Sean Buckley is CEO of Ultra Tune and was recently interviewed by the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association where he discusses his early career, the growth of Ultra Tune and also the importance of his family.

1. which already services more than 1500 customers
daily. This provides immediate access to all facets
of individual customer’s data and demographics,
as it pertains to a vehicle’s servicing history. Our
goal is to make the customer’s experience as
personalised as possible.”
Sean says being denied access to vehicle
manufacturer repair and servicing data has been
Ultra Tune’s greatest threat, but he is optimistic
about the future following the success of the
AAAA’s Right To Repair campaign.
“Since I’ve been involved in the industry, the
dealerships have always enjoyed an unfair
advantage and over the last decade or so that has
been in relation to quarantining critical diagnostic
repair data,” Sean said.
“That is going to change with the ACCC findings
and ultimately changes to government legislation,
meaning the dealers will no longer be able to
fraudulently drive customers back to dealerships
and price gouge due to a lack of competition
bought about by an unfair playing field.
“There’s change in the wind and we’re gearing up
to ensure we hit the ground running once the data
flows freely.”
The importance of that victory cannot be
understated, nor can the role of AAAA in
supporting the interests of its members against
the unfair business of large multi-national
companies, says Sean.
“We believe it is important to have a central,
independent and objective representative
organisation that can speak on behalf of our
industry. The AAAA provides that touch point,”
Sean said.
With a successful business career spanning more
than three decades, Sean has clearly made plenty
of good business decisions, though the one he
considers his finest may surprise you.
“I bought a (race) horse, Miss Andretti, back in
2006 and everyone told me it was a mistake. I
believed otherwise and she went on to become
the number one sprinting horse in the world in
2007. I still own her and am breeding from her
and she still brings me a lot of pleasure,” he
said.
The 2007 Australian Champion Racehorse of the
Year, Miss Andretti, won five Australian Group 1
races and is the only thoroughbred in history to
simultaneously hold five track records in Australia
and England. The latter occurred on 30 May
2007 when she smashed the course record in the
King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Despite his business and sporting success, things
haven’t always gone Sean’s way.
“I made a couple of poor business decisions when
I was younger and consequently lost everything,”
he said.
“That was a really tough time in my life, but
looking back on it now, it helped make me the
person I am today by instilling persistence and
determination in me.
“It also made me value what I now have in my
life, and helped me keep things in perspective
and assist those who haven’t been as fortunate as
me.”
Away from work, Sean still enjoys horseracing, as
well as watching the AFL and boxing.
“I also take a keen interest in US politics,” he
added.
Family also plays an important role in his life.
“My brother (Clayton) and father have both passed
away and my mother lives on the Sunshine Coast,
where I visit her regularly,” Sean explained.
“I’m not married but I have three beautiful
daughters and I try to spend as much time as I
possibly can with them, despite my hectic work
schedule.”
For more on UltraTune, please visit www.ultratune.com.au
Throughout his tenure with the organisation, Sean
Buckley has focused on innovation and is the
impetus behind Ultra Tune’s controversial, but
highly successful, advertising campaigns.
Persistence and honesty (sometimes brutal
honesty), he says, are two of his key strengths.
Sean has come a long way since he embarked on
his first job stacking supermarket shelves. Now
the head of one of Australia’s most recognisable
brands, Buckley says his career progressed to
where it is today via a combination of savvy
business decisions, gut feel, luck, hard work,
taking counsel from some good people and being
prepared to take a chance or two along the way.
Raised in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne,
Victoria, he is the first-born son of Peter and
Gloria Buckley. He attended Mazenod College in
Mulgrave, where he completed his HSC before
commencing a Bachelor of Business and
Marketing at Chisholm Institute.
“After graduating from university in 1984, I
secured the position of Market Research Manager
for Safeway/Woolworths,” Sean said.
“I worked on new store development, and new
product ranges in the frozen ice cream division
where I launched a number of high-end ice cream
brands for the company.
“In 1988 I moved to Hong Kong to work with
Thomas Cook. I travelled the world, setting up
Thomas Cook Travel offices globally and resided
for some period in India and Pakistan.”
Ten years after graduating from Chisholm
Institute, Sean returned to Australia and
commenced work with Ultra Tune. With a
background in business and marketing, and a
lifetime love of cars, the company was a perfect
fit for Sean, something he says is vital to career
advancement.
“You’ve got to love what you do. If you don’t, it
will never progress to where you want it to. This
can’t be under-estimated,” he said.
Formed in 1979, Ultra Tune expanded rapidly
and in 1983 was split into state organisations
(South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales
and Queensland) owned by local groups of
franchisees.
While the South Australian group remained
independent until 2017, the three eastern states
merged in 1988, and with expansion into Western
Australia, they formed Ultra Tune Systems
(Australia) Pty Ltd. In 1994 the business was
purchased by Ultra Tune Australia Pty Ltd and has
since grown to become one of Australia’s largest
automotive franchise networks, with more than
270 franchise centres nationally.
Ultra Tune specialises in the maintenance and
servicing of all makes and models of motor
vehicles within the Australian market place. The
business handles all vehicle servicing needs for
popular mass-produced cars to specialist
imported vehicles including, manufacturer’s
handbook servicing, tuning, air-conditioning
servicing and general repairs to both fleet and
private motorists.
Since launching Ultra Tyres in 2013, Ultra Tune
also supplies and fits high quality, affordable tyres
for most vehicle types.
The company’s roadside assistance program
provides motorists with peace of mind, knowing
if anything does happen while out on the road,
assistance is never far away.
Each of the company’s services is performed in a
structured series of operating procedures, which
ensures a faster and more cost-effective service
for all parties.
As any business coach will tell you, a service
provider must offer the market a Unique Selling
Proposition and Sean is very aware of Ultra Tune’s
competitive point of difference.
“At Ultra Tune we pride ourselves in being nimble
and working on the cutting edge,” Sean said.
“We invest heavily in our IT platforms and staff
training. These key differences set us aside from
our competition; we’re not scared of doing things
differently. We did it back in the early days with
our dyno-tuning and we continue the trend today
with our controversial television commercials.
We’re different, we take pride in being different
and we aspire to be different.
“Our initial priority is to our franchisees and
ultimately their customers. We are committed to
providing customer service efficiently and
competitively, operating with excellence,
communicating with integrity, protecting and
respecting our reputation, and staying at the
forefront of the ever-evolving automotive service
market.
“We are optimistic about the future and have set
ourselves several goals, including raising the
standard of service, enhancing consumer
awareness, further developing a customer
focused company ethos, increasing strategic
alliances with other automotive leaders and
remaining on the cutting edge of innovation. We
know the consumer has choices and it is
essential we strengthen our status and that of our
franchisees.
“We have invested heavily in an ever-evolving
franchisee and customer support IT platform,
TRADE TALK TRADE TALK
86 87
SEAN BUCKLEY: ULTRA TUNE’S
NATURAL BORN LEADER
Ultra Tune Executive Chairman, Sean Buckley, is a leader in the automotive aftermarket
servicing industry
Sean Buckley