Repairify Inc., a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries LLC has hired automotive training and development veteran Chris Chesney as its new vice president of training and organizational development to establish a comprehensive training initiative for customers, industry partners employees and the network of technicians throughout the global Repairify ecosystem.
“Chris Chesney is widely regarded as one of the greatest educators in the automotive industry. He has the experience of building and growing some of the most successful automotive training organizations in the automotive industry,” said Cris Hollingsworth, president of Repairify. “We are humbled and excited that Mr. Chesney has chosen to join the Repairify team and we can’t wait to see what he brings to our organization and customers.”
In a career spanning 50 years, Chesney has held nearly every primary role in the automotive service sector, including Master Technician, service adviser, shop owner and technical and management educator. He most recently spent nearly 22 years leading Advance Auto Parts’ Carquest Technical Institute (CTI), widely considered the industry’s most successful automotive technical training organization.
“This is the most exciting time in the automotive industry that I have seen in over 50 years. I’m excited to join the Repairify team, who share my long-term vision of helping technicians grow their knowledge and skills to better serve the motorist,” said Chesney. “The advancing technologies in today’s vehicles will require a commitment from every facet of our industry and Repairify is positioned to serve at a very high level.”
Chesney is a self-taught technician with a background in engineering who has a passion for preparing the industry for what’s next in automotive technology. He serves on several boards of directors, including the National Automotive Service Task Force, the Automotive Maintenance and Repair Association and Christian Brothers Automotive. He is a charter member of the TechForce Foundation Future Tech Success Cabinet, and an active member of the ASE Training Managers Council. He is a fixture on the automotive training and lecture circuit.
