Event focused on entrepreneurship, teamwork, sustainability and making a difference

From May 6-9; Fix Network hosted its Canada National Conference under the banner of “Ignite the Future”. The venue was the historic Banff Springs Hotel, which offers some of the most spectacular views in the Canadian Rockies. Fix Network strategic partner franchisees from across the country, along with corporate team members, vendors, insurers and other key stakeholders partook in what proved to be a highly informative and entertaining event.

Steve Leal, President, Fix Network World, kicked things off with a company and industry update. In the case of Fix Network, Leal stressed that key drivers in the company’s success have been entrepreneurial spirit that stems right from the heart of the network.

“By having a true entrepreneurial spirt at the heart of the network, Fix is in a unique position to quickly turn ideas into actions and provide its franchisees with the tools, training and operations support to get things done.”

A collection of entrepreneurs

“We are a collection of entrepreneurs,” stated Leal, emphasizing Fix Network’s simple vision: being “The most trusted partner during life’s most unexpected moments.” He noted that the core concept and mission about “Life Put Right,” applies to all brands within the network, including Fix Auto, ProColor, NOVUS Glass, Speedy Auto Service, Minute Muffler & Brake, and most recently the new Fix Nation Restoration division which specializes in home renovations and repairs.

By having a true entrepreneurial spirt at the heart of the network, Fix is in a unique position to quickly turn ideas into actions and provide its franchisees with the tools, training and operations support to get things done. “Entrepreneurs always have skin in the game,” said Leal, who himself began as a franchisee within the network. He also emphasized the need to always do the right thing, even though it is not always easy to do and at times, can be both challenging and painful.

Yet for those franchisees that understand the bigger picture, including the goals and integrity of the whole organization, those challenges can prove to be highly beneficial, as was witnessed by some of the amazing accomplishments and awards presented during the conference.

Leal noted that while the term “sustainability,” is currently a hot topic, it means different things to different people. From Fix Network’s perspective sustainability is defined into three distinctive categories:

• Business Health
• Social Responsibility
• Protecting the Environment

And for businesses to succeed into today’s fast-changing world, they need to doing all three of these things. Leal noted that giving back to the community is also key, and that organizations should do that as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

Focus on innovation

In today’s environment, technology continues to play an ever-increasing part of overall business strategy and operations, and Fix Network continues to focus on innovation, such as using Artificial Intelligence to enhance the claims process. By virtue of its global footprint, Fix Network is unique among Canada’s collision repair networks in that some markets aren’t shackled with legacy systems, meaning that new concepts and processes can be quickly implemented, and those practices can be adapted and utilized in more established markets like Canada.

Ultimately, business is about solving problems, and new technologies such as AI and robotics have the potential to provide shops with new avenues to speed up repairs and improve efficiency, including areas such as estimates and refinishing, which traditionally, are two areas of the repair process where bottlenecks are most likely to occur.

Leal also provided updates on Fix Network’s continued expansion, including new franchise agreements in Italy and New Zealand. In Italy, Fix has plans to have five locations up and running by the end of 2026 and its work with the TGR Haas Formula 1 team is leading to some extraordinary opportunities.

Leal noted that F1 teams really emphasize the investment in their people, and that’s reflected in the performance and precision that occupies the top-tier of global motorsport. Through its partnership with the TGR Haas Formula 1 team, and as a performance based network, Leal said that by focusing on the three P’s – people, performance, and precision, Fix, as Canada’s largest collision repair network (with over 630 locations and 3 state-of-the-art training facilities) has a truly unique opportunity to not only push forward and advance the network, but the entire collision repair industry in Canada. This includes leveraging its three training centres as well as partnerships with organizations like Skills Canada to build a strong, highly-skilled workforce that well help ensure a healthy and vibrant collision repair sector for years to come.

New partnership

Fix Network continues to solidify partnerships with leading stakeholders, and at the National Conference, Leal announced its newest partnership with Uniparts/Unipiece OEM to enhance the parts procurement process and delivery for its franchisees. Fix Network also continues to diversify its business, following its newest partnership to launch on the glass side, with NOVUS Crystal Glass in B.C.

On the sustainability front, Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) has become increasingly important and in late 2025, Fix Network announced the appointment of Mary de Guzman to head up the organization’s ESG efforts. At the National Conference in Banff, de Guzman talked about why this specific approach to sustainability was created and that increasingly, ESG conversations were happening, but there hadn’t been a clear pathway to connect the dots.

De Guzman noted that key to making ESG work in a business environment is by ensuring it is driven by practical and industry specific considerations, in other words from a collision repair perspective it will only prove effective if it works on the shop floor. She said that for collision centres, it’s no longer about how you fix the vehicle, but instead how you run your operations. “The work you do [as collision centres] is safety critical,” she explained, noting that the practices employed on the shop floor to repair vehicles also impact the environment. A key way in which ESG can be successfully implemented in the collision repair sector boils down to mindset, including a repair-first strategy such as repairing bumper covers and exterior plastic parts instead of replacing them. De Guzman stressed that increasingly, regulators are making sure that the industry is up to speed on compliance issues, and that having ESG embedded into every facet of business operations not only reduces waste and environment impact, but also leads to significant cost savings, new opportunities and better productivity.

Teamwork, inclusiveness and support

A key highlight of the conference was a fireside chat with Ayao Komatsu, Principal for the TGR Haas Formula 1 team which has established a strategic partnership with Fix Network. Komatsu talked about leadership, performance, and pressure, all of which are amplified at the pinnacle of motorsport. He noted that while TGR Haas F1 has a significantly lower headcount compared with big teams like Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz, getting those 260 individuals to maximize their potential can lead to great things. Essential to achieving that is teamwork, inclusiveness and support. Within that framework effective communication is also vital, so that when problems do show up and mistakes are made they can be quickly dealt with and learned from. In Formula 1, everything leads up to the race, with homework and readiness essential for achieving success on race day. At this level of competition, minute adjustments make a huge difference and decisions have to made in a split second. Komatsu explained that within that environment, it’s critical as a leader to focus on what is directly in front of you and that both your physical and mental state are linked. He also stressed the importance of strong relationships, both within the team and externally, and that the TGR Hass team has been very deliberate in selecting long-term partners like Fix Network, partners that are focused on performance, growth and success both on and off the racetrack.

Other sessions covered an economic update and outlook from Andrew Hencic, Economist with TD Group; an OEM repair update from OEConnection’s Leanne Jefferies; an insurer panel that was extremely insightful and well-received, plus inspiring sessions from Kanene Ayo Holder on leveraging AI and Canadian endurance athlete Sebastien Sasseville, who talked about his own experiences climbing Mount Everest; participating in the legendary Sahara race, as well as running and cycling across Canada and taking part in the gruelling Race Across America. Sasseville talked about the importance of building unstoppable teams in order to win, both in sport and in business.

Firebird for a cause

One of the most anticipated parts of the Fix Network National Conference was the Pontiac Firebird auction, that saw a classic pony car go under the hammer during a live event, with the proceeds going to Ronald McDonald HouseCharities. The Firebird project originated as an idea between Fix Network Senior Vice President of Strategic Business Development Daryll O’Keefe and Mike Hall of Rust Brothers. The objective was to acquire one of the project cars from Mike’s Field of Dreams sale and have it fully restored and upgraded, driven to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas via Route 66 and then ultimately auctioned off for charity.

The project came together in a remarkably short period of time, with numerous Fix Network vendor partners, training centre staff and individual shop personnel devoting over 1,000 hours of love and attention in bringing the old Firebird back to life. What resulted, was essentially a brand new car, one that could be driven anywhere while still embodying classic ’70s style. The bidding at the conference reached fever pitch, and by the end, expectations had far exceeded the projected sale price. The final proceeds helped push Fix Network’s overall contributions to RMHC to beyond $1 million! It was a fitting finale to what was a fantastic and truly memorable National Conference, taking place amid some of the greatest natural vistas in the world.

Recognizing Excellence

Besides great content, fund raising and networking, the 2026 Fix Network National Conference also recognized businesses and individuals within the Fix Network who continue to raise the bar in the collision repair, auto glass and mechanical service space. Receiving highly deserved recognition for their efforts over the past year were the following:

Presidents Award:

• Albert Rosanova, Fix Auto Edmonton North, Edmonton West, Northgate and Tamarack

Brand Ambassador Award:

• Ben Alleckna The Davis Group (Fix Auto Abbotsford, Airdrie, Chilliwack, Kelowna) B.C.,
• Azad Daya Procolor Etobicoke North, Guelph and Barrie, Ontario.
• Will and Jodi Brant, NOVUS Glass Regina, Sask.

Customer Experience Award:

• Fix Auto Sherwood Park
• NOVUS Glass North Shore
• ProColor Richmond Hill

Performance Award:

• Fix Auto Edmonton North, Alta.
• ProColor Lebourgneuf, Que.,
• Novus Halifax Bayers Lake, N.S.