BY SUSAN ROSE
Cover Art: Executive Coach Builders President David Bakare at the company’s headquarters in Springfield, Mo. Photography by Mike Williams.
As Executive Coach Builders (ECB) continues its 50th year of operation, President David Bakare is simultaneously ecstatic and humbled by the milestone.
“This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we’re totally excited about it,” says Bakare. “If I had to write a script, I couldn’t have written one any better considering my modest beginnings in this industry. To be able to reach this success level for me personally, during my leadership, is something that I get to look back on and know that God was smiling at me all the way through. It’s very humbling, to say the least.”
In an industry where coachbuilding—and vehicle trends—have changed drastically over the past five decades, Bakare is thankful for ECB’s devoted client base.
“I’m very grateful to God and our loyal customers because not very many companies make it to five years, let alone 10 or even 50. It’s a huge accomplishment for a company to be around for half a century continuously without interruption. That’s a big deal,” he says.
Established in 1976 by John Bumgarner, ECB was on the limousine manufacturing forefront, producing more than 400 limousines a year in its onsite facility. Under the leadership of Rahn Farris, who took over ownership in 1981, the operation expanded throughout the ‘80s. When later acquired by Merrill Lynch, ECB produced more than 1,000 limousines annually.
Bakare, who is the fifth and longest tenured owner, entered the picture in 1993 with a somewhat legendary backstory. A descendant of Nigerian royalty, he came to the United States to study at the University of Southern California. His career goal at the time was relatively simple: to become an innovative computer engineer. Soon though, Bakare’s education took a slightly different path. When his father tasked him with purchasing a limousine for the family, his research proved to be a learning experience that gave him an overview of the ins and outs of the industry. Intrigued by opportunities presented by luxury ground transportation, Bakare discovered that ECB was for sale. An offer was made and Bakare purchased the company.
Executive Coach Builders President David Bakare And for more than 30 years, Bakare has led the company—always with an eye toward innovation.
“We keep innovating, keep supporting our products with good customer service, and make sure we deliver great products,” says Bakare. “We produce reliable vehicles that people want. In that regard, we come up with great ideas that we offer to our customers. Sometimes they shoot down what we thought were great, but we’re not offended by it. We just go back to the drawing board and come up with something new. That’s why we are an industry leader when it comes to Sprinter and bus innovation. If you look at the most recent advancements that have come up in our industry in the last 10 to 15 years, many were spearheaded by ECB.”
Bakare credits the ability to adapt to—or even lead—market trends as a contributing factor in ECB’s success.
“When I came into this industry in 1993, all you needed to do was know how to build a limousine and that was it. There were very few changes for the next 20 years. Now, if you think about it, in the last 10 years or so, there have been three transitions: you’ve had limousines moving to Sprinters, Sprinters moving to cutaway buses, and then cutaways migrating to motorcoaches and Supercoaches. You have to be able to be agile enough with the times on a moment’s notice because this industry just keeps changing. The customers’ tastes keep evolving. And if you don’t adapt, you get left behind the curve,” he says.
CD President Chris Weiss (left) and Bakare share a champagne toast at the CD/NLA Vegas Show ECB’s current vehicle lineup reflects the shifting tastes of their customer base. Popular offerings include the Supercoach XL, their flagship bus that holds 57 passengers on a Freightliner chassis; their array of custom Sprinters, which are among the most recognized for their versatility and safety features; as well as the new 45-foot Megacoach, which has seating capacity for 41-51 passengers.
“Ultimately, we’re proud of the products that we put out. We’re proud of the Supercoach, which I feel kind of revolutionized group transportation. People try them and keep coming back for more. We’re also pleased with the Megacoach that we just launched,” says Bakare.
In fact, to celebrate ECB’s golden anniversary, Bakare is announcing a new vehicle that’s still in development.
“Another product that we are launching this year is the International chassis bus series. We’re going to switch from the Chevy to the International chassis for 35-passenger buses. And that’s a huge milestone because International is a major truck chassis manufacturer with more than 1,000 service centers across the country—and aftersales service is of major importance for us,” he says.
ECB buses and Sprinters at the company’s Springfield, Mo. headquarters Bakare is excited about launching that program in the next few months.
“Most of it is still on the drawing board and confidential, but it’s going to revolutionize what you consider a midsized bus ... let’s put it that way. It’s going to have more features and more functionality to it. Currently, we feel that the midsize bus is very one-dimensional. It can only do one job. So, we’re going to try to come up with a way where we can kind of make it a little bit more dynamic and nimble. It’ll be a vehicle that you can use for multiple purposes. That’s all I can say about it, so you’ll have to stay tuned. It’s going to be quite interesting,” he shares.
When discussing his company and its impact on the industry over the past 50 years, Bakare is quick to remind that he’s not a one-man operation and is thankful for his staff and teammates, present and past.
“I’m proud of my employees because I didn’t do this by myself. That is probably the most important part, because without them, none of this is possible. I cannot take all the credit for myself, you know. Most of our employees here have been with us for 20 years, sometimes more. I still have people here who were with the company when I bought it in 1993,” he says.
However, Bakare says he can’t give enough credit to the impact of Doug Donalson, who led the company’s production team, and sadly passed away in 2024.
“He mentored me and showed me how to develop a quality product. He always told me that just developing a product is easy, but building one that lasts a long time is the challenging part. That philosophy stuck with me. He was a pioneer of this industry; fortunately, his impact lives on. There’s no way I can tell the story of Executive Coach without talking about Doug,” says Bakare.
Bakare celebrates ECB’s 50th anniversary Another key presence cited by Bakare is ECB General Manager Rick Fugitt, whose background includes substantial manufacturing and sales knowledge.
“When you’re able to bring in experience from vehicle building and also the distributor/sales end of it, it is exactly the wealth of knowledge that ECB needed to excel,” he says.
For years, Bakare believed that ECB was missing a key ingredient necessary to propel it to the next level. All that changed when Fugitt joined the team during the pandemic.
“Having his input and guidance to help navigate the challenging COVID business climate was a perfectly timed blessing. The vast contribution he brought to improve our product line, customer service, and problem solving is immeasurable. His presence has allowed me to focus more on new product development while Fugitt dives in to improve the day-to-day operation. This new combination has led to the explosion of growth ECB has experienced in the last few years and I couldn’t have achieved it by myself,” says Bakare.
What you may not know about ECB is that it’s a family-run business, and Bakare recognizes the importance of his brother, Vice President of Operations James Bakare.
“James’ role is very quiet and behind the scenes, but he does a lot of the engineering and R&D,” says Bakare. “Without him, none of this is possible. And he’s been with the company now for more than 20 years—and that’s nothing to sneeze at. He’s able to just put his head down and develop products. We come up with ideas and call each other in the middle of the night. Having that consistent wingman for the last 20 years has been so impactful.”
As he looks forward to envisioning ECB’s next milestone, Bakare remains forward-thinking and optimistic. Whether it’s advances in technology like electric vehicles, or expanding the company’s California factory, the builder remains steadfast in his desire to revolutionize the industry.
“Keeping the company relevant and being in the forefront of innovation is probably one of the most challenging parts of my job as the leader of this company. That said, we have so much on our plate to look forward to. And this is just the beginning of the growth of Executive Coach Builders. We’re just getting started,” he says. [CD0626]
