Tresl might be involved in fintech with its auto finance support platform, but the company is quickly reinforcing its human resources.
The company recently said that it has on-boarded more than 130 new associates during the past 12 months. And Tresl isn’t finished with its workforce growth, mentioning in a news release that it plans to add at least another 34 associates by the end of the third quarter.
Tresl’s new associates are involved in a variety of departments, including IT, software engineering, finance, processing, titles, sales, administration, operations, marketing and more.
Tresl highlighted the experiences of one of those new additions. Amanda has been a finance advisor for the past year.
“Being recruited to work for Tresl was definitely a blessing, and it’s the best move I could have made for myself,” she said in the news release. “It is wonderful to work with and learn from people with these sorts of values. The goals and teachings of my university are very in-line with the goals of Tresl as a company. They genuinely care about the well-being of their employees and have great opportunities to allow a positive work-life balance.
“I’m looking forward to a bright future with Tresl. It’s a great time to be a part of this organization as it’s growing with leaps and bounds,” she added.
Tresl pointed out that Amanda’s experiences also are similar to other members of the company’s workforce since the first earned a score of 4.6 out 5 TrustScore with Trustpilot, a consumer and business review website.
“We are a company that truly cares about our customers and helping them find the financial solutions that best fit their unique needs — so ensuring that we onboard A+ talent aligned with our customer-centric mission and vision is key,” Tresl president and chief executive Christine Pierson, who was one of last year’s Women in Auto Finance honorees.
“Team is everything. We know recruiting and retaining a talented, high-performance team requires true dedication and a human-centered commitment to their happiness, well-being, development and professional fulfillment,” Pierson continued. “At Tresl we engage our associates with a positive and focused environment aimed at a clear strategic vision with unlimited opportunities to flourish and grow.”
A listing of Tresl’s open positions is available at https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Tresl/jobs.
This week, RouteOne announced two executive promotions; moves that are effective immediately.
The company founded nearly two decades ago to improve the F&I process for dealers and their customers said Jeff Belanger now is RouteOne’s chief revenue officer and Amanda George now is RouteOne’s chief product officer.
Belanger is one of the company’s longest-tenured employees, having dedicated more than 18 years to RouteOne in his previous roles in operations, project management, product development, and dealer and finance source business development. Prior to arriving at RouteOne, he held various industry roles.
According to a news release, Belanger will have responsibility for driving growth amongst the organization’s revenue streams by leveraging and aligning all business development departments. Some of Belanger’s notable leadership contributions include leading the industry’s adoption of eContracting among dealers and finance sources, while helping establish the industry’s largest network of integration partnerships.
Like Belanger, George also has been with RouteOne for more than 18 years in her previous roles in application development, product development, operations, and dealer and finance source business development. Before her time at RouteOne, she held various roles in the management consulting industry.
The company said George will have responsibility for leading the development of products and solutions that deliver value to both customers and the organization as part of her larger portfolio. Some of George’s notable leadership contributions include building out RouteOne’s eContracting platform, coordinating the product integration of RouteOne Menu Powered by MaximTrak upon its acquisition and leading RouteOne’s strategic alliance with Open Dealer Exchange.
“I am really pleased that RouteOne’s board has elevated these two highly deserving leaders,” RouteOne chief executive officer Justin Oesterle in the news release.
“Amanda and Jeff have been integral to RouteOne since close to our formation. They have helped establish RouteOne as one of premier F&I platforms in the industry. Jeff and Amanda are both outstanding and high integrity leaders who focus on creating value for our customers,” Oesterle went on to say.
The company mentioned both individuals have served on RouteOne’s executive committee for three years.
“This new promotion reflects the strategic guidance and leadership these individuals provide daily to developing diverse and high-performing teams dedicated to serving our customers,” RouteOne added.
Last week, NXCR formed a strategic alliance J.D. Power.
On Tuesday, the fintech and insurtech vehicle subscription platform named a new chief technology officer to leverage that relationship, as well as to be responsible for all platform technology and innovation, while overseeing the engineering and data teams.
Taking on this challenge is Martin Prescher, who previously held executive roles at PwC and AutoGravity.
Martin previously worked at PwC, leading its banking and automotive innovation and technology center, developing bespoke software solutions and go-to-market strategies for consumer finance, retail banking and automotive companies.
Prior to that position, Prescher was the chief technology officer at AutoGravity, an automotive finance marketplace for consumers, dealer partners and OEMs funded by Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and Volkswagen AG.
“At NXCR we’re extremely passionate about the consumer experience and building intelligent digital bridges between the customer and the car,” NXCR founder and chief executive officer Scott Painter said in a news release. “Martin is a superstar physicist, technologist and data scientist with a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence. And he has a background in building shopping solutions for auto finance companies, which makes him a unicorn in the industry and a perfect fit for what we are doing at NXCR.
“Martin’s leadership is going to be critical in building our modern subscription platform,” Painter added.
As mentioned, the addition of Martin to NXCR’s executive team arrived on the heels of the company forming its relationship with J.D. Power, which is bringing proprietary data solutions, vehicle valuations and consumer insights to support and strengthen NXCR’s vehicle subscription value proposition.
“I’m excited about the future of mobility that NXCR is advancing, moving away from single-vehicle transactions around an asset to mobility-as-a-service,” Prescher said in the news release. “Life is more dynamic than ever, and most consumers don’t want to go into long-term debt. They want access to mobility and transparency.
“NXCR is the next game-changer in our industry. I’m super excited to be a part of this revolution,” he went on to say.
Last week, Wells Fargo named a new head of its commercial auto group, shifting Cynthia Caine, a 30-year financial services veteran who most recently led the diversified industries group within distribution finance, into the position.
In her new role, Wells Fargo said Caine will lead a team of seasoned professionals, providing finance solutions for more than 4,500 customers nationwide. According to a news release, the current commercial auto leadership team will continue to lead their prospective markets, reporting to Caine.
“Cynthia is well-known for her strong client relationships and leadership in building diverse, high-performing teams,” said David Marks, head of Wells Fargo Commercial Capital.
“Having worked closely with Cynthia over the past five years, I am confident that the Commercial Auto team will continue its success under her leadership,” Marks continued in the news release.
Caine joined Wells Fargo in 2016 as part of the GE Capital acquisition. Most recently, she managed a specialized team that provides finance programs to manufacturers in the material handling, technology, industrial, and healthcare markets.
Throughout her career, Caine has held sales and leadership roles in both vendor and customer-direct business models.
Caine also previously served as the co-head of Wells Fargo Commercial Capital’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council.
“I’m excited to join such a well-established, customer-focused team with deep roots in the industry and a dedication to meeting the dealers’ financial needs,” Caine said. “We’re dedicated to providing the leading products and services to the markets that Wells Fargo has served for more than 75 years.”
On the same day that this year’s listing of Emerging 8 honorees was announced, a previous recipient of the accolade reinforced its executive team.
Digital retailing and financing service provider AutoFi announced the addition of two key hires on Monday as the company is experiencing significant growth.
Kerri Wise, who previously served as an executive at TrueCar, Edmunds and J.D. Power, joined AutoFi as vice president of marketing. And seasoned finance veteran Axel Oehlers now is part of the company as vice president of finance.
“I couldn’t be more excited to have Kerri and Axel join the team,” AutoFi chief executive officer Kevin Singerman said in a news release. “We’re poised for explosive growth this year: At our current rate, hundreds of thousands of customers representing $10 billion in vehicle sales will come through the AutoFi platform at our dealer customers, and our lender network is on track to originate over a billion dollars in vehicle financing through the platform.
“Kerri is one of the most sought-after and respected voices in the industry,” Singerman continued. “She will elevate our vision and brand and ensure we continue to be a thought leader for our customers. And Axel brings years of experience in both automotive SaaS and captive finance organizations. I am confident these two seasoned professionals will help position us for long-term success.”
Wise is a 22-year veteran in automotive with deep experience leading marketing, training, and analytics geared to dealer and OEM clients. A previous honoree among Women in Retail highlighted by Cherokee Media Group in 2019, she is a frequently sought-after thought leader in the automotive industry and a regular speaker at major industry conferences and events, including Used Car Week.
Recently inducted into San Jose’s East Side Union High School District’s Hall of Fame, Wise is also the co-founder and president of Women of Color Automotive Network (WOCAN), a non-profit organization that seeks to improve diversity and inclusion in the automotive industry.
“I have spent my entire career working to help the automotive industry harness the power of technology, data, and transparency to serve customers better and close more sales,” Wise said. “And that’s why I’m delighted to join the team at AutoFi.
“They’re helping dealerships across the country, and large enterprise clients use digital finance to dramatically improve customer satisfaction, sales, and profitability so that everyone wins,” she continued.
For the past 23 years, Oehlers has been in leading capacities in corporate finance and financial services with a track record of driving business development, process improvement and digital transformation. AutoFi highlighted that Oehlers’ wide range of experience spans from leading early-stage to established companies’ finance departments as president and chief financial officer, including mergers and acquisitions due diligence in a private equity owner exit.
In the automotive space, Oehlers was the initial CFO at automotiveMastermind.
As president of a captive financial services company for capital goods, Oehlers managed close to $1 billion in total portfolio volume and had full operational responsibility for its securitization program.
Oehlers also received accolades as part of being the Captive Finance Provider of the Year in the financial services division from Leasing Life.
Oehlers has been co-organizer and regularly participates in New York at the CFO Roundtable of German companies in the U.S. and is deputy speaker of The Economic Council New York Section.
“Dealerships that empower their customers to finance their vehicle wherever they like — be it in the showroom floor or on their living room couch — are the dealerships that will win more business and profits,” Oehlers said.
“AutoFi is leading the way in helping dealers and consumers to finance cars completely online from start to finish. And I couldn’t be more excited about the work we have in front of us,” he went on to say.
The company highlighted that more than 2,000 dealers use AutoFi’s digital retail solution to fuel more vehicle sales at significantly higher margins by moving showroom, sales and financing operations online.
Through the platform, consumers can quickly secure credit approval and receive multiple competing offers from a network of the largest auto finance companies in North America.
AutoFi can give consumers the flexibility to select the down payment, interest rate and payment terms that work best for them using an easy-to-use digital interface. Customers can receive cash offers for vehicle trade-ins through the platform. And they can choose any protection plans, services, and warranties they might want.
“The end of the process is not a paper printout with estimated payment terms; it’s a complete transaction with approved financing,” said AutoFi, which added that customers can schedule vehicle pick-ups or home delivery, too.
Market Scan Information Systems promoted one of its executives on Friday, as the enterprise solutions and data provider continues to expand its offerings to OEMs, finance companies and credit unions.
Promoted to be head of data partnerships is Jose Galvan, who has been with the company for more than 20 years and now will be responsible for the development and management of Market Scans’ data partnerships in the United States.
“Given his experience, industry knowledge and particular skillset, I am excited for Jose to take on the newly created position as head of data partnerships, for which he is an ideal fit,” Market Scan president and chief executive officer Rusty West said in a news release.
“Jose started out as a data analyst for us in 2000 but was promoted several times, culminating in the role of chief data officer. Appointing Jose to this position demonstrates our commitment to successfully expand our collaborations and partnerships with our core enterprise clients,” West continued.
During his tenure as chief data officer, Market Scan recapped that it developed a highly sophisticated data aggregation and ingestion system and launched complex rebate and incentive matrices for every OEM and their DMAs.
"I have had the great fortune to have been involved in all facets of developing and refining our data management. The database and enterprise solutions we have developed over the past 10 years are truly outstanding and enable our partners, among other things, to optimize their market position with laser-like precision,” Galvan said.
“I very much look forward to expanding our partnerships; the digital era and today's discerning consumers’ shopping habits and preferences warrant enterprise collaborations and solutions, unlike what we have seen in the past,” he continued.
Market Scan’s data and calculation technologies are widely accepted industry-wide as complete and reliable, supporting services and solutions across the entire industry ecosystem. The company’s client roster spans the gamut in the automotive industry from “single rooftop” retail stores to industry leaders, including partnerships with General Motors, Dealer Inspire, Roadster, Tekion and FRIKINtech, among others.
West emphasized that Market Scan — also the newest member of the Automotive Intelligence Council — now is looking to intensify its focus on providing superior support to OEMs and finance companies.
“As a company, we are entering a very exciting phase. The last year has demonstrated the importance of providing integrated solutions for all stakeholders in our industry,” West said.
“As we continue to expand our partnerships with OEMs, lenders and credit unions, we will be dedicating new and additional resources for our enterprise clients,” he went on to say. “We are committed to ensuring they receive fantastic and unparalleled support to benefit fully from our competencies and business analytics’ solutions.”
To learn more about Market Scan, visit www.marketscan.com.
MotoRefi announced a series of moves on Wednesday, including a new expanded headquarters as well as the addition of three senior executives to its management team.
The auto fintech startup that was an Emerging 8 honoree last year and secured $10 million funding to begin 2021 has signed a lease for a modern 22,000-square-foot space in downtown Washington, D.C. Previously based in Arlington, Va., MotoRefi said in a news release that the decision to relocate to a larger headquarters was due in part to the growth of its team.
And that team now includes:
— Dan Morrison as vice president of product
— Aaron Fagan as senior director of analytics
— Casey Clare Fraser as executive level chief of staff
Morrison comes from Arlington-based LiveSafe where he was a senior product director focused on shipping next generation preventative intelligence solutions, fueling four-fold revenue growth over a three-year span.
Following LiveSafe’s exit, Morrison served as a vice president in the acquiring company, driving LiveSafe’s continued product strategy and roadmap.
Fagan, formerly an analytics and strategy leader at Uber, advised company executives on topics ranging from capital allocation to multi-year growth strategies during his six-year tenure. Fagan joins the MotoRefi community along with notable Uber alumni including board member Rachel Holt, chief operating Eric Stradley and investor Billy Guernier.
Fraser will join MotoRefi as after previously holding a similar role at Washington, D.C.-based Optoro.
“We couldn’t be more excited to add these talented executives to our management team,” MotoRefi chief executive officer Kevin Bennett said in the news release.
“This investment in senior, high-caliber talent showcases our commitment to rapid growth and building a world-class, mission-driven fintech company,” Bennett continued. “Each of these individuals bring a unique, critically important skill set that will prepare MotoRefi for the next phase in our journey.”
With its new central D.C.-based office, MotoRefi added that it intends to continue hiring locally and plans to open the new office for its staff later this year.
After landing some credit resources just before the end of the year via Westlake Financial, NextCar Holding Co. (NXCR) reinforced its portfolio of human capital on Tuesday.
The fintech and insurtech vehicle subscription platform for dealers, automakers and third-party listing sites, announced seven key management appointments as part of its product and technology launch and acceleration phase.
NXCR founder and chief executive officer Scott Painter said, “Company building starts with being able to attract and retain the best talent.
“Given the capital intensity of vehicle subscriptions and the sheer potential of the automotive market at this time, we have taken the unique approach of recruiting and hiring a world-class public company-ready executive team right at the onset,” Painter continued in a news release.
“These senior leadership hires are about creating the IP and putting in place the systems that result in high quality, reliable and profitable revenue that will become the foundation for scaling subscriptions for our partners and clients,” he went on to say.
NXCR’s key leadership appointments include:
Jim Nguyen, president and chief operating officer
The company said Nguyen will oversee all operational aspects of NXCR, leading the development and implementation of systems and business processes to scale subscriptions profitability.
Nguyen was a co-founder of TrueCar in 2005 where he held multiple executive and leadership roles across the organization, including chief financial officer, executive vice president of corporate and business development and executive vice president of partner development and marketing.
In 2015, Nguyen was appointed president of ALG, which is now part of J.D. Power.
Prior to TrueCar, Nguyen held senior roles at enterprise software, internet, telecom, consulting and global automotive companies, including Deloitte & Touche and Toyota.
Kash Sheikh, chief financial officer:
The company said Kash is tasked with finance and accounting functions, securing the necessary upstream capital resources and the systems and processes to support the profitable growth of NXCR’s global subscriptions platform.
NXCR highlighted that Sheikh brings more than two decades of investment and governance experience. He has led a number of M&A transactions and has been involved in several initial public offerings.
Furthermore, Sheikh led two private family investment companies leading direct and indirect investments in tech, venture and private equity.
Earlier in his career, Sheikh led a group responsible for identifying efficiencies within Toyota’s U.S. business operations. He began his career as a CPA at Arthur Andersen.
Joseph Chang, chief revenue officer
In his role as CRO at NXCR, the company indicated Chang is predominantly responsible for controlling revenue quality, ensuring the reliability and predictability of subscription revenue as a payments platform.
Chang has eight years of private equity and 12 years of global investment banking experience, including serving as head of the Beijing office and head of China cross-border M&A at Houlihan Lokey.
NXCR mentioned his Wall Street tenure resulted in more than $25 billion in transactions across numerous industries in M&A, leveraged finance, and corporate finance.
Lucas Donat, chief marketing officer
The company is asking Donat to oversee NXCR’s go-to-market customer acquisition and retention strategies tethered to a performance-based model that delivers advertising dollars strictly in response to driving a cost of good.
Donat has spent his 20-year career building direct-to-consumer and ecommerce brands that rely on direct response and accountable advertising models. He has helped build well-known brands such as 1-800-Dentist, Hotwire, eHarmony, LegalZoom, Bolthouse Farms, and TrueCar, where he also was chief marketing officer.
Matthew Cacciola, chief design officer
NXCR wants Cacciola to build a “world class” user experience and interface that can translate complex back-end technology into simple, intuitive and beautiful front-end applications and user experiences.
Cacciola was previously co-founder and executive vice president of design and user experience at Fair.
Prior to that position, Cacciola spent seven years at TBWA \ Media Arts Lab as the design director for Apple, responsible for global launch campaigns for Apple’s marquee products including the iPhone, iPad and Apple Music . His portfolio of work includes design and creative projects for PepsiCo., Nissan, Harper Collins, Beats, Uber, Microsoft, Xbox, Conagra Foods and Bath & Body Works.
Chris Andrews, chief product and technology officer
According to the company, Andrew is responsible for developing NXCR’s digital experience built on an artificial intelligence foundation that can drive personalization and convenience throughout the vehicle subscription lifecycle. This process is inclusive of vehicle discovery, ordering, fulfillment, maintenance and registration as well as payments.
NXCR noted that Andrews has worked in software and technology for nearly 25 years, including nine years at Microsoft and Skype where he led the launch of the original Skype for iPhone application.
Andrews also has led the development of data products in cybersecurity at TeleSign and fintech at Cyndx. He began his career designing autonomous satellite software at Boeing.
Jorge Munoz, vice president of servicing
In an effort to have its servicing interact with consumers in a fully digital manner and facilitate payments through numerous means, NXCR said Munoz will be responsible for ensuring disciplined asset management and flexible asset return.
Munoz has more than 15 years of experience in strategic finance, contract servicing, portfolio risk management and loss mitigation.
Prior to joining NXCR, Munoz was head of servicing at Fair and previously spent seven years in contract servicing at Santander Consumer USA.
Munoz started his career in the collections department at Ford Motor Credit and later at Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp.
In January Georg Bauer, co-founder of Fair and auto-finance pioneer at Mercedes Benz Financial, BMW Financial and Tesla Financial, joined the NXCR team as co-founder, president and vice chairman of the board.
Now with Bauer and these seven other new executives, NXCR’s launch team is rounded out by a dozen product managers, software developers and data scientists and legal and regulatory compliance experts.
“NXCR is not a typical startup,” Painter said. “My partners and I have a consistent and proven track record of company building. Building a vehicle subscription platform on the heels of building Fair means the results will be faster speed, higher quality and lower cost.”
DigniFi — a platform company that connects consumers with finance companies for vehicle repairs, tires, accessories and other auto-related needs — recently named its new chief technology officer
Reporting to chief executive officer Richard Counihan from Seattle will be Kevin Yu, who will be responsible for growing DigniFi’s engineering organization, continuously improving product quality and delivering innovations for customers and partners.
Initially, the company said in a news release that Yu will focus on re-platforming DigniFi to improve the scalability and dynamism of Expressway, a revolving credit line that can help consumers afford auto repairs, upgrades, accessories, and more.
Yu joins DigniFi with more than 20 years of experience leading engineering teams at high-growth startups in the Seattle area. He most recently served as CTO of JAXJOX, a fitness technology company, and as co-founder and CTO of Markedly, which helps B2B startups optimize product-market fit.
Earlier in his career, Yu co-founded and served as CTO of Socedo, a venture-backed demand gen platform that was acquired by Azuqua in 2018.
Yu also held senior roles with Okta, an identity access and management platform, and Avanade, a digital consultancy majority-owned by Accenture. He began his career with Microsoft, where he worked for a total of 12 years.
“Kevin’s experience in both B2B and B2C roles is critical to DigniFi, as we serve consumers, dealerships, and lenders through our platform,” Counihan said.
“Having successfully re-platformed multiple companies, Kevin is ready to transform our infrastructure for more scalable, dynamic offerings,” Counihan continued. “We are confident that Kevin can manage this process successfully while enabling us to maintain and build upon sales growth of 200% in 2021.”
“Most importantly,” Counihan went on to say, “Kevin is aligned with our corporate values and mission. He gets our culture of creating learning and leadership opportunities for each member of his team. He will be a great coach for his employees who already lead projects, make significant decisions, and have real ownership of the outcomes.”
A prolific learner, Yu holds four degrees also is a mentor for both Techstars and The Founder Institute.
“Throughout my career, I’ve been passionate about innovating technologies for unmet needs and underserved consumers,” Yu said. “DigniFi helps everyday Americas meet their mobility needs by providing access to simple, innovative financing options via artificial intelligence and machine learning. It’s exciting to be part of this journey.”
TruDecision opened 2021 with a reinforced executive team.
The Emerging 8 honoree and fintech company providing sophisticated analytic solutions to finance companies welcomed seasoned auto-finance executive David Knightly as chief revenue officer.
TruDecision highlighted that it has experienced significant growth over the last year, including a new relationship with CIG Financial. TruDecision is looking to Knightly to take control of the company’s continued expansion.
Knightly brings more than 27 years of experience in the auto industry and has a highly successful track record with companies such as Onyx Acceptance, Capital One Auto Finance, Innovate and Exeter Finance.
“We are thrilled to have someone of David’s caliber on our team,” TruDecision chief executive officer Daniel Parry said. “The idea of a chief revenue officer involves far more than sourcing new customers. It is fundamentally about helping all of our clients successfully grow their business. As such, it is imperative to have a leader aligned directly with the success of each of our lenders.
“As a former client of TruDecision, he brings the unique experience of having deployed our tools and teaching his operations team how to use them to drive bottom-line results,” Parry continued.
In 2018, TruDecision launched its analytic platform-as-a-service where sophisticated tools are rapidly developed and deployed to meet each finance company’s unique needs. TruDecision offers solutions related to originations, credit quality, closure rate, pricing and collections optimization.
“I am excited to join the TruDecision team. I look forward to helping all of our clients achieve great success in the coming year,” Knightly said. “Having been a client of the company made me a true believer in the impact of TruDecision’s product line.”
