This document outlines Guy Marsala's approach to leading a turnaround as the new CEO of EZ Lube after it declared bankruptcy. It discusses his focus on putting customers and employees first, improving culture, training, and operations. Under his leadership over 1.5 years, same store sales increased from declining 14% to growing 7%, company value doubled, and it was sold to a strategic buyer with 97% of employees retained. His lessons emphasize the importance of listening, communication, visibility, tough decisions, and maintaining the right positive attitude as a leader.
Guy Marsala leads turnaround of EZ Lube after bankruptcy
1. Guy Marsala
Orange County Service Academy Resource Network
October 16, 2013
This information is proprietary and strictly confidential. It is intended to be reviewed only by the party
receiving it and should not be made available to any other person or entity without the written
permission of Guy Marsala.
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Be true to my brand - values, integrity, respect
First impressions and a fast start are critical! 30-45 Days:
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“Deep Dive”
Report findings to employees
Jig saw puzzle exercise
Create the vision
3-4 key priorities
Build our plan
Take great care of the customer
Take great care of the employees
The right people…in the right jobs
Clear roles and accountabilities
Consistent, frequent communication & action
Relentless execution
“Walk the walk”
Take great care of the shareholders
This playbook works, regardless of industry!
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4. "I'm convinced that every major
problem we face as a country is a
leadership problem."
Jim Collins, Author
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9. “People will forget what you said…”
“People will forget what you did…”
“But people will never forget how you made
them feel!“
Tone at the top
Show people that I truly care about them!
I value them!
Look for ways to “walk the walk”!
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10. Background:
Founded in 1988
Investigative news stories, hidden cameras
Sued by state of CA
Bankruptcy 2008-2009
4 CEO‟s in 4 years
Post bankruptcy performance deteriorating
Goldman Sachs‟ mandate: sell in 2-3 years
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11. EZ Lube Aims to Get
Over Stumbles, Back to
Growth
By Kari Hamanaka Monday, August 22, 2011
The quick oil change company is looking to start
a new chapter under Chief Executive Guy
Marsala, who arrived after a 2008 bankruptcy
that left EZ Lube‟s corporate culture and
customer service programs broken.
“What we‟re stressing in this relaunch are two
things,” Marsala said, “We‟re going to take
great care of the customer, and we‟re going
to take great care of our employees.”
“We are very focused on the present and the
future and working hard to make sure that
every customer who visits our stores receives
friendly, professional, and quick service.”
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12. “To be the “In „N Out
Burger” of the quick
lube business”!
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13. “Working Hard to Make Car Care EZ”
By:
Getting Customers In & Out Fast
Service with a Friendly, Cheerful Attitude
Quality Work Done Right Every Time
Delivering Exceptional Value to Customers
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Improved training, development, & certification
Higher hiring standards
Higher execution standards: “Operation
Exceptional”
Monthly Store Manager Meetings
Health and welfare benefits for all employees
401k Plan
New Employee Handbook
Improved Incentive Plans
Conversion to non-exempt positions
Organizational attitude survey
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Consumer Research
Operation “Refresh”
“EZ Lube Listens”
Non Negotiable Imperatives
Weekly new employee orientation meetings
Partnership with the Bureau of Automotive Repair
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
“Race Team” Oil
EZrider Loyalty Program
Added Dedicated Customer Service Department
New Service Offerings
◦ Air Conditioning
◦ Chevron Techron
◦ Brake Fluid Exchange
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19. Result:
Same store sales from -14% to +7%
More than doubled the value of the
company on less than 2 years
Sold to a strategic buyer
97% of employees retained
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20. How Guy Marsala Led EZ
Lube‟s Rebound from
Bankruptcy
By Erik Cassano Wednesday, February 1, 2012
ACG Orange County
2011 “Company of the Year”
“Reinventing” category
When Guy Marsala took over as president
and CEO of Costa Mesa-based EZ Lube,
LLC in April 2010, the only real option was
to start climbing. “I could see right off the
bat that I had to find a way to place a
higher value on the customer and the
employee,” he says. “Morale needed a
boost, and we had a real sense of urgency
and some very aggressive goals to meet.”
Smart Business spoke with Marsala and
discovered some lessons he learned about
taking over a company in crisis.
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Start by listening
Maintain the dialogue
Remain visible
Make the tough calls
Have the right attitude
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Service academies/military: great foundation!
It‟s all about leadership!
Empowerment (with alignment and
accountability) vs. command and control
I never got the A+ results with the B- team
Tone at the top
Truly care for your people!
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Editor's Notes
My name is Guy Marsala and I approved this message!Wow! This is quite a crowd! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to be here today. I don’t know about you but I’m in a great mood this morning because the Yankees didn’t get eliminated last night! (They got rained out)!the Harvard Business School Association has made a conscious decision to reposition these breakfast meetings as leadership meetings and I’m excited to share with you some of the things I’ve learned over the years.You know, I’ve been studying and practicing leadership for years. I’ve often been thrust into leadership roles from my high school days as a quarterback on the football team through my years at West Point and as an officer in the Army, and throughout my 30 years in the business world. Along the way, I’ve seen a number of great leaders in action and I’ve had some great mentors.When a well known and very successful baseball manager was once asked what the key to his success was, he replied that it was “to keep the 5 players who absolutely couldn’t stand him away from the 4 others who hadn’t quite made up their mind yet”!A simpler definition, but one I like better is leadership is the process of figuring out who needs to sweep the floor, getting that person to do a great job at it and then having them get to a point where they’re absolutely convinced it was their idea in the first place”! So, the next time you’re struggling to explain to your kids what you do, you might try that description!
If you want a snap shot of where I’ve been and what I’ve done, here it is on 1 page!Look at this diverse group of organizationsAt first glance it doesn’t look like they have much in common?As we discuss them, you’re going to see that they are a lot more similar than you might think.For example, when I went to EZ Lube, many of the issues there were not that different from the issues at Corinthian Colleges. Grew very fast Size outstripped depth of management Compliance problems Didn’t value the customer etc.
People ask how I can go from soft drinks to scholastic products at Jostens, to entertainment products, to office products, to uniforms, to career education, to the quick lube business…and the answer is that my playbook is the same! If there really is a secret to the sauceBe true to my brand - values, integrity, respect30-45 Days:Create inspiration and excitement, rather than fear “Deep Dive” “What’s working”? “What’s not working”? If you were CEO…Ask and listen, don’t tell What would it mean to you if…? What would it look like? How would you feel? How might we do that?Report findings to employees This is what I think I heard. Did I miss anything?Create the vision Some examples coming up3-4 key prioritiesBuild our planWhat does this do? Builds trust, shows sincerity, concern for them, humilityTake great care of the customerTake great care of the employeesThe right people…in the right jobs Jim Collins Clear roles and accountabilities-written documentConsistent, frequent communication & action all hands meetings, monthly store manager meetingsRelentless execution“Walk the walk”Take great care of the shareholdersThis playbook works, regardless of industry!
We judge ourselves based on our intentionsOthers judge us based on our actionsWhat would it mean to you if…How would you feel if… when you opened your email in the morning you didn’t have 10 customer complaints.QualityBackordersInventoryShrinkage
I want to acknowledge one of our key partners in the job of turning around EZ LubeAnd that’s Rich Maire, our attorney from the firm of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. They were our partner from the very beginning when we were dealing with a whole host of issues from proactively building a relationship with the California Bureau of Automotive Repair, to dealing labor issues, converting our store managers from exempt to non-exempt status, right up to the end of negotiating and successfully concluding the sale.They agreed without hesitation to sponsor this breakfast this morning and Rich insisted on personally driving down early this morning to be here.Rich, I want to thank you and Manatt, Phelps and Phillips for supporting us.Would you care to say a few words?
Financial issuesCompliance issuesLegal issuesIn summary: the culture was wrong!Revolving door of CEO’sEven after emerging from bankruptcy, a series of missteps had the company heading in the wrong direction
Rich, comment on your perspective regarding your involvement with EZ Lube.