SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

On Monday, Edmunds.com revealed the roster of accomplished business leaders who will serve as keynote speakers and judges at the company’s third annual Hackomotive hackathon, which brings together innovators and entrepreneurs in the technology, automotive, retail and entertainment industries to compete for $35,000 in cash prizes as teams re-imagine the future of vehicle shopping.

The event takes place March 24 through March 26 at the site’s headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif.

Officials highlighted trends that will be addressed by both competitors and speakers include the connected car, automation, iBeacon technology, and converting big data into better retail experiences.

Edmunds has confirmed the following speakers to deliver “fireside chats” about their experiences tackling challenges in the automotive, tech and retail industries as part of the kick-off to the three-day event, including:

• Glenn Cameron, senior digital marketing manager, Samsung

• Beth Ann Kaminkow, global chief marketing officer, Westfield Group

• Sam LaMagna, director of advanced driving technologies, Intel

• Rachel Richards, vice president of retail strategy and chief marketing officer, Sonic Automotive

 And the judges who have agreed to mentor and evaluate this year’s participating teams are:

• Tammy Darvish, executive vice president of business development and government and community affairs for Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) 

• George Kang, vice president of OEM sales and dealer development for Edmunds.com

• Robert Lambert, founder of Silicon Beach LA, a media and events company that serves as the home of the LA tech & startup community

• Erick Laubach, senior vice president of creative and vertical network at Demand Media

• Tara-Nicholle Nelson, vice president of marketing for MyFitnessPal

• Russell Perkins, founder and managing director of Infocommerce Group 

• Mari Garcia Ramskill, vice president of We Design LA

“Many of this year’s judges and speakers have been entrepreneurs themselves and can deeply appreciate the innovative spirit encouraged at Hackomotive,” Edmunds chief executive officer Avi Steinlauf said. “Their collective expertise will no doubt serve as inspiration for all of the high-potential start-ups participating in this year’s event.”

A total of 19 pre-existing start-ups have been invited to compete for generous cash prizes and the opportunity to enter Edmunds.com’s Fastlane Accelerator program.

Last year’s Hackomotive winner, CarCode, became Edmunds.com’s first-ever acquisition after going through Fastlane.

More information on Hackomotive can be found at http://www.hackomotive.com/.