Assured Performance Network, a certified collision repair network, has appointed Rick Sparks as vice president of consumer awareness. Sparks will lead the Assured Performance consumer advocacy efforts and drive their online and social media presence.

As the newest addition to the Assured Performance team, Sparks will assume the responsibility of consumer awareness and eTail marketing. With 30 years of experience, he has worked in the sales, marketing and e-commerce divisions of several world-renown companies including Proctor and Gamble, Frito-Lay and Kraft Foods. He led the Kraft Foods e-sales efforts, working with a combination of pure play eTailers as well as most of Kraft’s largest brick and mortar retailers. As a pioneer during the transformative years, ecommerce has become one of the fastest growing channels for product sales, customer retention and consumer feedback. Most recently, Sparks led a startup effort with iShoutOut, an online consumer marketing service featuring smart apps and online interfaces.

“The collision repair industry is ripe for the effective use of various online and technology-driven consumer communications tools,” Sparks said. “We are looking forward to leveraging consumer-friendly technology to assist consumers in their collision repair and claims needs to help ensure they get a proper and safe repair.”

Sparks will head up major consumer-facing initiatives for Assured Performance Collision Care, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. The Assured Performance initiatives will include the introduction of various shop locators, smart phone apps, the national rollout of the Collision Care program and a massive media-driven consumer awareness campaign. Assured Performance will be aligning their efforts with the initiatives of several of the top OEMs that participate in their national body shop certification program, including Nissan, Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA), GM and others.

Scott Biggs, CEO of Assured Performance, added, “I have known Rick for 37 years and enjoyed working together in various capacities since meeting in college. It is not often that we are able to recruit into the industry someone with this kind of extensive background and career success. I am personally thrilled to be working with someone of Rick’s expertise on such an important mission.”