Kayla Heiar
Chief administrative officer | Moore Tires | Rock Falls, Ill. | Age: 30
What was your first job in the industry?
Balancing cash drawers and reconciling accounts payable statements in middle school.
What attracted you to the industry?
The family business and my aptitude for business myself. I have so much pride for how my parents grew a two-bay pull barn into a six-store operation that I couldn’t help but join the fun!
What is the biggest challenge you've faced in your career?
It’s a tossup between managing unknowns of COVID-19 during the spring of 2020 and navigating and planning a total point-of-sale and financial system software change in the summer of 2022.
Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
My parents, Jeff and Angie Moore. I grew up in the business they fearlessly started in 1991 and am honored to get to help continue their legacy.
What is your biggest accomplishment in the industry?
Leading our company in successfully navigating total software change after over 20 years on the same systems. I have heard many nightmare stories about software changes but with my planning and organization, along with many amazing partners and employees, we made it a smooth transition.
Tell us about your current job and responsibilities. How do you spend your workday?
I oversee the administrative function of our business. Most of my time is coordinating with our director-level team members and helping keep our administrative and operations departments all on the same page. We are in major growth and streamlining mode, so we spend a lot of time trying to find efficiencies in our processes right now.
What's been the biggest surprise of your current job?
How much fun I have in this industry! In a predominately male industry, it’s fun to prove that I as a woman can make a huge impact. (Even more than a male could if you ask me.)
Tell us about your family.
My parents Jeff and Angie Moore started Moore Tires in 1991. My only sibling, Kyle Moore, is a partner in the business and I look forward to a successful future of growth with him. We all bring very different things to the table and work well together. I’m very grateful for that. My husband Mitch is a landscape architect and the most supporting husband there is. We have two beautiful boys, Miles (2.5 years) and Jett (11 months).
If you could wake up tomorrow with one new skill, what would you choose?
Be a master tech! Though I know enough to be dangerous about automotive and have spent a lot of time in the front office directing traffic, I’ve spent most of my years in the industry behind the scenes. I hope to help grow our labor and mechanical business and would love to have quick and in-depth knowledge that only experienced techs have.
In a single word, how would your friends describe you?
Determined.
If you could switch jobs for a day, what job/who would you choose to swap with, and why?
Mark Cuban. For a lot of reasons including how to learn how to scale businesses, but mostly because I love Shark Tank and think it would be awesome to be a “shark” for a day.
What's the biggest issue facing the tire industry?
The ability to adapt to changing times — technology being one of the leading factors in this. We are hyper-focused on being three steps ahead of the rest of the industry and it’s crucial in an ever-changing world.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
For much of my childhood I thought I wanted to be a doctor. I actually went to the University of Illinois for biochemistry. I quickly learned that business was much more suited for me and I couldn’t be happier with my decision!
What goal did you set for yourself this year? Are you on track to reach it?
Our business has doubled in the last four years. This year my goal was to hire an HR director and controller to help us continue to grow and develop our culture. It has been a big focus to streamline our departments for highest efficiency. We hired an excellent HR director this past spring and are currently in the process of onboarding a third-party company to help us with further oversight into our financials.
What do you expect to be doing 20 years from now?
Continuing to carry on my parents’ legacy by making Moore Tires one of the top independent tire dealers in the country!
