Hamilton, Ontario — February 1, 2017 — CARSTAR North America has recently announced a number of changes to its corporate support team. The changes reflect the ongoing integration of CARSTAR’s Canadian and US operations. The integration began in December of 2015 when Driven Brands announced it had purchased CARSTAR Canada, just two months after the organization purchased CARSTAR’s US arm.
Michael Macaluso was serving as President of CARSTAR Canada at the time. One of the first moves in the integration was his appointment as President of the combined US organization.
“We’re extremely pleased with the integration within the Driven Brands family,” said Macaluso in a recent teleconference outlining the company’s outlook for 2017. “It’s at the point now where we don’t even talk about integration any more. Moving forward it’s business as usual as the overall integration platform was completed by the end of the summer. Now we’re one CARSTAR, driving forward with one plan, although we are still maintaining nuances for different markets.”
The integration of Canada and the US made CARSTAR North America the largest collision repair organization operating on the continent. The company currently operates over 500 stores.
The new appointments seem to showcase further integration between the company’s two arms, with a number of positions set up to administer various functions across North America.
Ryan Anderson has been promoted to National Director of Operations in Canada, with John Burns promoted into the same role for the US operation. Their focus is to implement the North American CARSTAR operational strategy through the leadership of their area managers of operations. Both will focus on delivering the performance and profitability goals of franchise and insurance partnerships.
Jennifer Benner has been promoted to Marketing Manager. Her focus will be on the daily management of both national and regional marketing initiatives for CARSTAR Canadian franchise partners and continuing the success of its Shine Month outreach program. Benner will report to Hannah Ross, who has been promoted to Director of Marketing for CARSTAR North America, overseeing all marketing efforts for the CARSTAR brand. Ross will lead the growth for the brand and its franchisees for both Canada and the United States.
Dean Fisher will assume the role of Chief Growth Officer for CARSTAR North America, working to help CARSTAR hit its target of 100 new stores for 2017. Leveraging his wealth of industry knowledge and experience, Fisher will be focused on building the CARSTAR franchise footprint in new markets across the US, as well as advancing significant development initiatives.
Melissa Miller has been promoted to Vice President of Operations for CARSTAR North America. In this role, Miller will oversee all of CARSTAR’s operations in both Canada and the US. A statement from CARSTAR says Miller’s promotion will ensure that the brand leverages its best practices, volume and quality at all of its locations.
Bethany Pugh has been promoted to Driven Brands Communications Supervisor, focusing on internal communications efforts for CARSTAR North America and the Driven Brands corporate office.
