The Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) announced that John Eck, head of Product, Accident Assistance, General Motors Global Strategy & Innovation Future Digital Products, has joined its board of directors.
“The foundation is thrilled to have John join our board of directors,” said Brandon Eckenrode, executive director of CREF. “His vast array of industry experience is certain to be a major asset, and I look forward to him joining in our efforts to support collision school programs and students.”
Eck boasts more than 30 years of experience in the automotive aftermarket industry, having held numerous field sales, marketing and management positions in several business segments in the U.S., Canada and South Africa for GM. For eight years, he served as the collision manager for GM Customer Care and Aftersales, a role in which he was responsible for managing parts strategies, developing and executing innovative programs, and deepening industry relationships. In April 2022, Eck joined the Global Innovation team as head of Product, Accident Assistance to improve the customer journey/ownership experience and develop new solutions that drive revenue and retention. Within GM, he developed the GM Collision Repair Network with much input from collision repairers.
Additionally, Eck was the GM product owner who “led a team to create and develop MyPriceLink (MPL), a dynamic pricing engine which runs on multiple algorithms that consider multiple variables of an estimate. The project took several years to build, configure and integrate into the three estimating platforms and over a dozen dealer DMS systems, but upon launch, it has provided new opportunities to connect and communicate to all stakeholders. MPL is more than just a pricing tool, it has unlocked numerous other opportunities.” He also considers himself a “lifelong car enthusiast and DIYer when it comes to vehicle repair and maintenance.”
Over the past decade, Eck has been deeply engaged in the collision industry with many stakeholders and is customer-focused, excelling at engaging with collision repair professionals, making contacts at their place of business, talking and meeting with techs and understanding their perspective as well as engaging with owners to understand their challenges.
In addition to serving two terms on the I-CAR board of directors’ strategic planning and finance committees, Eck held the position of president and chairman of the board for the OEM Roundtable from 2017-2020 and is an active participant on the CIC Governance Committee, two CIECA committees, SCRS, IBIS and OEC Advanced Repair Logic.
“I enjoy working on the bigger issues and finding solutions,” Eck said.
Eck is excited about joining CREF’s board because “I look forward to working alongside this group of industry colleagues to do what I can to support and help this industry solve this technician shortage crisis. I want to see a vibrant industry grow and for others to recognize the important work the collision repair industry provides to support safety.”
Industry members interested in getting involved and supporting CREF’s efforts to assist secondary and post-secondary collision repair training programs can click here to learn about the many ways to get involved. Monetary donations can be made online.
