Meet Checkered Flag VP and Director of Fixed Operations, Jim Huber

The Checkered Blog wants to introduce Checkered Flag’s new Vice President and Director of Fixed Operations, Jim Huber! Since the beginning of March, Jim has been in charge of all aspects of Checkered Flag’s service operation, including parts and body shop operations. Given that nearly half of Checkered Flag’s workforce of 700-plus are in fixed operations, it’s clearly a major responsibility. Jim took the helm following the retirement of long-time fixed operations chief Ray Carlile.

Jim isn’t new to Checkered Flag, though. He’s been with the company for 17 years. Jim came to Checkered Flag in 1991 and worked as the Service Director of Hyundai/Isuzu/Suzuki/Mitsubishi for about 4 years before he was promoted to Vice President of Service Operations. He’s also held positions as Vice President of the Checkered Flag Body Shop and as the head of the reconditioning center at what is now Driver’s World. Additionally, he served as Service Director at Checkered Flag Jaguar/Porsche/Audi/Saab/BMW, back when the brands were all in one location. When BMW moved into its own new digs, he took over the reins there as Service Director so, to put it mildly...Jim knows Checkered Flag inside and out!

Jim has spent his entire professional career in the retail automotive industry. He told us that he was drawn to Checkered Flag by the good reputation of the company and especially by its philosophy of putting customers and employees first. "It’s just the right way to do things," he said.

When asked about what he sees on the horizon, he explains that Checkered Flag really wants to focus on finding ways to make things even more convenient for customers. He mentioned the success of the extended hours Express Service lane at Checkered Flag Toyota. "We want to conduct a thorough review of our operations to see if there are more services that we can offer on an express basis, without appointment. We also want to look at our hours to make sure that they are fully meeting customer needs. Those are just a couple of things that we’d like to look at."

Jim and his wife Mary have been married 29 years. They moved here from Pittsburgh nearly three decades ago after they came to Virginia Beach on vacation and decided they liked it so much, they wanted to make it their home. In his spare time, Jim "tries to play" golf, and also bowls and shoots pool.

Congratulations and good luck, Jim!