As part of the inaugural Automotive Intelligence Awards, Cherokee Media Group is honoring a select group of outstanding auto industry analysts for their contribution to the knowledge base of the used-car retail, finance and remarketing industries.

Next up on our series of podcasts with these first-ever honorees in the Automotive Intelligence Awards: Industry Analysts program is a conversation with Laura Wehunt, vice president of data & analytics at Black Book.

Wehunt talks with Cherokee Media Group senior editor Joe Overby about her early days on Black Book’s data team and growing up as a “car fanatic” — even cutting out magazine photos of her dream cars as a kid — as well as her family’s background in the dealership business. Plus, she shares the importance of mentorship from leaders at Black Book who have helped her forge her career as a leading auto analyst.

The full conversation can be found below.

Wehunt and her fellow honorees will be recognized in the April edition of the Auto Fin Journal publication and at the Auto Intel Summit, which is April 8-10 at the Embassy Suites in Cary, N.C.

Also included in the magazine and conference recognition will be the Automotive Intelligence Awards: Emerging Companies program, which will recognize emerging companies and entrepreneurs charging forward to make their mark on the used-car industry. These companies will be honored for improving a specific aspect of the business through technology.

In addition to respective luncheons at AIS recognizing these honorees, there will be panel discussions featuring representatives from the Automotive Intelligence Award recipients.

More details on those luncheons, panels and the full AIS agenda can be found here: Agenda | AIS & NRC 2025.