CARMEL, Ind. -

ADESA has announced a new vice president of sales, bringing in one of its auctions’ general managers for the role.

Tapped for the position was John Combs, who previously was the GM at ADESA San Diego. The move was effective immediately.

In similar news announced today, Donlen named its new senior vice president of sales and marketing. Appointed to the role is Rachel Hands, who now heads up the overall sales and marketing strategy for the company and becomes part of its senior leadership team.

Before coming to Donlen, Hands was a consultant and advised companies in sales management and strategy. This included sales force effectiveness, organization and deployment.

Hands’ background also includes more than 20 years working for GE Capital in such leadership roles as: 

• President of GE Auto Financial Services
• Executive vice president of sales & commercial services for GE Rail Services
• Director of  international business development for GE Commercial Equipment Finance

“Rachel brings exceptional sales leadership to Donlen,” said Gary Rappeport, chief executive officer at Donlen. “Her knowledge of the leasing industry across an array of assets from vehicles to equipment will help shape our strategy as we move forward with the wide scope of mobility solutions that Donlen and Hertz provide. We’re very happy to welcome her to Donlen.”

Hands added: “I’m impressed with the depth of services and products Donlen offers — as well as with everyone I’ve met here. There’s nothing more exciting to a commercial leader than to be part of a company like Donlen that has great products, is well managed and positioned for dramatic growth."

More on ADESA VP

Sharing more about the ADESA appointment, officials noted that Combs’ duties in the new post include collaborating with ADESA’s executive sales directors to help support more than 80 commercial consignors. Combs reports to Jason Ferreri, ADESA’s senior vice president of commercial sales.

“John’s diverse skill set of auction operations, including sales and management, combined with his strong industry relationships will be a real asset to our team,” said Ferreri. “He has the unique ability to not only engage with customers, but to truly collaborate with them from start to finish.”

Before his role as GM at the San Diego auction, Combs was an executive sales director for ADESA. Outside of his time with ADESA, Combs’ experience in the remarketing business has included management roles for companies like Dealers Auction of Dallas, Sunstar Acceptance Corp. and Bank One Credit Co.

Taking on his post as ADESA San Diego’s GM is Ted Coates, who had been assistant general manager at ADESA Los Angeles. Coates has been with ADESA since 2003, when he became factory department manager at the L.A. auction.

His background includes nearly 20 years of experience.

“I’m excited to have someone with Ted’s wealth of auction experience lead our team at ADESA San Diego,” said Tim DeBerry, regional vice president, Western region. “His exceptional operational experience and established customer relationships make him an excellent fit as general manager.”