Phil Hanks spent more than 17 years in corporate positions associated with the recovery industry. Much of that time was with Manheim, but Hanks also held leadership positions with Primeritus Financial Services and MBSi.

Then in April 2013, Hanks established Connect 1 Recovery, a repossession operation based in Nashville, Tenn.

Acknowledging the dozen years has “been a blur,” Hanks has leveraged his big-company experience into a successful small business, resulting in being named Cherokee Media Group’s 2025 Repossession Agent of the Year, presented by Loss Prevention Services. Hanks will be honored during Used Car Week, which starts on Nov. 17 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas.

“Connect 1 is one of the largest LPR scanners in the country and has also maintained top notch performance in traditional repossessions, as well,” said David Cowlbeck, who is the chief executive officer and managing partner with Loss Prevention Services.

“The Connect 1 team operates with an ethic and bias toward compliance that makes the ease of use a key characteristic for this agency. Clear, timely communication on a consistent basis defines this team,” Cowlbeck continued.

Hanks is certainly team oriented, be it in running Connect 1 Recovery or being part of the coaching staff for his daughter’s volleyball team. And just like being focused on the next volleyball serve, Hanks wants Connect 1 Recovery to be focused on work for its clients.

Hanks shared more anecdotes about his professional journey earlier this fall. Here are the highlights of the conversation with Cherokee Media Group.

Nick Zulovich: What have been some of the most memorable events connected with your operation since establishing Connect 1 Recovery more than 12 years ago? What have been some of the most valuable lessons learned along the way?

Phil Hanks: Just getting started, setting up the company and actually beginning operations, was very exciting for us. From there, it was when we started getting our first clients, then our first awards. But I struggled to answer this question because it’s honestly been kind of a blur.

We’ve learned really quickly that success is a daily goal. It’s not something that like you get there and then you’re done. You have to do it again the next day and the next day. Being consistent for our customers is really the key to our success. And that’s, we quickly realized that consistency was what made us successful.

In the beginning, our first major goal of 1,000 repossessions in a month. And we got there and we thought, oh, we’re great now. And then we quickly realized that you’ve got do it again the next month and then the next month. Satisfying clients’ needs is a daily goal.

NZ: How did being a part of companies such as Manheim and Primeritus Financial Services earlier in your career prepare you for what you’re doing now?

PH: I learned quickly at Manheim how to treat people from the top to the bottom. Manheim was very intentional about how people are treated from the entry level all the way up to the senior executive and how that senior person communicates to all the way down to an entry level person.

I saw how to treat people in the right way, how to prepare them for success. And it’s not always the first choice or first path that they come into the company. They may need to switch roles to have success because it’s not the right fit. That’s what Manheim really taught me.

NZ: Not trying to put you in an awkward position, but what’s your assessment of the current industry landscape and how lenders, forwarders and repo agents can all work together better?

PH: I believe in open collaboration where all parties are free to communicate openly about their specific challenges with certain goals in mind. If the three can come together with specific goals and collaborate on how to achieve those goals together, I think all parties can benefit from that.

NZ: How exciting is it to be chosen as this year’s Repossession Agent of the Year?

PH: It’s a great feeling and I cannot stress how good this feels for our team because we work so hard. Sometimes you kind of wonder if anybody’s noticing or recognizing the hard work. And it feels good to get some recognition for the team as to how hard we work for our customers.