ST. LOUIS — ABC Companies has restructured the roles and responsibilities of its management team.
Dane Cornell, ABC president and CEO, said the reorganization would “leverage the tenure, knowledge and deep bench strength of the company’s seasoned and respected executive management team.”
Cornell added that upholding ABC’s solid record of financial performance, building on the company’s diverse leadership platform and sustaining a thriving work environment for all employees were all key factors in shaping the restructuring plan.
The changes include:
- Roman Cornell has been promoted to chief commercial officer, focusing on all revenue‐generating aspects of the business with oversight of all sales, after‐sales and commercial operating functions. Hewill continue in his leadership position for the company’s Parts Group, which encompasses the ABC OEM and aftermarket brands as well as its transit parts group, Muncie‐
- Mike Laffan was promoted to a new role as senior vice president for the East Coast, with interim oversight for the West Coast market region as ABC seeks to fill the post. He will oversee all sales activities for existing accounts and business lines as he continues to develop new markets within the region.
- Brenda Borwege will assume the new role of senior vice president for Midwest and Southwest sales. She will oversee all sales activities and will lead, direct and drive sales efforts, profitability and growth throughout the Midwest and Southwest regions, serving existing accounts and business lines, as well as developing new customers and markets within the territory.
- Jon Savitz will continue to serve as senior vice president for service operations and will be responsible for oversight and supervision of day‐to‐day activities for ABC service divisions, including negotiations for contract maintenance services. He will plan and direct operations to improve productivity and efficiency and increase operating performance.
- Ashley Cornell will serve as vice president of marketing and will be responsible for the development and direction of all strategic marketing and communications efforts both internally and externally for all ABC business affiliates. She also will continue to serve as corporate commercial liaison, coordinating and assisting customer relations for key strategic accounts.
- Jay Oakman will continue in his role as vice president for commercial operations with responsibility for the development and management of large commercial accounts. He also continues to function as corporate liaison between ABC and Van Hool to facilitate communication and coordination of all activities stateside and abroad that support ABC commercial operations and customer relations, including technical support and training, warranty support and product development.
- John Gillis has been promoted to vice president for ABC parts, where he will facilitate and maintain day‐to‐day activities that impact the efficient flow of parts inventory and management throughout the entire ABC parts warehouse and supply chain system to ensure timely fulfillment of customer requests.
- Gregg Goedde will continue to serve as vice president of financial services, overseeing and managing ABC Companies motorcoach portfolio and working with customers to assess their financial and bus operating profile to determine financial needs and provide financial solutions tailored to their short- and long‐term operational goals.
ABC also announced that it has secured a long‐term location for development of a new parts and service facility in Newark, Calif. The planned new location is 15 minutes from ABC’s Redwood, Calif., operation and will offer customers a full‐service and parts hub that covers the fast‐growing metro areas between San Jose and San Francisco.
“Employer‐sponsored transportation is growing at a tremendous rate in the region,” Savitz said.
The Newark hub is designed to offer fleet service on a major scale, while the Redwood facility will continue to function as a strategic retail service operation. The Newark location will include a 30,000-square-foot facility with an additional two acres of parking.
Along with all repair, maintenance and collision services, the new location will also include vehicle wash bays, full paint and body booths and lifts bays, Savitz said. The facility also is designed to bring parts access closer to customers with plans to include a 6,000-square-foot dedicated parts warehouse and distribution center. ABC plans to occupy the facility by the end of the third quarter of 2017, he said.
