July CIECA Webinar: ‘Collision Industry Challenges Driving the Need for Transparency Among Stakeholders’

The Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) announced that its next CIECA Webinar is scheduled for Thursday, July 27 at 11 am PT/1 pm CT/2 pm ET: ‘Collision Industry Challenges Driving the Need for Transparency Among Stakeholders.’

The one-hour webinar will feature representatives from three stakeholder groups. They include John Eck, head of product, accident assistance, global strategy & innovation at General Motors (GM); Michael Giarrizzo Jr., president and chief executive officer (CEO) of DCR Systems, and David Willett, chief underwriting officer (CUO) 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 General Motors and has held numerous positions in several business segments in the U.S., Canada, and South Africa. This includes collision manager for General Motors 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, 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, two CIECA committees and serves on the CREF 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, Williett was a founder of the Universal Underwriters that insured close to 16,000 automotive businesses, including about 6,000 collision repairers. He is a board member for 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 HeavyDuty 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 the July 27 webinar.

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, visit: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/9163346830967360853?source=website.