Manheim has named two new general managers in its east and west regions that its division vice president Alan Lang says “exemplify Manheim’s commitment to a culture that encourages learning and development to drive better results for the business and clients.”
The company named John Duplanty to take over leadership of Manheim Portland and Tom Rastelli as general manager of Manheim Albany.
Responsibilities for both leaders will include driving future region growth, building client relationships and boosting operational efficiencies.
Duplanty started out with Manheim as an intern in 2004 while attending Arizona State University.
After graduation, he started with Manheim Tampa in the company’s management training program. He went on to increase his responsibilities with roles in Florida, New York and Arizona.
He was most recently general manager of Manheim Tucson, and the company said that going forward, Manheim Tucson will be a part of the Manheim Arizona Market Center, reporting to Manheim Phoenix general manager JD Daniels.
Since joining the company in 1999 as a condition report writer, Rastelli’s various leadership positions have been dealer services manager, assistant general manager, and most recently, general manager of Manheim Portland.
“Tom and John have each served in roles of increasing responsibility over the years, developing the skills needed to navigate successfully in our dynamic industry,” Lang said in a news release.
After serving as vice president of litigation and employment counsel for KAR Auction Services, Lisa Price became executive vice president of human resources for the company in 2013.
That involved making the leap from a 14-year legal career to transforming “how the company and its business units look at, recruit, measure, develop and promote people,” KAR Global chairman and chief executive officer Jim Hallett said in a news release.
Now, Price is moving into the expanded role of chief people officer for the company, and she is the first to hold that title at KAR.
In the new role, Price will increase her focus on KAR’s company culture, its employer brand and its employees’ safety and security.
“She has championed people as a top priority for the company — from recruitment to retirement,” Hallett said.
He continued, “Lisa’s people-first drive will help define who we are and who we aspire to be as a company by fostering an environment of development and employee appreciation.”
Previously, Price’s role involved bringing human resources, payroll, benefits and compensation departments enterprise-wide into alignment with KAR’s strategic and operational goals.
Her expanded 360°-view of people and employees will involve leadership of KAR’s safety and security teams.
“I am proud to be part of a company with such a strong focus on its people, especially during a time of transformative innovation in our industry and at KAR Global,” Price said.
She continued, “The global workforce is more diverse, tech-driven and has high expectations of their employers. I am committed to building KAR Global into the kind of employer that attracts and retains top talent.”
Price initially joined ADESA, a business unit of KAR, in 2005 as corporate counsel.
In that post, she was responsible for areas such as employment litigation, third-party liability, compliance risk management and advice and counseling.
KAR promoted her to vice president of litigation and employment counsel in 2007. In 2013, she leaped from a legal career to leading the enterprise HR function for KAR and its subsidiaries as executive vice president of human resources.
Before joining ADESA, Price was in private practice at Stewart & Irwin for six years, with a focus on employment law, litigation and compliance.
ADESA president John Hammer says new general managers at four of the company’s wholesale vehicle auction locations “have proven their worth through their own career progression and the success of the auctions where they have worked over the years.”
“Having great leaders who inspire our teams to strive for excellence is imperative, and here we have new general managers who embody that value,” Hammer said in a news release.
The new general managers are Scott Coleman at ADESA Portland, Kathy Hopkins at ADESA Indianapolis, Eric Jenkins at ADESA Dallas and Mike Phillips at ADESA Buffalo.
“I’m confident that these leaders position us for success in 2020 and beyond,” Hammer said.
Coleman’s more than 25 years of automotive sales leadership includes seven years at ADESA Portland. In 2013, he became UVA manager the auction, which was part of the Brasher’s auction group at the time.
He became general sales manager in 2018. Prior to joining ADESA Portland, Coleman worked in various sales leadership positions during his 19 years at Enterprise Holdings.
“Throughout his tenure as general sales manager, Scott has helped ADESA Portland grow in all areas of performance — from world-class customer service, impressive dealer sales and increased market share,” ADESA chief operating officer Srisu Subrahmanyam said.
As for Hopkins, she makes a return to ADESA Indianapolis, where she started her career in 1998 as an account coordinator. She has since worked in sales and operational roles within the company.
In 2019, Hopkins was promoted to vice president of dealer sales for TradeRev. ADESA describes her as “a familiar face in the auto remarketing industry,” noting that she received Auto Remarketing’s 40 Under 40 and Women in Remarketing awards.
“Kathy’s extensive knowledge of physical and digital sales strategy, in conjunction with her strong industry relationships, make her a great fit for the general manager role at ADESA Indianapolis,” Subrahmanyam said.
As for Jenkins, after joining ADESA in 2005 as an outside coordinator and condition report writer at ADESA Dallas, he was promoted to fleet lease manager at ADESA Austin, then assistant general manager at ADESA Atlanta and general manager at ADESA Birmingham.
In 2018, he became assistant general manager of ADESA Dallas. He was honored as one of Auto Remarketing’s 40 Under 40 recipients and earned the Alabama Independent Automobile Dealers Association Auction Hall of Fame award in 2017.
“Eric will continue to lead ADESA Dallas to success with his unique ability to build relationships with his team and customers, both locally and regionally,” Subrahmanyam said.
As for Phillips, he has more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry. He started in sales at an auto body repair shop before becoming store manager. He went on to join ADESA Buffalo in 1996 as assistant controller and later became controller.
He was promoted to business manager in 1999. In that post, he oversaw many aspects of auction operations, finance, planning and growth initiatives. He has been assistant general manager at ADESA Buffalo since 2007.
“During Mike’s tenure as second in command at ADESA Buffalo, the auction earned numerous regional and national awards, most notably from Ford, and we know that he will uphold that model of success with the team,” Subrahmanyam said.
XLerate Group Auctions’ Charleston Auto Auction in Moncks Corner, S.C., has hired Nichole Brannon as executive sales director, noting that Brannon brings 13 years of auto remarketing industry expertise.
Brannon was previously senior manager of client services for Manheim Darlington, overseeing the auction’s client-facing departments.
“Her practical knowledge of auctions and affinity for customer service relationships make her a powerful addition to our auction,” Charleston Auto Auction general manager Laura Taylor said in a news release.
Taylor added, “We are very excited to have Nichole join us, and with her addition to our outstanding sales and marketing team, we look forward to a grandly successful 2020.”
Also in her position with Manheim Darlington, Brannon served as field sales manager for the Carolina market and was also a field sales representative.
As vice president of commercial sales for Manheim since 2017, Holly Capps developed and executed a sales strategy that Cox Automotive says brought in almost $2 billion in annual revenue. The company said she grew business with key strategic clients.
On Monday, the company announced it has promoted Capps to senior vice president of Manheim sales.
In that position, Capps will lead the Manheim sales team in identifying each client’s unique needs. She and the team will bring a customized approach to meet clients’ specific business requirements.
Capps served as interim Manheim sales leader since July.
Capps was with Cox Media for 20 years before she joined Cox Automotive. Cox Media is Cox Communications’ advertising sales division, and there, Capps earned a reputation as a leader who brings results and transformation, according to Cox. That, according to the company, resulted in significant revenue growth for Cox Media.
In Capps’ new position, she and her team will work toward a goal of becoming a business partner for clients, according to Cox. In doing that, the team will provide full-service inventory services that Cox Automotive says will help clients more easily do business with the company.
She reports to Cox Automotive chief sales officer Tim McKinley.
“I’m pleased to welcome Holly as our new sales leader for Manheim,” McKinley said in a news release. “She has the depth of experience and leadership skills to propel Manheim even further in the future as well as help us continue to create a high-performing, integrated team to provide exceptional client service.”
Capps said, “I’m honored to lead Manheim’s dealer, commercial and consulting teams as we partner with our clients and our operations team to fuel client growth now and in the future.”
She added, “We are excited about the variety of solutions we can offer across all of the Cox Automotive brands that will enable our clients to be wildly successful.”
ADESA has named new general managers at two of its auction locations, with ADESA chief operating officer Srisu Subrahmanyam describing them in a news release as having proven themselves in past roles for KAR Global and “rising to new challenges and posting solid results.”
The new general managers are Angela Williams for ADESA Houston and Brad Yeager for ADESA Ocala in Florida.
ADESA describes Williams as a “seasoned veteran of the industry.” She brings more than 20 years of experience, and she joined ADESA in 2017 as an executive sales director.
She has served as the commercial accounts manager at ADESA Houston since May of this year. Before joining ADESA, Williams was with Rawls Auto Auction in Leesville, S.C. for more than 20 years. At Rawls, she served in the positions of business development and marketing manager, assistant general manager and fleet lease manager. ADESA said she significantly grew the national footprint of the company and increased franchise and fleet lease sales during her time as business development and marketing manager.
As for Yeager, his deep roots in the Florida market include the past two years as regional sales director of the Southeast region for TradeRev, which is another KAR Global business unit. In that role, he opened markets in Charleston, S.C., and Mobile, Ala.
Yeager was previously with Cox Automotive, serving in roles such as senior manager of national client sales support and manager of customer relationship management sales enablement.
“Through their years of experience in the auto remarketing industry, they have built their knowledge of auction operations and forged strong relationships within and across the industry,” Subrahmanyam said. "We’re delighted to expand our auction general manager ranks with these two experienced leaders.”
ACV Auctions says its rapid U.S. growth continues, with west expansion from Texas to California proceeding ahead of plan. The company has doubled its Texas footprint in one year.
To keep pace with that growth, the company says it is placing top talent on its roster, and on Tuesday ACV announced it has hired Doug Hadden as vice president of field operations and promoted Will Morris from regional sales director to area vice president east.
ACV Auctions, an online, wholesale vehicle marketplace, said it now conducts operations in 138 territories, with that number increasing by year end to more than 140.
The company says it has followed a progressive approach to expansion. Because of that, it has ramped up quickly in new territories, ACV said.
ACV Auctions chief executive officer George Chamoun said the company's initial success in in Dallas, Houston and Austin "propelled our expansion into all major territories in Texas from El Paso to Galveston."
"Our footprint and market share in Texas continues to grow," Chamoun said. "It's been a similar experience for us in California, Arizona and New Mexico."
He added that the company has most recently entered markets in Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Idaho and Montana.
ACV also says it has seen record sales. In August, ACV Auctions sold more than 24,000 wholesale vehicles on its auction platform. That, according to the company, represents almost 2% of all vehicles sold today at auctions in the U.S. ACV said more than 900 “teammates” support the growing business.
“We continue to grow rapidly across the country,” Chamoun said in a news release. “Expansion west, from Texas to California, is ahead of plan.”
Chamoun added, “In one year, we have doubled our footprint in Texas and went from selling a few hundred vehicles per month to nearly 2,000. This growth demonstrates the value of our product and our ability to attract top talent in the industry."
Texas Automobile Dealer Association president Bill Wolters said ACV Auctions has been important for franchised dealers in Texas.
“Dealers are benefiting from the way ACV Auctions continues to transform the wholesale used car market with an efficient and transparent digital auction experience,” Wolters said.
ACV Auctions chief sales officer Mike Waterman had good things to say about the addition of Hadden to the company.
“Doug's reputation in the industry is top-notch and his industry experience is unparalleled,” Waterman said. “We're excited to welcome Doug to the ACV Auctions family.”
Hadden brings “deep expertise” in inventory management, ACV said. As vice president of field operations, Hadden will manage field initiatives in the areas of operations, training, strategic dealer group development and dealer association partnerships.
Hadden started his career in the industry as a lot porter. He moved on to work in every dealership department, with positions such as line mechanic, service writer, new and used car sales, finance manager, sales manager, and general manager.
Most recently, Hadden worked at ADESA, which is a part of KAR Auction Services.
Waterman added that as the company adds senior leaders to the team, it is “recognizing great work internally.” He said Morris has moved quickly from within the sales organization from territory manager to become the company’s first regional sales director and now to area vice president east.
“We look forward to the positive impact these strategic sales team moves will have on the ACV marketplace,” Waterman said.
ADESA has named new general managers at three of its auctions, for two in the United States and one in Canada.
Jeff Hyde is the new general manager at ADESA San Diego. At ADESA Northwest in Eugene, Ore., Kjersta Loyd is the new general manager. And Matthew Creese is the new general manager at ADESA St. John’s in Newfoundland, Canada.
Hyde’s more than 25 years of auction experience includes his most recent position as assistant general manager of ADESA Los Angeles. Prior to that, he was commercial accounts manager before his 2015 promotion to operations manager.
Also, Hyde has managed body shop and reconditioning departments.
Loyd’s 20-year career at ADESA started when she worked at ADESA Seattle as a body shop clerk and auto body damage appraiser. After she served as assistant fleet/lease manager, internet sales manager and consignment sales manager at that location, Loyd worked as dealer sales and services manager at ADESA Houston.
She went on to serve as general sales manager at ADESA Golden Gate before working in her most recent position as director of sales for the Midwest region.
“Both Jeff and Kjersta are respected by customers and teammates alike, and they are joining experienced, customer-service driven teams,” ADESA west region vice president Lawrence Cubitt said in a news release. “I am confident that each of them will continue to grow the business and deliver the leadership and service that teammates and customers have come to expect.”
Creese’s extensive auto industry experience includes his most recent position as customer viewpoint director for the official and exclusive Ford distributor for Saudi Arabia, Al Jazirah Vehicles Agencies.
Creese previously worked as network development and franchise manager for Jaguar Land Rover’s South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa region, and he was also manager of ownership experience for Lexus South Africa. For 10 years, he worked in retail management for Ford, Volkswagen and BMW.
“Matthew impressed us with his various experience, knowledge of the industry, his strong interest in our company and his desire to be part of the remarketing industry in Canada,” said ADESA Canada regional vice president Simon Robitaille. “His management style aligns well with our values, and we look forward to his contributions in making St. John’s a great location for our customers and staff.”
Kevin Brown has worked with the Stanley-Autenrieth Auction Group as a consultant since October, handling special projects for both auctions in the group. Since November he has overseen a major facility upgrade at Indiana Auto Auction.
On Wednesday, Eric Autenrieth of the Stanley-Autenrieth Auction Group announced that industry veteran Brown has been named Indiana Auto Auction managing partner.
For 18 years, Brown served as general manager and minority owner at Missouri Auto Auction. During his tenure, he also served in major roles for ServNet’s board of directors, including as group president from 2015 to 2017 and chairman of the board from 2017 to 2019.
His major facility upgrade oversight at Indiana Auto Auction included designing and building a new restaurant. In addition, he and Indiana Auto Auction staff members evaluated auction operations, working to improve processes and efficiencies in all departments.
Brown expects to spend time meeting with national accounts and many of the region’s franchised and independent auto dealers. He will seek innovative methods of serving each customer’s individual needs in the fleet/lease area or on the dealer side.
“We’ve had the distinct pleasure to work alongside Kevin for many, many years, as he has led his own auction operation and served in many leadership posts within the auction industry,” Autenrieth said in a news release. “A great operator with a keen auction mind, he has been a driving force in developing far-reaching initiatives as well as focusing on operational efficiencies and customer service. We are delighted to welcome him as a managing partner at Indiana Auto Auction.”
Brown described joining the Indiana Auto Auction team as a good opportunity to “work with a great family which is firmly dedicated to their businesses and the industry.”
“Indiana Auto Auction has tremendous potential for continued growth and presence in the Midwest, and I’m excited to work with general manager Luke Dietrick and the auction team to expand its customer base, along with enhancing auction operations,” Brown said. “Like its sister-affiliate, Carolina Auto Auction, Indiana Auto Auction offers its customers a superior auction experience, and topping my vision for the auction going forward is to ensure that all our customers think of Indiana Auto Auction as their ‘home’ in the auction business.”
A member of ServNet, Indiana Auto Auction was established in 1965. With a customer base of more than 3,500 dealers, it features eight lanes and offers more than 600 light-duty vehicles and two lanes offering more than 100 heavy-duty vehicles. Serving clients such as Avis, Emkay, Exeter, UAC, Sageant and Nicholas Financial, it also serves many local financial institutions and new- and used-car dealerships in a six-state area.
As ADESA continues its focus on “creating a more seamless customer experience,” as its chief commercial officer puts it, the company has created a new role, naming a new vice president of major dealer accounts.
In the new position, Scott Drehs will “direct and activate” the team that works to develop relationships with ADESA’s large-scale buyers and sellers, ADESA said, adding that the major dealer accounts group will use the “capabilities, products and complementary services within the KAR family.”
Drehs comes from within that KAR family, serving in leadership roles for nearly 15 years at AFC. He is a 30-year auto industry veteran who joined the company in November 2004 as vice president of credit services at AFC. He has served as vice president of operations for the central division for the past two years.
The company said it will continue to evolve and integrate and launch products and technology, and the team under Drehs’ leadership will work with dealers to implement those offerings into their workflows.
Drehs started out in the automotive finance industry in 1989. ADESA said Drehs brings extensive remarketing and finance experience, and while he worked at financial institutions, Drehs helped meet auto dealers’ lending needs.
“Scott is not only a familiar face, he is a proven leader in the remarketing ecosystem with established industry relationships,” ADESA chief commercial officer Paul Lips said in a news release. “As ADESA continues to focus on creating a more seamless customer experience, Scott will lead a team of account managers charged with better meeting the needs of our major dealer groups and increasing our market share in this segment of our industry.”
