The National Remarketing Conference kicks off this afternoon with a plethora of strong panels and presenters.

Concurrent workshops start at noon (PST), with attendees having the choice between hearing Tom Kontos, of ADESA, offer a 2011 Pre-Owned Market Preview; Eric Lyman, of ALG, offer a 2010 Residuals Report; two executives from Experian Automotive discuss used-vehicle trends; or an overview of China’s Used Car Industry, which is primarily geared for the Chinese contingent flying in for the event.

Next up, attendees can select to hear about “Practical Ideas That Can Help You Get Ahead,” with executives from Carfax, Dealer Auto Auction, Chase, eCarList and DealerTrack; they can elect to learn about Manheim’s Latest Market Report with Tom Webb; or they can hear about strong used-vehicle prices with executives from NADA Used Car Guide, Black Book, Kelley Blue Book and TrueTrade.

At 4 p.m., the Opening Keynote Panel is slated to get underway with executives from Bank of America, ARI, Mercedes-Benz Financial and GM Remarketing discussing how smart remarketing helped save the automotive industry.

Executives in this panel include:

—Jeannie Chiaromonte, Bank of America

—Bob Graham, ARI

—Horacio Trujillo, Mercedes-Benz Financial

—Dan Kennedy, GM Remarketing

The evening will conclude with an opening night reception, which gives the more than 450 in attendance a chance to network and discuss business.