A Blue-Blood Among Collision Repair Industry Leaders

By: ABRA Auto Body & Glass | 20 Shares 362 Reads

March 01, 2024 // Franchising.com // CHARLOTTE, NC - As the Abra family of collision repair facilities celebrates their 40th anniversary, Wayne Kelly has completed a full-circle lap to return to the network where he began his career as a technician.

Kelly is now the VP of operations for Abra, a member of the Driven Brands family, guiding the franchise network as it prepares for its next 40 years delivering the highest-quality collision repair and friendly, compassionate customer service. He spent the last few years overseeing operations in the CARSTAR network, a sister brand to Abra, but it is his return to Abra and his longtime franchise family that is his crowning achievement.

“I was there for the very beginning, and to see where Abra is today is incredible,” said Kelly. “It is truly a family of local owners and I’ve had relationships with them for four decades. Now, we see their sons and daughters leading the family businesses and continuing the generations of trusted collision repair.”

When Kelly started out as a technician at a young age, in Minnesota, Abra was a fledgling brand. As it grew - and began franchising in 1987 - Kelly grew with them, running locations, managing operations and recruiting new franchise owners. A member of the original Abra family, he took great pride seeing Abra evolve into a powerful brand in the collision repair industry.

When Abra was acquired by Driven Brands in 2019, Kelly continued to provide his experience and leadership through the transition and then shifted to support other collision repair brands in the Driven Brands portfolio, primarily CARSTAR. When he returned to his Abra family in early 2023, he found a network that was evolving and ready to grow, and a family that welcomed him back because he was “one of them” and understood their business like none other.

SOURCE Abra

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