John Ascheman
Application Engineer | 3M

John has over two decades of experience in the automotive industry, He began his career in collision repair in the year 2000 and worked to hone his skills and expertise in the collision repair industry. In 2010 he transitioned to the insurance sector where he further expanded his knowledge by working in various roles in Physical damage claims, Direct Repair Programs, heavy duty truck, watercraft, leadership, and development and collaboration with digital platforms. Currently John is an Application Engineer at 3M where he utilizes his experience training and educating within 3M’s digital programs and Refinish operations.

Doug Orr
Manager, AdjustRite | PPG Industries

After earning his bachelor’s degree in business management at Hodges University, Doug learned the family business of commercial estimating. Co-developing the system back in the early 2000’s, he grew from a database developer to now managing the AdjustRite website and resources.
Doug resides in northern Florida with his wife and two sons. Outside of work, he enjoys golfing, fishing, and billiards.

Billy Eddy
Technical Claims Investigation Director | SPARK Underwriters

Billy has 40 years of experience in the Automotive Industry at the OE Manufacturer, Commercial Insurance, Automotive Dealership and Automotive College Instructor levels. 28 years of insurance claims experience with claim investigations involving vehicles, medium and heavy-duty truck, farm equipment and machinery, industrial equipment, marine, recreational products, motorcycle, HVAC, plumbing, residential electrical and solar power, commercial and residential structure fires, automotive and equipment fires, commercial and light automotive tires, product liability claims, crash data retrieval and accident reconstruction. Billy actively volunteers and participates with advisory boards for local High Schools and Colleges, NATEF Accreditation Committee, and is a SKILLS USA Judge at local, state, and national level events. Billy has the following designations: ASE Master Certified Technician, GM Certified Technician, American Honda Certified Master Technician, and 1st Place Winner of 2-National Trouble Shooting Contest with a reputable Automotive Manufacturer. Billy started his automotive career while enrolled as a fulltime student with his own business that rebuilt and repaired automatic transmissions. Billy earned an Associate Degree in Automotive Technology from Des Moines Area Community College. Billy is determined to being part of the solution, today’s technician’s shortage. He is the adjunct Professor, active/currently teaching Automotive Technologies at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park Kansas. Finding the time and commitment, to instruct, mentor and share your experience for tomorrow’s technician.

Jerry Gastineau
Senior Director, Collision Database Develpoment | Mitchell

With over three decades of experience, Jerry Gastineau has become a leading authority on auto body repair and damage appraisal. In his current role, he oversees a team of more than 60 subject matter experts responsible for authoring the comprehensive collision database relied upon daily by North America’s top insurers, repairers and independent appraisers. The database powers Mitchell’s flagship solutions and includes over 135,000 unique vehicle configurations, 5.4 million labor times, 13 million parts and 4.5 million part and assembly relationships for the most popular passenger, commercial and specialty vehicles on the road today.

Matt Messick
Director, EV Strategies | Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc.

Matt Mesick is the EV Strategies Director at Isuzu Commercial Truck of America creating resources, information, and solutions for the successful promotion, sales, and servicing of Isuzu’s zero emission products. With more than 25 years of experience in the automotive and truck industries on both the dealer and OEM side, Matt has been a part of successful teams and held key roles in service, parts, sales, and operations. His passion continues to be service oriented in finding proactive and innovative solutions to problems creating an improved foundation to build on.

Mark Claypool
Executive Director | Automotive Management Institute (AMI)
President, SOP MD, A Division of K-Quest Inc.

Mark Claypool has worked in the fields of online web presence, marketing, occupational mentoring, training, workforce development, nonprofit management and business education partnerships for over 40 years. As an Automotive Management Institute (AMI) accredited master automotive manager (AMAM) he has founded five companies, two nonprofits and one foundation in his career. He is currently the President and CEO of K-Quest Inc. (of which SOP MD is a division). Mark is also the Executive Director of the Automotive Management Institute. In 2018 he was named AMI’s 2018 Training Provider of the Year.

Chris White
President | KECO Body Repair Products

Chris White has dedicated his career to advancing repair methods in the collision industry. With over 25 years of experience in engineering and entrepreneurship, Chris is passionate about making Glue Pull Repair (GPR) a mainstream solution for collision repair—including heavy-duty vehicles. Under his leadership, KECO Body Repair Products focuses on equipping technicians with innovative systems and tools, backed by comprehensive training programs that empower shops to adopt non-invasive repair methods and improve efficiency.

Dean Hancock
SOP MD, A Division of K-Quest Inc.

Chris White has dedicated his career to advancing repair methods in the collision industry. With over 25 years of experience in engineering and entrepreneurship, Chris is passionate about making Glue Pull Repair (GPR) a mainstream solution for collision repair—including heavy-duty vehicles. Under his leadership, KECO Body Repair Products focuses on equipping technicians with innovative systems and tools, backed by comprehensive training programs that empower shops to adopt non-invasive repair methods and improve efficiency.

Tipu Chauhdary
Senior Vice-President, Business Development Manager, ByLine Bank

Tipu specializes in government guaranteed lending and small business finance, having financed deals for a wide array of industries including manufacturing, childcare, hospitality and petroleum among others. His projects have included franchise financing, acquisition of real estate and business assets, financing of equipment, providing working capital needs as well as business expansion funds. Prior to his current position at Byline, Tipu co-founded the commercial lending division for a boutique Chicago commercial brokerage firm, focusing on debt financing for his clients.

Carl Dumele
CEO | Aeromotive Services

Carl Dumele is the Founder and CEO of Aeromotive Services Inc. As the founder, with 40+ years of experience in electrical systems and wire harness assemblies, Carl played an integral role in creating and developing the startup of the automotive electrical field service market. As a result, there are over 100 companies providing this type of service. As CEO, in 2005 he set out to diversify the company’s portfolio and began building manufacturing platforms that now include the Automotive, Commercial; On road and off-road equipment, and the Av/Aerospace markets. Today the company has a balanced mix of each of these primary sectors. Over the course of 5 years, he successfully implemented quality control standards ISO9001-2015 and AS9100 Aerospace Standards throughout the organization. As result, today the company provides OEM Tier 1 manufacturers such as Ford, Navistar, Case IH and Case CE, Garmin, and others with quality “Build to Print” design, prototyping and manufacturing services. In 2010, Carl innovated the industry once again. Aeromotive set out to be the 1st in the Nation to offer a sustainability program for wire assemblies. Today, the “Remanufactured Wire Assembly Program” has successfully provided “Cradle to Grave” manufacturing to many of the customers they currently manufacture for on a Tier 1 level. This program has extended the life of equipment, retained valuable resources, and reduced environmental waste. Additionally, it allows for the customer to retain their equipment that may be reaching the end of production, end of service life, backordered material, or obsolescence. Today, Carl is positioning Aeromotive to stay ahead of the effect technological advances have on the architecture of the electrical system. For example, systems such as: ADAS, HVEV, communication and navigation, miniaturization of material and production tooling have led to a high impact/high probability of failure when it comes to service repairs and manufacturing operations.

John Walcher
President | Veritas Advisors

John Walcher is the President of Veritas Advisors, Inc., an M&A, capital raising and strategic advisory firm that works with automotive aftermarket companies to help them achieve their growth objectives through acquisitions and real estate developments, or representing them in their pursuit of the ultimate milestone: the sale of their businesses. Mr. Walcher brings a wealth of knowledge to every engagement. During his more than 20 years in M&A, he has been involved in numerous collision repair transactions, including many MSO deals on both the buy side and the sell side. He also has led multiple deals in other segments of the aftermarket, including automotive service, paint distribution, equipment manufacturing, software and professional services. His background is supplemented by dozens of deals in health care, engineering & construction, manufacturing and various service industries, as well as transactions in China, Brazil, England and Canada. He provides expert witness testimony and valuation opinions, speaks on M&A trends and strategies, and has advised several large private equity groups on consolidation strategies. Prior to starting Veritas Advisors in 2009, Mr. Walcher spent many years in corporate M&A, doing deals for two Fortune© 500 corporations, as well as spending seven years at Caliber Collision Centers, departing in 2007 as its Vice President of Corporate Development and Governmental Affairs (during which time the company was ranked #9 on the INC. 500© list of Fastest Growing Private Companies). Before attending graduate school, Mr. Walcher was a senior staff economist performing econometric analysis as a U.S. Department of Defense contractor. Mr. Walcher holds a Master of Science in Finance from the London Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Economics cum laude from the University of California.

Chris Bishop
Manager of Outside Parts Sales | ISUZU Commercial Truck of America

Driven by a deep passion for the commercial truck industry, Chris currently serves as the Manager of Outside Parts Sales at ISUZU Commercial Truck of America. In this role, he leads a dedicated team responsible for supporting Isuzu products from the moment they leave the dealership. The Aftersales team provides comprehensive support to customers, including fleets and repair shops, handling parts, technical inquiries, and general assistance. With over 30 years of experience in the field, Chris’s career has been both extensive and diverse. For the past 13 years, Chris has been with ISUZU, where he has held several roles including District Service and Parts Manager, LBM (Regional Service and Parts), Aftersales Development Manager, and currently Manager of Outside Parts Sales. Originally from Wasilla, AK, Chris is a lifelong enthusiast of hunting, fishing, and outdoor sports. Additionally, he is passionate about restoring early 4×4 trucks and SUVs, a hobby that’s both challenging and rewarding.