Meet the people behind CARSTAR.
Richard Hunter Cross III, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Dan Bailey, President and Chief Operating Officer
Dan Young, Senior Vice President - Insurance
John Shannon, Assistant Vice President, Controller
Stacy Bartnik, Assistant Vice President – Director of Field Services
Bill Garoutte, Assistant Vice President Marketing
Ernie Laky, Vice President, Purchasing
Jo Pierce, Assistant Vice President –and Director of Corporate Development
Greg Dehnke, Senior Sales Executive
Margaret Ray, Assistant Vice President, Integration and Financial Services
For media inquiries, please contact:
Bill Garoutte, Senior Marketing Executive
Bill_Garoutte@carstar.com
913.451.1294
For Franchise Opportunities, please contact:
Franchise Operations
800.999.1949
devdept@carstar.com
CARSTAR Corporate Offices
8400 W. 110th Street, Suite 200
Overland Park, KS 66210
Richard Hunter Cross III, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Richard Cross joined CARSTAR as a consultant in the early fall of 2004, becoming Chairman of the CARSTAR Board of Directors by the end of the year. Through 2005, he took an active position as Chairman, affecting an organizational restructuring, outlining a Corporate Strategic Plan, initiating a business group-level Strategic Planning process and directing the overall affairs of the Company. In January 2006, he assumed the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, which he holds today.
Mr. Cross is the founder and Managing Principal of the Cross Partnership III, a twelve-year-old, Boston-based, "hands-on" consulting and turn-around firm focused on improving the operating and financial performance of businesses held in the portfolios of financial sponsors. Over the past decade, his firm has intervened effectively as consultants, advisors and interim presidents in more than 100 businesses ranging from start-ups to mature industrials. Mr. Cross has served as an interim President/CEO, leading successful business transitions in nine companies over the past twelve years. From 1996-2000, he also acted as an operating affiliate of Fenway Partners, a New York-based, $1.4 billion private equity fund and, later, as President of Fenway Holdings, the operating entity for a collection of Fenway acquisitions. In this capacity, he was credited significantly for a valuation gain of $80 million realized through the operational turn-around and sale of one of its larger manufacturing assets. Most recently, he served as President of Spaulding & Slye Colliers, Inc., from 2000-2002, and as Chief Executive Officer of ITN/Grate Pallet, Inc., from 2003-2004.
Prior to starting his own firm, Mr. Cross served for 10 years as a Principal at the Berwick Group, a Boston-based strategy and operations consulting firm. Before that, he served as a Senior Associate at the Cambridge Research Institute, the strategy consulting arm for a group of senior Harvard Business School Professors.
Mr. Cross earned graduate degrees at Columbia University and Harvard University, where he was awarded the Charles Eliot Traveling Fellowship. His undergraduate degree is from the School of Architecture of the University of Virginia. He also served for four years as an officer in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. His military service culminated in a post as a top secret, special intelligence officer on the staff of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, then the Chief of Naval Operations.
For a decade, Richard Cross created and taught the Mid-Tier President's Course in a summer executive program at Harvard. He is a frequent speaker, and recently completed a book entitled "The Good President" which is scheduled soon for release. He is active on corporate and not-for-profit boards, serving currently as Chairman of the Boston Harbor Island Alliance and, under a seven-year appointment by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, as Chairman of the Massachusetts Environmental Stewardship Council.
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Dan Bailey, President and Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Bailey is responsible for the operational improvement of all 280 CARSTAR locations in the United States and the 125 locations in Canada.
Under Mr. Bailey’s direction, the departments of Franchise Integration, Consulting and Franchise Services are all dedicated to assisting our newest members in the conversion process, from existing systems and brand to results-driven execution, as well as providing ongoing consultative support and field operation service. In addition, the divisions of Insurance, Operational Best Practices and Company Store Operations report to Mr. Bailey, allowing a more defined focus on developing and implementing new insurance relationships and programs, as well as beta-testing innovative production systems and processes to the field.
Mr. Bailey joined CARSTAR in 1998, and throughout his tenure has been a General Manager at one of the company-owned stores, a District Manager over three company-owned stores and the Vice- President of Company Store Operations. While he was Vice-President of Company Store Operations, CARSTAR acquired 18 collision repair facilities and established one satellite location. Before joining CARSTAR, he operated three body shops in Kansas City with his brother, Bill Bailey, for more than 20 years.
Active in several collision repair industry organizations, Mr. Bailey currently serves as a Board Member for the Mitchell Advisory Board, as well as for the SCRS National and MO-KAN boards, is on the CCC Advisory Board and on the ASA Collision Division Committee, as a national judge for Skills USA - VICA, and as a member of CIC. As past chairman of the Kansas City/Topeka Chapter of SCRS, he directed fund-raising activities for Camp Make-A-Dream and the sponsorship of a collision repair industry trade fair in Kansas City.
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Dan Young, Senior Vice President - Insurance
Dan Young is responsible for the management of the Corporate Insurance Department, where he oversees national and regional insurance program initiatives, claims management and data analysis. Prior to joining CARSTAR in 2003, he spent 20 years with Allstate in claims management and risk management. He received his CPCU in 2002, is a CIC member, served on the inaugural State Farm Advisory Counsel and currently participates in the Allstate Group Advisory Counsel. Mr. Young has a Bachelor’s Degree in Administration from the University of Nebraska.
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John Shannon, Assistant Vice President, Controller
John Shannon is responsible for leading and managing the overall corporate finance and accounting processes, franchise administration and information technology functions for CARSTAR, in addition to reviewing existing procedures and implementing process improvements where needed.
Mr. Shannon came to CARSTAR with more than 20 years of senior level accounting and finance experience. His most recent position was as Controller for Sony Electronics, Inc. Prior to that, he has served as President and Chief Financial Officer for Calido Chile Traders Systems, Inc., a local food products company; Chief Financial Officer for Central Detroit Diesel Allison, a distributor of engines and transmissions; and Corporate Accounting Manager for Gilbert / Robinson, Inc., a national restaurant franchising company.
He is a Certified Public Accountant and was certified as a Six Sigma Greenbelt in 2000.
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Stacy Bartnik, Assistant Vice President, and Director of Field Services
Stacy Bartnik provides leadership to the Regional Service Managers and their respective franchisee regions. Her roles include developing and maintaining the RSM staff, tracking and reporting service results and promoting the value proposition of the CARSTAR system, products and services. She also assists in identifying further franchisee development opportunities.
Ms. Bartnik has worked in many segments of the Collision Industry, including Shop Estimator, General Manager, Insurance Adjuster, Trainer and Consultant. She is a recognized industry figure, often appearing at NACE as a speaker and presenter; as a contributing editor to ABRN; and was honored in 2004 by Akzo Nobel as one of the Most Influential Woman in the Collision Industry.
Ms. Bartnik is the current Chair of the Collision Industry Conference, CIC, a forum for discussion of issues affecting the various segments involved in the collision repair industry. She is also involved in several industry associations, serves on the executive board of the Society of Collision Repairs Specialist, SCRS and is the past Vice-President of the National Auto Body Council.
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Bill D. Garoutte, Assistant Vice President Marketing
Prior to joining CARSTAR, Bill Garoutte founded Elite Dent Alliance (EDA), A Global Hail Catastrophe Company which acts as an exclusive Paintless Dent Repair service provider to the collision industry. The EDA business model is unique in that it focuses on the relationship with the repair facility, rather than insurance providers or as a retail presence competing with the repair facility for their customer.
Before founding EDA, Mr. Garoutte spent more than 25 years in the advertising/marketing communications industry in a management capacity. He ran an elite group of advertising and promotion agencies in various parts of the country, serving the marketing needs of many Fortune 100 clients. His titles have included President, COO and Executive Vice President, and his leadership helped one company earn recognition as one of the top three promotion agencies in the country based on effective marketing programs.
Mr. Garoutte spent time on the National Committee for Promotion Marketing within the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), the leading advertising association in the world. He served on the Executive Committee of the fifth largest advertising agency in the United States. And he served as State and Regional President of the Missouri Association of Personnel Services (MAPS), as well as being a member of the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS).
Mr. Garoutte is active on the local level, having served on the Board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, President of the Home & School Board at his children’s Catholic Schools, chairman of community fund raising committees and various charities focused on children.
He is currently serving his second term as Chairman of the Missouri/Kansas Chapter of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS-MOKAN), Co-Chair of the Marketing Committee and co-creator of the Repairer Advisory Panel for Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA). He has been elected to the National Board of Directors of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) and Chairs their Marketing Committee. He was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the National Auto Body Council (NABC) and Chairs their Marketing Committee, while serving on the Ethics Committee of Collision Industry Conference (CIC).
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Ernie Laky, Vice President, Purchasing
Ernie Laky has been with CARSTAR since 1998, bringing 20 years of experience in negotiating, materials planning/procurement and product management. His responsibilities include negotiating agreements and managing vendor relationships with all of CARSTAR's national programs. Prior to joining CARSTAR, Mr. Laky worked with the Service Line Division of Standard Motor Products, Inc., an automotive aftermarket parts manufacturer.
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Jo Pierce, Assistant Vice President –and Director of Corporate Development
Jo Pierce is responsible for providing Administrative coordination across departmental lines within the company. Her primary focus is on improving the relevance, effectiveness and support for CARSTAR core business functions.
Prior to joining CARSTAR in 2004, Ms. Pierce worked with a variety of companies, utilizing her 20-year background in sales and relationship management throughout business development, operations, strategic planning and training. Her diverse experience spans the petroleum, newspaper and healthcare industries, including a twelve-year stretch with Conoco, Inc. She received both her undergraduate and MBA degrees in Marketing and Logistics from Michigan State University.
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Greg Dehnke, Senior Sales Executive
Greg Dehnke joined the CARSTAR family in 2008, bringing 17 years of automotive industry experience and a strong record of sales team development, leadership and key account management. He is responsible for all franchise development with CARSTAR and will direct the inside and outside field sales operations.
Prior to joining CARSTAR, Mr. Dehnke was the Director of National Accounts with FinishMaster, Inc., and was in charge of growing the company’s national and strategic account business. He has also held key positions at Texas Instruments Semiconductor as an Automotive Strategic Account Manager, W.W. Grainger, Inc. as Vice President of National Accounts, and at SupplyForce.com. as Vice President of Sales.
A graduate of Purdue University, Mr. Dehnke holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering.
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Margaret Ray, Assistant Vice President, Integration and
Financial Services
Margaret Ray's entire professional career has been devoted to the collision repair industry. In the years since she first entered the collision industry as a paint jobber in 1962, she has been an outstanding example of the strong presence women have become in the automotive collision field. As computerization and financial awareness became key business components for successful shops, Ms. Ray found her forte.
From 1989 to 1994, Ms. Ray served as Director of Field Operations for CCC. Since 1994, she has been the Director of Operations Accounting for CARSTAR Franchise Systems, Inc. In October of 2003, Ms. Ray became Assistant Vice President, Operations Accounting.
Ms. Ray is recognized throughout the industry for her development and effective use of systems, her expertise in office efficiencies and her focus on customer care. One key accomplishment is her development of an office matrix for the industry, showing appropriate staffing levels according to store volume.
Throughout her career, Ms. Ray has consulted with hundreds of collision repair facility owners. In addition, she has written articles for industry publications and presented programs for groups, including Ford Motor Company corporate employees and the CARSTAR annual conference. Ms. Ray received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Devotion to the Customer from CCC, and was the first recipient of the Spirit of CARSTAR Award for outstanding employee of the year.
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