INDIANAPOLIS -

XLerate Group, formerly known as American Auto Auction Group, announced the addition of two experienced and respected individuals in the remarketing industry to its corporate sales team. 

On Tuesday, the company promoted Kelly McAllister as director of business development, joining XLerate’s newest hire Julie Heichel, who will be director of sales operations

Both McAllister and Heichel will report to senior vice president of sales Pat Dudash.

McAllister is transferring to the XLerate corporate team from Texas Lone Star auction where he established himself as a thought leader and operator in both the online and traditional auction spaces.  He has managed, directed and grown new and existing private label auctions for the company.

McAllister’s experience also includes 10 years as the AutoNation accounts manager for Manheim and two years at Dealertrack Technologies.

“I have watched our industry approach auction sales as either online or in the lane,” McAllister said. “Online buyers and sellers are a growing part of our overall sales strategy, but they are not that different from the buyers and sellers we want in our physical lanes. Our auctions are learning how to blend and tailor their approach to both." 

Dudash shared perspective on what McAllister’s impact will be in his new role with XLerate, which is one of the sponsors again for this year’s National Remarketing Conference at Used Car Week.

“We see the opportunity in multi-platform sales from both dealer feeds and auction feeds to create another sales month in the calendar year,” Dudash said. “That opportunity represents a large volume of units, and we need a quality and experienced person to manage this business unit for us.

“Kelly has proven that he can both develop and successfully execute in — this emerging business model,” Dudash added.

Heichel comes to XLerate with a strong grounding in sales management, strategic business development, CRM and marketing within the automotive industry.  Notable is the decade she spent with ADESA developing dealer sales infrastructure and CRM for buyer and seller acquisition. 

Heichel worked closely with auctions and institutional/commercial customers to positively impact retention. Recently, she spent four years with Automotive Finance Corp. (AFC) as a sales director and was instrumental in creating and implementing multiple operational initiatives for its business development and sales programs.

“Pat Dudash and I are excited to now have Kelly McAllister as a full-time corporate resource for our XLerate group auctions and their general managers,” XLerate’s chief executive officer Cam Hitchcock said. “We look for Kelly’s impact to grow in his new role.”

“Pat and I are honored to have worked with Julie Heichel in the past.  Hitchcock continued. “We are aware of her significant skills, strong work ethic, powerful communication style and passionate commitment to her team.

“The XLerate Group auctions and our corporate staff are pleased to welcome Julie to the team,” Hitchcock went on to say.

XLerate is an established group of dealer-centric auctions with physical and satellite sale operations in California, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi, Wisconsin and Michigan.