By Jeff Sanford
Toronto, Ontario — July 24, 2018 — US-based Service King Collision Repair Centers this week announced that David Cush will be the new CEO. The appointment reflects the emerging realities of this growing industry. Companies in the collision repair sector have typically recruited executives from within. That the Service King board has gone outside and recruited an executive from the airline industry is telling.
The new CEO of Service King is David Cush, most recently the CEO of Virgin America. That company was part of the business empire built by the brash and colourful UK billionaire, Richard Branson. His recruitment is indicative of where the collision repair industry is headed.
Virgin America launched in 2007 in San Fransisco and quickly developed a reputation for providing best-of-class service along routes on the west coast of North America. The company won accolades for being the first U.S. airline to offer wi-fi service on flights. It went out of its way to please customers, offering leather seats, customized lighting, new in-flight amenities and a creatively designed safety video that became legendary in the industry.
For its efforts the company won many awards, including “Best Domestic Airline” from Travel and Leisure’s World’s Best Awards and Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards. The company also often ranked near the top of the Wall Street Journal’s 2015 Airline Scorecard.
The reputation for customer service allowed the company to stand out, and so no wonder Service King is turning to Cush to lead the company today.
Several years of rapid, ongoing consolidation has resulted in the emergence of several large, continental-sized organizations, Service King among them. In 2014 Service King acquired Kirmac Collision Services, expanding the chain beyond 200 stores. The company passed the 300-outlet mark in August 2016. There is a new 70,000 square foot center in Milpitas, California. A new corporate office located in Richardson, Texas in 2017. So the company is much larger than it was just a few years ago.
There are also rumours that the industry could see mega deal that would see one of the big consolidators buy another of the national banner chains, creating a massive near 1,000 store organization in the years ahead. Cush seems the kind of executive that could pilot such a company.
During his time at Virgin America Cush worked in finance, sales and marketing, customer service and operations. Prior to Virgin America, he served as senior vice president of global sales at American Airlines. There he gained significant operating experience as the vice president of American’s St. Louis hub, where he oversaw airport operations. In that role he managed 200 daily departures and 7,000 employees.
At Virgin America Cush turned the company into a profitable organization that was generating $2 billion-a-year from a fleet of 63 aircraft. The company won all the major quality awards during his tenure. It was also known for experimenting with new ideas. The company’s initial flight was carried out in conjunction with comedian Stephen Colbert (dubbed Air Colbert). Most recently Cush also oversaw the sale of Virgin America to Alaska Airlines in a major deal worth $2.6 billion that saw a bidding war break out, pushing the price of the deal on a per share basis to almost 50 percent higher than the price shares were trading on the day the deal was signed. That is, Cush can run complex organizations, he can oversee big deals—this is exactly the kind of CEO needed at a big banner chain here in 2018.
“The board and I are delighted that David will lead Service King into the next phase of the company’s growth,” said Ken Hicks, chairman of the board of Service King. “David’s experience in the complex operating environment of the airline industry, as well as his track record of building a strong brand in a rapid-growth environment, is just what Service King needs at this stage in its development. The board and I are grateful to Chris for his strong leadership as CEO and his 20 years of dedication at Service King.”
