TX-AUS)
• Igor Furer (Greater Philadelphia Area Director)
• Jaco Nolte (North Carolina Area Director)
• Jake Kushner (Denver Area Director)
• Jim Morrison (Editor of “The ///Messenger”)
• Jochen Lauterbach (South Carolina Area Director)
• Karen OBrien (Dallas-Fort Worth Area Director)
• Kevin Whiteleather (Indiana Area Director)
• Lucas Sganderlla (North Carolina Area Director)
• Naviel Manwah (south Florida Area Director)
• Pawel Potera (Motorsports Council Deputy Director)
• Rich Rausser (Motorsports Council - NY)
• Shariq Quamar (Motorsports Council - TX-AUS)
• Steve Amos (Motorsports Council Director)
• Tim Alfaro (Seattle Area Director)
• Troy Stepp (Motorsports Council - TX-DFW)
• Vaughn McVey (Vice President)
• Walter Phillips (Motorsports Council - TX-HOU)
(1) The name “M Gruppe” is a registered trademark with the US Patents and Trademarks Office (Reg. No. 5,327,137). Unauthorized use of the name or associated marks will result in legal action. Those interested in acquiring the marks, may contact me.
