The leader of America’s Group’s ultra-aggressive expansion strategy has taken another step up the corporate ladder.

Chris Elliott, who has served as the company’s vice president of mergers and acquisitions for the past two-plus years, announced on LinkedIn he has been promoted to senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions.

Since joining America’s in November 2023, Elliott has led the acquisition of 15 auctions — 13 of those in 2025 — as the company closes in on CEO Chuck Tapp’s stated goal of 60 locations by the end of 2026.

Currently, there are more than 50 America’s Auto Auction locations in 21 states. America’s Group also includes floorplan provider AXLE Funding.

Elliott came to the company from Sweeping Corporation of America, serving most recently as director of corporate development for M&A, earning a reputation as an M&A roll-up expert and being credited with more than 70 acquisitions.

Salvato to bring online salvage auction to Mid-Atlantic, Southeast states

Salvato Auctions is on the move again.

The online auction for insurance vehicles, which launched in Texas last summer and announced its coming expansion into the Midwest in January, said it’s ready to add the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions to its scope.

Beginning in the second quarter of this year, Salvato Auctions’ services will be available in Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and neighboring states, based on market demand.

Salvato said the move is another step toward its goal of eliminating physical paperwork in the lien and title process in all 50 states and offering insurance vehicles with lower auction fees to a diverse buyer base around the world.

“The Mid-Atlantic and Southeast include many of the largest states for total loss claims,” CEO and co-founder Peter Jebson said, “and carriers there deserve a better solution than what the legacy vendors offer.

“We have proven with current customers that our model gets policyholders paid and vehicles titled four to six weeks faster. That drives higher policyholder retention in today’s competitive insurance environment, while also delivering higher net returns.”