# Karl Murphy

> Karl Murphy is the CEO and co-founder of Spiffy, the North Carolina mobile automotive services and technology company. A Georgetown graduate and former 82nd Airborne officer, he worked in enterprise technology sales before owning Carolina Auto Spa. Its mobile service experiment became the foundation for Spiffy in 2014; Murphy succeeded co-founder Scot Wingo as CEO in August 2024.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-founder at Spiffy
- **Organizations:** Spiffy, Carolina Auto Spa, United States Army, Parametric Technology, Abbott Labs, Geomagic, Plurimus
- **Education:** Georgetown University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Spiffy in 2014, growing out of the Carolina Auto Spa mobile operation., Received a 2019 Veterans of Influence award from Triangle Business Journal., As an Army Air Operations Officer, was responsible for airborne deployment of more than 3,000 soldiers and 200 vehicles on 18 hours’ notice.

## Career timeline

- **1990-1991** — Served in the 82nd Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
- **Before 2003** — Worked in enterprise software and technology sales, including Parametric Technology, Abbott Labs, Geomagic and Plurimus; precise sequence is not established.
- **2003** — Bought his first car wash in Cary, North Carolina.
- **2006** — Built a second car wash in Apex, North Carolina.
- **2011** — Started Carolina Auto Spa’s mobile service with one truck.
- **2012** — The mobile operation had three vehicles by year-end.
- **2014** — Co-founded Spiffy with Scot Wingo.
- **2019** — Received a Triangle Business Journal Veterans of Influence award.
- **2024-08-16** — Succeeded Scot Wingo as Spiffy CEO; Wingo remained a board member.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Spiffy in 2014, growing out of the Carolina Auto Spa mobile operation.
- Received a 2019 Veterans of Influence award from Triangle Business Journal.
- As an Army Air Operations Officer, was responsible for airborne deployment of more than 3,000 soldiers and 200 vehicles on 18 hours’ notice.
- Became Spiffy CEO in August 2024.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Published The Convenience Premium on Spiffy’s blog on June 11, examining why customers pay for services that remove tasks and travel.
- **2025-05** — Featured in Business North Carolina’s On The Ground video about Spiffy.
- **2024-08** — Appointed CEO of Spiffy, succeeding co-founder Scot Wingo.

## Links

- Website: https://www.getspiffy.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlmurphy

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/karl-murphy
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-16