Robby Cutchins was always interested in working in the automotive industry.
“My father started in the automotive business in 1982 in a small two-bay service station and eventually got in to the tire business in the late 1980s. Being around the business for all of the years growing up gave me the interest to pursue a career in the field as I got older,” Cutchins says.
Cutchins joined the tire industry full time in 1999 as a sales/service consultant. Over the years he worked his way up to general manager of the company’s Franklin, Va., location. In 2016, with the dealership’s expansion to three locations, Cutchins became CEO.
As CEO of Bobby’s Tire, Cutchins does a lot of work on the backside of day-to-day operations to make sure everything is flowing smoothly.
“I don’t think it is simply one experience in my career that gave me the confidence to succeed,” he shares. “I think it’s one of the scenarios where you only get out of something what you put in to it. I know the more responsibility I gained at an early age, the more I realized more people were counting on me, whether it was family at home or employees at work. So that is enough in itself to be eager and gain the confidence to be successful.”
For Cutchins, the best part of the industry is the constant change and learning opportunities. He enjoys constantly learning new things.
“I’m always doing anything I can to develop knowledge about things both inside of our industry and outside. Whether it be through education, reading books, reading articles, or simply talking to others, I do whatever I can to continuously gain knowledge,” he says.
Cutchins’ father has always been active in the Virginia Automotive Association (VAA) so when the group decided to form a young professionals advisory council, Cutchins got involved.
Fun Fact: Cutchins has coached high school basketball for the last 14 years.
