2022 Honoree

How has your military experience influenced your career in the automotive industry?

I loved the structure and the purpose-driven culture of the Navy. Every sailor and Marine aboard a vessel has a duty to perform to keep the vessel running. The skills and values I learned in the Navy all translate into acquiring, servicing, marketing and selling cars is akin to running a ship. You need to set expectations, have standards, communicate clearly and concisely, delegate and execute, but always keep an eye toward the mission of creating a happy customer. The Navy helped mold my career choices and the companies I chose to work for. Just like the Navy, my current company, Dent Wizard, follows a set of core values — Integrity, Innovation, Customer Devotion and Excellence. These core values allow us to continually innovate and create a standardized system of repair processes, ensuring quality is met and our customers are satisfied.

What are some of the ways you have seen the industry support veterans?

The automotive industry is a great one for veterans. I’ve hired many into both leadership and technical roles during my time in the industry. Our industry is competitive, rewards pragmatism, has a tangible product and requires a lot of thinking at a technical level to get the job done. Veterans tend to find mechanical instruments and machines really stimulating, so this industry lends itself to that and many of the veterans I see in the industry really thrive. Dent Wizard is a great example of a company that is always interested in hiring military veterans for hands-on positions, as well as management. We currently have hundreds of veterans employed across the country with many of them having risen through the ranks to management after starting as technicians. One great example would be Dent Wizard’s CEO, Mike Black who served in the U.S. Air Force.

What is one piece of advice you have for veterans entering the industry?

Don’t sell yourself short or discount the skills you have that you may not see as immediately relevant — they matter and to the right audience, they’ll matter a lot. Less than 1% of the American population serves in the military, so very few understand our experience. If you are thinking about entering the industry and meet a military veteran already in it, I promise, that person will give you their honest opinion of what they love and find grueling about automotive. Even years after we wear a uniform, the ethos of looking out for each other still holds.