The Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) announced that its next CIECA webinar, “Collision Industry Challenges Driving the Need for Transparency Among Stakeholders,” is scheduled for Thursday, July 27 at 2 p.m. EST.
The one-hour webinar will feature representatives from three stakeholder groups. They include John Eck, head of product, accident assistance, global strategy and innovation at General Motors (GM), Michael Giarrizzo Jr., president and CEO of DCR Systems, and David Willett, chief underwriting officer and co-founder of SPARK Underwriters.
During the live broadcast, Eck, Giarrizzo and Willett will discuss some of the current industry challenges and the importance of all industry stakeholders working together.
Eck has over 30 years of automotive aftermarket experience with GM and has held numerous positions in several business segments in the U.S., Canada and South Africa. This includes collision manager for GM Customer Care and Aftersales, as well as the GM lead in the development of MyPriceLink. In April 2022, Eck joined the Global Innovation team as head of product and accident assistance. Eck has served on the I-CAR board of director’s Strategic Planning and Finance Committees. In addition, he was president and chairman of the board for the OEM Roundtable from 2017-2020 and is an active participant on the CIC Governance Committee and two CIECA committees, and also serves on the Collision Repair Education Foundation board of trustees.
Giarrizzo and his partners founded DCR Systems in 2004 with a vision to create a “fundamentally better” way to do auto body repair. Prior to DCR’s founding, Giarrizzo served as president of JSI Collision Centers and then COO of Sterling Collision Centers. DCR Systems delivers outsourced, turnkey, OEM-certified, dealer-based accident repair centers based on lean manufacturing principles. The company operates nine production cells across seven locations in multiple states on the East Coast. The DCR team has developed and implemented specialized tools, applications and technologies to streamline the repair and claims processes, including the DCR claims portal app that delivers a complete electronic story of the repair.
Willett’s company, SPARK Underwriters, is committed to the automotive repair industry. Prior to his current role, Willett was a founder of Universal Underwriters that insured close to 16,000 automotive businesses, including about 6,000 collision repairers. He is a board member of the Automotive Management Institute (AMi) and is involved in several industry committees, including CIC and CIECA. Over his career, Willett has shared his experience with shop owners at SEMA, CARS, World Tire Expo, NAPG, Vision, CollisionAdvice, CoyoteVision, GAAS and more, including the newly-formed HD Repair Forum. He holds several insurance designations, such as commercial property casualty underwriter (CPCU), cyber risk designation (CYB) and associate loss control management (ALCM).
All industry segments, including CIECA members and non-members, are invited to attend.
Attendees can earn Automotive Management Institute (AMi) credit toward an industry-recognized professional designation and specialty degree by attending the panel discussion.
To register for the CIECA Webinar, click here.
