Chris Is Your Life! A look back at Chris Cush’s 40-year remarketing career
What was the automotive industry like 40 years ago? One person who knows is Chris Cush. Up until his retirement this January he’d been working in remarketing since before many current staff were born and his unparalleled knowledge and experience made him the heart of the remarketing team.
Such an illustrious career warranted proper recognition, so – at long last, once COVID restrictions allowed – members of the team, together with Chris’ family, came together physically and virtually on 18 August to celebrate his achievements. Dubbed ‘The Cushy Show’, his farewell gathering was hosted by President of Cox Automotive International, Martin Forbes and featured tributes from many of his present and past colleagues, customers, and friends.
Chris Cush was former Director of Auctions and Transport at Manheim Auction Services. His distinguished period of service in the automotive industry spans 47 years, 40 of which were spent in remarketing, 19 with Manheim and Cox Automotive.
He bore witness to many of the significant influences and innovations to have shaped the remarketing sector since its conception.
Chris was known throughout his time in the industry as a tough man, a true Essex boy and a fan of Patrick Cox shoes and designer suits! His toughness would lead to his success in the unforgiving old days of the motor trade, where he would stand up to some of the industry’s infamous hard-nosed characters.
But Chris also has a softer side: he was known as an emotional and dedicated family man, which earnt him the affectionate nickname of ‘Cushy-Bear’ among friends and colleagues. Outside of work, Chris was and still is a sports lover, especially of football – both as a manager of youth teams and as an avid supporter of Tottenham Hotspur.
He left school aged 16 to work in the travel industry at Thomas Cook’s head office in Green Park, but when the company relocated to Peterborough, he followed in the family tradition and joined the Ford Motor Company in Dagenham. He started as a ‘Progress Chaser’ – a role notorious for needing a robust character – and quickly progressed through the ranks, eventually taking responsibility for Ford’s used car sales programme.
After more than a decade with Ford, Chris moved into the remarketing sector, again progressing swiftly through numerous roles before being promoted to run a major auction site.
In 2002, he moved to Manheim, leading the operations and development at various sites around the business including Bristol and Colchester, before becoming operations director for the entire Manheim auctions business. He was known as a people person and a great listener, and someone never afraid to get stuck in.
Over the years, Chris has been instrumental in some key innovations at Manheim in the UK. Most notably, he was part of transforming how car auctions were held, introducing four-lane auctions, something which had never been done outside of North America.
Chris ended his career on a high, earning himself a final promotion in 2020 to Director of Auctions and Transport at Manheim Auction Services and a place on the Cox Automotive Europe Board.
Everyone in the Cox Automotive family would like to thank Chris for his many years of dedicated service to the business and we wish him a long and happy retirement.
