Print
Retail

National Speed Looks To Expand, Starting With Its Leadership

By Christina Haley O'Neal, posted Jun 6, 2017
Jordan Watson, of National Speed, has a new title of founder and chief customer officer with the company. (Contributed photo)
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.

Story On The Map

Ico insights

INSIGHTS

SPONSORS' CONTENT
Untitleddesign2

The Importance of Real Estate Appraisals

Steve Mitchell - Cape Fear REALTORS®
Untitleddesign5

The Role of Vulnerability in Leadership

John Monahan - Vistage
Mcwhorter 0005

The Coastal Corridor is Helping Wilmington Startups With Connected Devices for Life Sciences Industry

Heather McWhorter - UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Trending News

New Hotel Proposed Along Market Street In Ogden

Emma Dill - Mar 15, 2024

Businesses Reopen A Week After Grace Street Facade Collapse

Emma Dill - Mar 15, 2024

Tech Upskilling Cohort To Host First Wilmington Class

Audrey Elsberry - Mar 15, 2024

In The Current Issue

Expanding Tastes On Castle Street

As John Willse and Beth Guertin, owners of Wilmington Wine bottle shop and now the recently opened Creative Tastings restaurant on Castle St...


INFO JUNKIE: Jack Fleming

Jack Fleming, owner of Socialry Marketing & Scourz and emcee for 1 Million Cups Wilmington, shares his media and tech picks....


Topsail-area Realtors Share Updates

Pender County Realtors recently shared updates about the coastal market at an event hosted by the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Associa...

Book On Business

The 2024 WilmingtonBiz: Book on Business is an annual publication showcasing the Wilmington region as a center of business.

Order Your Copy Today!


Galleries

Videos

2023 Power Breakfast: Major Developments