National Speed, a high performance automotive center located off Gordon Road, has made changes to the company’s leadership with sights set on expansion this year.

Ryal Tayloe has been named president and CEO of National Speed. He formerly worked as vice president of credit unions with nCino and has experience in consulting with private equity firms, company officials said Tuesday.
 
Tayloe took on the new role with the company in April, while former president and CEO Jordan Watson has stepped aside to take a new title and role as founder and chief customer officer.

“My new role … is being the voice for the customer at the table. My work begins and ends with the customer,” Watson said. “And it’s my job to make sure that as we expand, that the thing that has made national speed so special to the local market place and national market place is maintained, and that is our customer experience.”

Watson said when he founded the company in 2012, he had envisioned future growth.

“The vision of the company has always been to find the perfect performing experience and bring that to the nation,” Watson said.

Early this year, as the company approached expansion, Watson said he and the board of directors decided to split the leadership into “at least two, maybe three positions” to successfully grow the company while maintaining customer experience.

“Both components are critical to National Speed successfully scaling – strong operations and excellent customer experience – one without the other doesn't work,” Watson said.

Tayloe’s (below) new role will focus on expanding and scaling National Speed to obtain the company’s vision of becoming a "nationwide speed shop," he said.

“We’ve had double-digit growth in our business every year," Tayloe said. "We’re busier than we have ever been. We have a backlog of customer jobs that we are consistently trying to keep up with.”

To date, National Speed has worked with more than 5,000 customers in Wilmington, as well as other parts of North Carolina and neighboring states.

While the company has yet to release the location of its next expansion this year, Tayloe said National Speed is looking to add two to three additional markets by 2018. Tayloe also said the company also seeks to grow its current employment base of 10, to 25 people by the end of the year.

Plans are for its base to remain in Wilmington. Currently, the company has its corporate headquarters at 21 N. Front. St. in downtown Wilmington.