John Van Alstyne, CEO and President of I-CAR in the United States, has announced his intention to retire at the end of 2025.
I-CAR said that since joining the organisation in December 2010, Van Alstyne was instrumental in shaping its growth, vision and success through his strategic direction and “unwavering focus on serving the industry with excellence at all levels”.
“He has led a remarkable expansion of I-CAR’s product and service offerings, all with the goal of better serving the industry,” said I-CAR. “He put I-CAR on the path to financial stability, reinvesting over $46 million to better support the industry, recently building a new technical centre in the Chicagoland area that has served as a catalyst for advanced training, research, and development.
[This reflects] today’s ongoing and emerging automotive technology complexities and spearheading a new comprehensive programme aimed at improving the industry-critical technician shortage.”
Over the past decade, Van Alstyne also led a significant growth in I-CAR Gold Class shops, nearly quadrupling the number in the United States to 9,295 at the end of 2023. He also successfully led I-CAR through the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning virtual course delivery and maintaining customer momentum through one of the most disruptive economic and social periods in recent history.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank John for his extraordinarily positive and lasting impact on I-CAR, its customers and its employees,” said Jim Guthrie, Chairman of the Board at I-CAR. “Under John’s leadership, I-CAR has gone through a period of unprecedented growth and transformation, and he has created a collaborative culture that has led to I-CAR receiving national Top Workplace designations for the past two years.
“These achievements, coupled with his focus on talent development and delivering relevant educational programming, technical information, and services to the industry, position I-CAR for continued success. We are grateful for John’s significant contributions and look forward to working with him through the upcoming CEO and President selection and transition process.”