By Mike Davey
Hamilton, Ontario — February 29, 2016 — The merger of CARSTAR’s Canadian and US branches has accelerated. CARSTAR Canada President Michael Macaluso will also head up CARSTAR US on a six-month trial basis.
According to a report on Repairer Driven News, an executive at Driven Brands expects that Macaluso will continue to lead the combined organization after that period. Driven Brands is the parent company of CARSTAR Canada and CARSTAR US.
“He’s a great leader, and I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to deliver on what we want him to do,” said Driven Brands Paint and Collision President Jose Costa, according to the report in Repairer Driven News. Driven Brands’ Paint and Collision vertical includes CARSTAR Canada, CARSTAR US, Maaco and Drive N Style.
Macaluso’s appointment comes after the resignation of CARSTAR US President Dan Young late last week. Driven Brands purchased CARSTAR Canada in December 2015, just two months after the company announced it had purchased CARSTAR’s US arm. For more on this, please see “Inside View: Michael Macaluso and Jose R. Costa on the CARSTAR Canada acquisition.”
According to the report on Repairer Driven News, Driven Brands planned on combining the two companies within 12 to 24 months after purchasing them. This accelerates the timetable somewhat.
“It was the plan all along,” said Costa, according to Repairer Driven News.
For more information on CARSTAR, please visit carstar.ca. More information on Driven Brands can be found at drivenbrands.com.
