ABRA Auto Body & Glass, a national damaged-vehicle repair company, announced today it has added four high-performing executives to key leadership roles to help it execute an aggressive national growth strategy.
All four have a diverse set of backgrounds and were chosen to continue the growth momentum ABRA has achieved in recent years. The company now has 337 locations in 24 states with more than 5,000 employees – up from just 113 locations in 2012.
ABRA’s President and CEO Duane Rouse said, “ABRA has had an incredible opportunity to dramatically expand its national footprint. Adding repair centers quickly while preserving superior quality and customer satisfaction is no easy feat. These incredible leaders have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to delivering exceptional results and are a perfect complement to our existing leadership team. On behalf of the entire ABRA organization and our amazing employees, I welcome and congratulate these proactive and passionate leaders on their new roles with our company.”
Barbara Ducat has been appointed to the newly created position of senior vice president of acquisition integrations. Ducat will lead teams to work across functional areas of ABRA to create and deploy plans to successfully integrate acquired business entities. She brings a diverse range of experience leading cross-functional teams and matrixed organizations in business transformation strategies driven by acquisition, divestiture, merger and joint venture activities across multiple industries. Ducat held key senior finance and operations leadership roles at Cargill, Tyco Plastics and Associated British Foods. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Iowa State University and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago, with majors in finance, strategy and entrepreneurial studies.
David Kuhl has been appointed to the newly created position of chief people officer. Kuhl will lead ABRA’s human resources function, including employee development and talent acquisition. Throughout his career, he has been a proactive leader seeking innovative solutions to critical business problems. He brings deep skills in employee recruitment, engagement and retention, including sourcing, hiring, onboarding, training and development, and succession management. Most recently Kuhl served as executive vice president and chief human resource officer for Ventyx Inc. and held senior leadership roles at First Data Corp. and UnitedHealth Group. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Minnesota Law School.
Tony Pellegrin will serve in the newly created position of executive vice president of strategy and corporate development. Pellegrin is responsible for leading the development and execution of ABRA’s overall corporate strategy, driving the strategic planning process and helping execute and evaluate acquisitions and the development of new repair centers. Pellegrin was most recently senior vice president of corporate development with Twin Cities-based Carlson. His prior roles include vice president of corporate development for SuperValu Inc., general counsel for a global business unit of Honeywell and practicing law within a Chicago-based private equity firm. Pellegrin earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota and holds a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Chris Pudenz has joined ABRA as executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). Pudenz recently received the distinguished 2015 CFO of the Year award in the large private equity category by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. His background includes experience in investment banking, public accounting at Price Waterhouse and multiple senior financial leadership roles at ConAgra Foods. Before joining ABRA, he was CFO for Milk Specialties Global which nearly doubled company revenue during his tenure. Pudenz earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Creighton University.
