As a 6-year-old, Chris Abraham ('91) sold books and magazines from a wagon that he pulled down the neighborhood street.
"I always knew I wanted to run a business one day," he says. "I always had the entrepreneurial spirit."
Now the chief executive officer of Service King Collision Repair Centers, Abraham built a foundation in business at UNT, where he earned a bachelor's degree in marketing. He played football for the Mean Green, appeared as a stunt double in the football-themed flick Necessary Roughness and met his wife Tiffany Coogan ('93, ΚΌ02 M.Ed.), at UNT. After graduation, he worked for Airborne Express overnight mail before joining Service King, working his way up to CEO in 2012 and leading the company in a national expansion.
"I am a very collaborative business leader, and I believe in getting input from the team, from the boots on the ground, and making good decisions based on the right direction of the company," Abraham says. "I believe in setting strong, aggressive company organizational goals, allowing everybody to understand what their role is in achieving those goals and stepping back to allow them to execute the goals."
At UNT, he found lifelong inspiration from position coach Bob Finklea -- "always expecting greatness" from the team, he says -- and Linda Rollins, an academic advisor for athletics.
"Linda Rollins was a very big inspiration to all of us, keeping us focused on the big picture beyond sports and athletics -- keeping us focused on our education and on leading a successful life after graduation," Abraham says.
And he hopes other UNT students find the same success.
"I look forward to giving back to the university in as many ways as I can," he says.
