Staff & Board

U of A Staff

Brian Cruickshank, AAP
Director, University of the Aftermarket
989-430-7774

After completing two undergraduate degrees at Ohio State University, Brian Cruickshank was hired by Babcox Publications, where he served in various editorial roles, writing exclusively on the motor vehicle aftermarket. During his 15-year automotive journalism career, he covered nearly every facet of the aftermarket, including the service dealer, traditional distribution, manufacturing, retail, collision and performance markets. During his career, he has received numerous industry awards for his writing, including the Northwood University Automotive Education Award in 2006 and multiple awards from the Automotive Communications Council and the American Society of Business Press Editors. His most recent assignment was as editor-in-chief of Counterman magazine, a post he left in early 2008 when he was named director of the University of the Aftermarket. He earned his Automotive Aftermarket Professional certificate from the University of the Aftermarket in 2004.

Brian is very active in the industry, serving on several committees within the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association and the Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association. He is a past board member of the Automotive Training Managers Council and currently serves on the board of the Global Automotive Aftermarket Symposium Scholarship Committee.

Brian previously served in the United States Marine Corps and in 2011 will earn an MBA from Northwood University's Aftermarket Executive MBA program.

He and his wife Dr. Poornima Rao reside in downtown Philadelphia.

Susan Woodcock
Program Administrator
800-551-2882

Susan Woodcock has been a member of the Northwood University staff for 34 years and has been with the University of the Aftermarket since 1999. She manages the administration of all University of the Aftermarket programs, including the AAP/MAAP certificate program, custom programs and general University of the Aftermarket administration. Susan regularly attends industry events and University of the Aftermarket programs, including Leadership 2.0, the CARQUEST School of Business, custom programs and AAPEX. She is a native of Midland, Michigan.

Robert Gracey, MAAP
President, University of the Aftermarket Alumni Association

Bob is Senior Vice President of Sales, Affinia Under Vehicle Group, where he is responsible for retail, heavy duty and OES sales. Prior to joining Affinia, Bob served as National Sales Manager for Timken Corporation's Automotive and Heavy Duty Aftermarket divisions.

Bob's experience also includes work with Delta College Corporate Services in the reorganization of their Training and Development Department, and service with Gage Marketing as Director of Business Development. Fifteen years of Bob's career were spent with Federal-Mogul Corp. in a variety of sales, training and management roles.
A member of AAIA, Bob holds a B.S. from University of New Mexico and an M.A. from Adams State University, both degrees in Education. He also has attended Ohio State University's Executive Leadership program.  In addition, Bob holds the certificate of Master Automotive Aftermarket Professional (MAAP) from the University of the Aftermarket and has instructed several University of the Aftermarket classes.

Bob and his wife Suzanne live in Johnsburg, Illinois, and have two grown daughters, Amy and Amber.

Charles Udell, MAAP
Vice President, University of the Aftermarket Alumni Association

Chuck Udell is a Senior Partner at the Essential Action Design Group.  His primary areas of concentration are project management, strategy development, content development, learner research, distance learning and implementation of performance improvement initiatives, and implementation of training investment reduction initiatives.

Chuck is the former president of the University of the Aftermarket. During his 12 years as president he guided the centralized and decentralized business education efforts of the Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association.

He has directed multiple successful implementations utilizing modeling tools and worked on intricate distribution modeling problems. He received his MBA from the University of Rochester and a BS from the University of Virginia.  He received the Automotive Aftermarket Professional (AAP) certificate from AWDA University in 1994 and his Master Automotive Aftermarket Professional (MAAP) certificate in 2004 from the University of the Aftermarket.

Chuck has taught marketing, strategic management, financial management, and operations management for Webster University's MBA program for six years.  He received a faculty award for excellence in teaching in 1989.

He lives in the Kansas City, Missouri, area and continues to be an active participant in the automotive aftermarket, serving as Chairman of the Automotive Parts and Service Association (APSA) Education and Scholarship Committee, member of the APSA Board of Directors, the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) Education Committee, the AAIA Retail Segment, and the Global Symposium Scholarship Committee. 
He is a member of the Automotive Communications Council and the Women's Board of the Car Care Council.  He also serves on a reviewer panel for the American Society of Training & Development Best in Practice Awards.

Drew Shippy
Public Relations Counsel
330-688-3500

Drew Shippy is President of Pinnacle Communication Group, Inc., Akron, Ohio. He was a newspaper reporter before becoming the editor of a variety of business and consumer magazines in the 1980s. He also was founding editor and part owner of Avenues, a monthly lifestyle publication that reached more than 50,000 subscribers during the 1990s, and Great Lakes Sailor, a monthly enthusiast publication serving 15,000 readers in the U.S. and Canadian Midwest.

Since 1994, Shippy has specialized in marketing P.R. activities on behalf of clients such as Flexible Flyer Sled Co., Sherwin-Williams, National Inventor's Hall of Fame/Inventure Place, Akron Community Foundation, Federal-Mogul Corporation, Tenneco Inc., and Progressive Corporation.

Shippy is a graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University.

U of A Board

Kathleen Schmatz, MAAP
President & CEO
Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association

Robert McKenna
President & CEO
Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association

Rusty Bishop, AAP
Chairman
Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association

David Caracci
Executive Director
University of the Aftermarket Foundation

Dr. Tim Nash
VP, Graduate & Specialty Programs
Northwood University