Crash Champions Hosts Annual Champions Summit in San Diego

The Summit featured a lineup of keynotes, guest industry speakers, an expo with more than 30 industry vendors, presentations and panel discussions, and networking opportunities.
Aug. 13, 2025
2 min read

Crash Champions hosted its annual Champions Summit from August 6-8 at the newly opened Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center in San Diego. The event drew more than 1,000 team members and several industry partners. 

The Summit featured three days of engaging content underscoring Crash Champions’ long-term strategic growth plan, professional development of the organization’s management and corporate support team, and hosted more than 70 frontline body technicians and service advisors.

“The Summit is about elevating our standard and investing in our leadership team to position the company for long-term success,” said Crash Champions Founder and CEO Matt Ebert. “This year, we introduced several new elements, including the Crash Champions vendor expo and a robust lineup of guest speakers from across the industry. I’m confident this experience will pay dividends as we continue to execute our strategic growth plan and position Crash Champions as the industry’s premier MSO for customers and business partners alike.” 

The 2025 Champions Summit kicked off with the Crash Champions Vendor Expo, featuring more than 30 automotive and collision repair vendors including LKQ, 3M, ATE Enterprise, and Sony-Honda Mobility’s AFEELA 1 concept, showcasing top products and technology influencing the industry. 

The event’s keynote lineup, made possible by keynote sponsor 3M, featured serial entrepreneur and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jesse Itzler, former NFL Pro Bowler Jon Dorenbos, president and founder of The Center for Retention Clint Pulver, and headliner Daymond John, founder and CEO of FUBU and Shark Tank star. 

Other prominent business leaders who presented throughout the Summit included Enterprise Mobility’s Vice President of Global Sales Yvette Burke. Director of Claims Performance at Mitchell International Ryan Mandell, Founder of BodyShop Booster Ryan Taylor, and Podium Co-Founder Dennis Steele.

The theme of the 2025 Champions Summit was “Own It,” a call to action for Crash Champions team members to take ownership in their role to Champion People and consistently deliver the industry’s premier collision repair experience. 

To support this overarching theme, the first day of the Summit focused on “Shifting Your Leadership Mindset;” the second day centered on “People at the Heart of the Process;” the final day was all about “Owning the Future.” The Champions Summit is one of several professional development experiences offered by Crash Champions in its pursuit to build a world-class team member experience, including the Montana Experience, GM Boot Camp, and tailored Dale Carnegie professional development courses for general managers and operations directors.

About the Author

FenderBender Staff Reporters

The FenderBender staff reporters have nearly four decades of combined journalism and collision repair experience.

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