Fresh off of what was said to be close to the best attendance ever for its annual Summer Roundtable, the International Automotive Remarketers Alliance will once again be an industry partner for another major event in the pre-owned vehicle space: Used Car Week.
The National Auto Auction Association, National Independent Automobile Dealers Association and National Automotive Finance Association are also industry partners of Used Car Week, which is being held Nov. 12-16 at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“One of the strengths of Used Car Week is the foundation of key industry partnerships, from the NAAA, NIADA, National Auto Finance Association and of course, IARA,” said Used Car Week chairman and Cherokee Media Group president Bill Zadeits.
“We value the opportunity to bring the industry together each fall and truly appreciate our relationship with IARA, Tony Long and the leadership,” he said.
In its release posted to the website of Vehicle Remarketing, IARA said that the 2017 Summer Roundtable had record attendance and this year’s event came close to those figures.
IARA went on to note noted that highlights included an opening keynote from former NFL quarterback Bob Griese, a presentation from Felipe Smoka of LeasePlan USA, the IARA Circle of Excellence award (which was presented to former Manheim vice president Chuck Novince) and a golf tournament to honor the late Ken Osborn.
Many young professionals are taking on leadership roles in the auto industry and impacting the remarketing and used-car business.
And 40 of these outstanding leaders are featured in the Sept. 1 edition of Auto Remarketing.
In our fourth annual Remarketing & Used-Car Industry’s 40 Under 40 issue, you will find the current- and next-generation leaders of the business who are making big differences in the industry — and at their respective companies.
Auto Remarketing is honored and thrilled to recognize these folks and celebrate their accomplishments. And be sure you don’t miss the special ceremony at Used Car Week to recognize this year’s group of honorees.
[For more about how previous and current 40 Under 40 honorees will play an integral Used Car Week this year, check out this blog post from our teammate Sarah Rubenoff.]
We would also like to thank everyone for nominating dozens and dozens of outstanding individuals. This group represents just a fraction of the incredible young leaders this industry has to offer. We look forward to many more years of honoring these leaders.
Below is this year’s group of honorees:
Andrew Pyle, Chief Sales Officer, Mountain State Auto Auction
Becca Henderson, Operations Manager, CarLotz
Brian Clegg, Lender Solutions Manager, Black Book
Brian Jackson, Sales Manager, Insurance Auto Auctions
Brian Rapp, Vice President, Bill Rapp Super Store
Chris J. Martinez, General Sales Manager, Charles Maund Toyota; Founder of The AutoMiner
Chris Mitcham, Senior Vice President of Servicing, SNAAC
Collin McConkey, Digital Operations Manager, DAA Northwest
Dave Copeland, Chief Operations Officer, American Recovery Service (P.K. Willis Company Inc.)
Dustin Cruz, Manager of Operations, TradeRev US
Ellena Woodhams, Marketing Director, Stevens Management Group
Emil Banga, Senior Director of Product Management, Dealertrack
Erik Rojo, Business Manager, Zia Automotive
Glenda Gudiel, Integration Manager, Auction Edge
Jared Foster, Wholesale Operations Manager, Carvana
Jarryd Carver, Executive Managing Partner, Sheehy Auto Stores
Jeremy Alicandri, Managing Director, Maryann Keller & Advisors
Jeremy Cunningham, Regional Auction Manager, Exeter Financial Corp.
Jonathan Schwartz, Vice President, Enterprise Dealer Partnerships, Cox Automotive
Joseph Watson, Relationship Manager, Equifax Inc.
Justin Conners, Vice President of Sales and Client Services, Primeritus Financial Services
Kate Eltringham , Vice President, Marketing, GWC Warranty
Katie Rushing Polk, National Remarketing Manager, Southeastern Auto Auction of Savannah, Georgia
Kiefer Bartel, Director of Sales, Tom Kadlec Honda
Kristen Lanzavecchia, Manager, Industry Insights, ALG
Laurie Dippold, Senior Director, Strategic & Brand Communications, KAR Auction Services Inc.
Lucas Hancock, Senior Director of Risk, NextGear Capital
Matt Trapp, Regional Vice President, Manheim
Michael Kelley, General Manager of all locations, Bourne's Auto Center
Michelle Dorminey, Senior Director, Market Research, TrueCar
Mollie Schane, Director of Marketing, PureCars
Rajat Singh, Auto Remarketing Director, Paragon Honda
Samantha Cunningham Zawilinski, Vice President of Account Services, Potratz
Sarah Bannister, Director, National Accounts, Cox Automotive
Scott Gales, Co-Founder and VP of Product, The Appraisal Lane
Sean Downey, Senior Developer, Intellaegis
Steve Rice, General Manager, Auctions In Motion
Tim Adrian, VP, ADESA Product Development
Travis Allison, Corporate Associate, America's Auto Auction
Will Mitchell, Vice President of Business Development, Automotive Finance Corporation
Alan Mulally, who was Ford Motor Co.’s president and chief executive officer from 2006 to 2014, will be a keynote speaker at the National Auto Auction Association’s annual convention in November, the trade group said Tuesday.
Mulally’s keynote presentation will be during NAAA’s opening luncheon Nov. 14, and it will be followed by a moderated Q&A session that also includes:
- Cox Automotive president Sandy Schwartz
- KAR Auction Services chairman and CEO Jim Hallett
- BSC America chairman and CEO Ray Nichols
The NAAA Convention is held in partnership with the National Remarketing Conference as part of Used Car Week, which takes place Nov. 12-16 at the Westin Kierland in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“We’re honored and thrilled to have someone of Alan Mulally’s leadership caliber and business acumen in the industry deliver our keynote address,” NAAA chief executive Frank Hackett said in a news release.
“The Ford Motor Company has been a loyal member of our association and has graciously sponsored a vehicle for NAAA presidents to use as official transportation during their annual term,” Hackett said.
When it was announced in May 2014 that Mulally would be retiring from his role leading Ford that July, the automaker had achieved 19 consecutive quarters of profits.
He is largely credited for being the key cog to the automaker’s turnaround.
“Alan deservedly will be long remembered for engineering one of the most successful business turnarounds in history,” Ford’s executive chairman Bill Ford said in a statement when Mulally’s retirement was announced in 2014.
“Under Alan’s leadership, Ford not only survived the global economic crisis, it emerged as one of the world’s strongest auto companies. We always will be grateful to Alan for his leadership, compelling vision and for fostering a culture of working together that will serve our company for decades to come.”
To register for the NRC/NAAA Convention and Used Car Week, visit https://www.usedcarweek.biz/register/.
Cherokee Media Group (CMG), publishers of Auto Remarketing and SubPrime Auto Finance News, and producers of Used Car Week, the Automotive Intelligence Summit and Auto Remarketing Canada — as well as additional leading auto industry events and media — has announced the launch of a new media property called the Auto Fin Journal.
Launching this summer to select audiences with a full launch in the fall, the Auto Fin Journal will focus content on business intelligence for automotive and auto fintech executives. With the rapid pace of change and technology in the automotive and auto fintech industries, the Auto Fin Journal will serve as a trusted resource for content, business intelligence and knowledge-sharing for industry executives, suppliers and franchise dealers.
The Auto Fin Journal will be in-market with a September/October edition highlighting the Women in Auto Finance with a smartly-defined circulation of 20,000. In keeping with CMG’s high standard of providing top level knowledge and networking, AFJ will be partnered with the Automotive Intelligence Summit and the Auto Fin Con (part of Used Car Week), as well as a regular e-newsletter bearing the AFJ name and branding.
Nick Zulovich, Senior Editor of SubPrime Auto Finance News and the BHPH Report will lead the editorial and content management of the new AFJ, while CMG publishers Amanda Dunlap and Jessica Johnson will be co-publishers of the new media property.
“As we’ve grown our expert team over the last few years, Nick, Amanda and Jessica have proven time and again that they have exactly what it takes to be successful in their new and expanded roles with the Auto Fin Journal,” said Bill Zadeits, president and group publisher for CMG. “Their ability to build relationships, gain trust and deliver excellent work on behalf of our audiences and customers makes this trio the perfect fit to lead the successful launch of the AFJ.”
The Auto Fin Journal will debut at the Automotive Intelligence Summit www.autointelsummit.com this July. CMG is currently accepting expert contributor applications for content areas of auto fintech, regtech, insurtech, and others. Interested parties should contact Nick Zulovich, nzulovich@cherokeemediagroup.com.
“Recognizing Excellence.”
That’s more than just the moniker under our Women in Remarketing logo. It’s one of the reasons why Auto Remarketing publishes this issue of the magazine each year.
This special feature, which can be found in the April 15 issue, recognizes excellence among the leaders of the remarketing and used-car business.
Each of the leaders honored in our Women in Remarketing program takes on different responsibilities within the industry, and the companies they represent encompass a diverse cross-section of the used-car market. Each has a unique and inspiring story to tell, both within and beyond the business world.
We would like to thank everyone who sent in Women in Remarketing nominations this year.
While there are many more women worthy of recognition, we could not spotlight all the nominees, as we are only able to recognize a select few each year.
But stay tuned to Auto Remarketing e-newsletters, as we will conduct another call for nominations early next year.
Below are this year's honorees, in alphabetical order by first name:
Anne Holtzman, Allied Solutions
Becky Puckett, Hyundai Capital America
Candice Lester, GM Financial
Clair Wallace, Equifax
Jennifer Leocardi, McConkey Auction Group
Julee S. Dunn, First Tech Federal Credit Union
Kelly Miller, RMS Automotive
Leslie Chambers, Andy Mohr Ford
Megan Lindsey, Ally
Melissa Trautman, MetroGistics
Mollie Lutfy, ALG
Nicole Graham-Ponce, Manheim Dallas-Fort Worth
Penny Wanna, Auction Academy/ TPC Mamagement/ ServNet Auctions
Sandy Whicker, ADESA
Sandy Moon, NextGear Capital
Stacey White, KAR Auction Services
Tammy Swofford, America's Auto Auction
Tina Viens, Insurance Auto Auctions
Tracy Noonan Fred, Xtime
Tricia Green, TradeRev
Check out the April 15 edition of Auto Remarketing to learn more about these outstanding industry leaders.
The 2018 Women in Remarketing class will be honored at Used Car Week, which is scheduled for Nov. 12-16 at The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz.
As part of continued moves to strengthen its editorial team, Cherokee Media Group has added former Manheim and Cox Automotive chief economist Tom Webb as a guest contributor to its automotive and auto finance publications.
Webb retired in summer 2017 after nearly two decades with Manheim/Cox Automtoive.
Before he joined Manheim/Cox Automotive in 2000, Webb had worked for at the National Automobile Dealers Association for 26 years, serving as a spokesman and analyst for NADA. He became a senior manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ automotive practice in 1999.
Among his many accomplishments, he authored the annual Manheim Used Car Market Report as well as developed and implemented the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index.
As a guest contributor to Cherokee Media Group, Webb will contribute one article each month, which will be published throughout CMG’s print and digital media properties.
The monthly article will appear in such print and digital publications as Auto Remarketing, SubPrime Auto Finance News, BHPH Report as well as associated enewsletters.
His first story is scheduled for the NADA Convention edition of Auto Remarketing (March 15 issue) and the NADA/AFSA conferences edition of SubPrime Auto Finance News (March/April issue).
“We are excited to bring Tom’s unique and thoughtful analysis of the used-car industry and the economy to our readers. We’ve worked with him for many years at NADA and Cox Automotive and want to provide our readers with access to deeper insight and market intelligence with his monthly analysis,” said Cherokee Media Group president Bill Zadeits.
“And, on top of his rich knowledge of the industry, he’s got a great sense of humor!” Zadeits said. “He’s a perfect fit for CMG and we’re proud to have him on our team.”
In addition to building its editorial team, Auto Remarketing parent company Cherokee Media Group has also continued to develop its events team roster for 2018 and beyond.
Longtime events leaders Marilu McQuilkin, who celebrated 10 years with the company in 2017, has been promoted to the role of Senior Director of Events & Marketing for Cherokee Media Group.
Mor Aframian, who has been with CMG since August 2014 and was previously Events & Meetings Assistant and Online Community Coordinator, has been promoted to the role of Director of Events & Marketing.
McQuilkin and Aframian will continue to lead Cherokee Media Group’s local and national events, which include Used Car Week, Auto Remarketing Canada, Women & Automotive: Canadian Leadership Forum and Automotive Intelligence Summit business conferences.
Additionally, CMG Conference Coordinator Lisa McGraw, who joined the company in 2010 and heads up management of conference registrations, has an increased role in managing of exhibit hall operations and other conference logistics.
Joining the team in October was Anthony Harrison, marketing manager for Cherokee Media Group. In this new role, Harrison will lead conference marketing, event website editorial, speaker logistics and contribute to conference planning.
They will continue to work with CMG President Bill Zadeits, Senior Editors Nick Zulovich and Joe Overby, Staff Writer Chris Hart-Williams and Correspondents Sarah Rubenoff and Arlena Sawyers on the editorial team, along with Publishers Amanda Dunlap, Steve Leslie and Jessica Johnson.
“As we continue to grow and expand our events business this talented group of professionals will be the ones to lead CMG to the next level,” said Zadeits.
“In an industry and world where we communicate electronically and digitally with more and more frequency, the importance of face-to-face interaction has become increasingly important,” he said. “And, our events team at CMG is among the very best at bringing people together to learn, share, and inspire to build relationships and grow business.”
Stay tuned to Auto Remarketing for additional announcements associated with the new lineup for the year.
When faced with record snowfall and two sales scheduled just days after the storms, Greater Erie Auto Auction powered through — despite the 65 inches of snow Erie, Pa., got in less than two days.
Greater Erie AA assistant general manager and dealer sales manager Ryan Russell says what his auction experienced in late December and early January was like something out of a Michael Bay film.
“Whatever movie you’re seeing, it just punches you in the face with its loudness, and this is what’s happening,” he said.
“Basically, the snowstorm was like living in a Michael Bay movie — it started snowing, and it just literally never stopped, and we ran out of room in town to put the snow in places.”
Though 10 inches of snow is nothing to sound the alarm for within the Erie community, the record lake effect snow beginning on the day after Christmas brought challenges to Greater Erie AA that it had never seen before.
On Dec. 25, the city of Erie saw 34 inches of snow, an all-time record for snowfall in any single day, reported the Erie Times-News.
Over 60 years ago, on Nov. 22, 1956, the previous snowfall record was 20 inches, according to the Pennsylvania state climatologist.
“There were two sales when we were hit with the snow storm, scheduled for Dec. 28 and Jan. 4,” explained assistant general manager and fleet/lease manager Chrissy Briggs.
Russell, who not only works in Erie, but has lived in the community for over 35 years, said when he was out snow blowing his driveway for about the seventh time within a 24-hour period, there were people driving down a main road on snowmobiles who stopped at houses that were not plowed.
He said they were to going up to doors and asking people inside “if they were okay, if they had power, if they needed to get to CVS for prescriptions.”
“They helped an elderly couple shovel their driveway out so they could get down to Pittsburgh to visit their newly born grandson,” Russell said. “You know it’s just, it was amazing to see the community come together and help each other.”
“And it was amazing to see our team up here do the same exact thing to try and have an auto auction. It’s our livelihood and we had to do it, and everybody came together,” he said.
What is lake effect snow?
What Greater Erie AA experienced was lake effect snow, which is common across the Great Lakes region during the late fall and winter, according to the National Weather Service.
It happens when just enough cold air that often comes from Canada moves across the vast open waters of the Great Lakes.
As cold air passes over unfrozen and relatively warm waters rises, the National Weather Service says clouds that produce around 2 to 3 inches of snow per hour can form and grow.
“What happened was the lake up here that we’re right next to was not frozen over. It is now finally, but at Christmas time it had not frozen over at all,” Russell explained.
When Lake Erie freezes over, he said the lake effect snow goes away. But when a storm comes across the lake, and the lake isn’t frozen, the storm can pick up more moisture from the lake.
The record-breaking storm in Erie picked up so much moisture from the lake that it couldn't move.
“And that’s how we ended up getting dumped on for two straight days,” Russell said.
“Normally it would just sweep across and spread all of the snowfall over a 75-mile wide radius. Well, it didn’t this time, it kept it to us at about 10 miles or 15 miles of the lake. It just didn’t move, for two days. It just kept picking up more and more moisture out of the lake.”
Snow emergency declared
During the historic snowfall event, Briggs said city officials declared a snow emergency for Erie and stressed that roads were “dangerous and impassable.”
“Ryan and I both grew up here, and you hear this weather forecast of about 10 to 18 inches, you think ‘okay, this is like another day, it’s really no big deal,’ because we know how to manage a foot or two feet, but not when you get it that quickly,” Briggs explained.
She said, “When they were calling for snow emergency, it was crazy — it was unbelievable; that’s what it was, it was unbelievable.”
Erie picked up more snow in less than 36 hours in this event than its previous 13-day snowstorm record, according to Briggs.
“We're used to this kind of stuff out here, and this was seriously a storm I’d never seen before in my life. I lived through it, and I can’t wrap my mind around how we got all the snow,” added Russell.
“It boggles my mind; it was like living in a movie — a disaster movie.”
The snow removal effort
When it came to the snow removal process, it truly required a highly driven team.
Leading up to the two sales scheduled around the historic snowfall event, Greater Erie AA had just a few days to plow through record-breaking inches of snow.
In addition to a snow plow that took on close to 55 hours of work in six days, more than 20 employees spent hours digging between vehicles to clear tailpipes to prep for the auction's post-Christmas sales, according to Briggs.
Though attendance was off as a result of the snowstorm, Greater Erie AA pulled 47 percent for its last sale of 2017 on Dec. 28.
“As much as we would have wanted that to be 67 or 65, we sold 47 percent,” Briggs said.
“Having a sale is better than not having anything,” she added.
While still experiencing snowfall, the auction’s next sale saw 52 percent of its vehicles sell.
Auto Remarketing parent company Cherokee Media Group has adjusted its editorial team lineup for 2018, as the company continues to build on the foundation of its industry publication and conferences.
Joe Overby and Nick Zulovich — senior editors of the automotive and auto finance publications at Cherokee Media Group — will continue in their editorial roles while adding responsibilities as executive directors of CMG’s new Automotive Intelligence Council.
Their AIC positions are in conjunction with the upcoming Automotive Intelligence Summit, a new conference from Cherokee Media Group set for this summer in Raleigh, N.C.
Overby and Zulovich have also been added to the content team for Cherokee Media Group conferences, where they will focus on the agendas for CMG’s automotive conferences.
Cherokee Media Group continues to build the editorial team, as well.
In addition to Overby and Zulovich, staff writer Chris Hart-Williams — who joined the team in 2016 — continues to report for CMG’s automotive publications and is taking on additional in-depth and feature story assignments.
Additionally, Cherokee Media Group welcomed Sarah Rubenoff back to the team in 2017 as the copyeditor for all automotive and auto finance publications and the correspondent for Auto Remarketing Canada.
In addition to her editorial work, Rubenoff is orchestrating the agenda for Cherokee Media Group’s Women & Automotive: Canadian Leadership Forum this March.
Further cementing the roster is the addition of longtime Automotive News reporter Arlena Sawyers, who became an Auto Remarketing Correspondent in 2017.
Sawyers will be covering an in-depth retail automotive beat in 2018.
“We recognize that content is king when it comes to keeping our readership and audiences informed and up to date on important industry news,” said Cherokee Media Group president Bill Zadeits. “These new roles and additions to our team continue in our longstanding commitment to strengthen our industry-leading coverage and serve our readers at the highest level.”
Stay tuned to Auto Remarketing for additional announcements associated with the new lineup for the year.
Ron Smith, the founder of Auto Remarketing and its parent company, S&A Cherokee, has announced his retirement, which will be effective on Jan. 1.
Smith, who will remain a part-owner of S&A Cherokee in retirement, has gradually delegated day-to-day operational duties to fellow owners/principals Bill Zadeits and Chuck Norman over the past year.
“Ron is an incredible businessman, mentor, boss and partner, and an even better husband and father,” said Zadeits, who is the publisher of Auto Remarketing. “We hope to continue his legacy of providing excellent service and communications with the highest ethical standards to our clients and constituents.”
“I can’t say enough about what Ron has done for me professionally and personally,” said Norman. “It’s truly been an honor working with him, and after decades of hard work and sacrifice, he’s earned a rewarding retirement. We know he’s just a phone call or email away, but everyone on our staff wishes him their best.”
Smith will remain part of the S&A Cherokee management team, which includes Norman, Smith, Zadeits, Amanda Dunlap and Michael Colborn.
Smith founded public relations firm Smith and Associates in 1982, before starting Cherokee Publishing Company eight years later. The activities of the PR firm and publishing company were then established as one business entity, as the company was rebranded S&A Cherokee in 2005.
The company now includes two divisions: S&A Communications, a PR and marketing firm; and Cherokee Media Group, a publishing company that produces such publications as Auto Remarketing, SubPrime Auto Finance News, BHPH Report and Auto Remarketing Canada.
CMG also produces digital publications and organizes/operates automotive trade conferences, including Used Car Week.
Lifetime achievement award
It was at this year’s Used Car Week conference where Smith was the recipient of the Auto Remarketing Lifetime Achievement Award.
Auto Remarketing correspondent Arlena Sawyers was on hand for the award presentation, and provided this recap below:
But before becoming a publisher and an entrepreneur, Smith was a journalist. He started the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association’s Used Car Dealer Magazine while working for the association.
After NIADA took the publication in-house in 1990 Smith shunned naysayers who said the industry didn’t need a publication dedicated to the used-car business. Auto Remarketing was born.
Smith recognized that the used-car industry was growing and evolving and he wanted to be a part of it.
“The manufacturers, the auction association, the independent dealers, the franchise dealers, all of those people,” have all been instrumental in that growth, Smith said. “We’ve been fortunate to see it grow dramatically.”
Smith said his staff is “outstanding” and that support of his wife Donna, helped his dreams become reality.
The Auto Remarketing Lifetime Achievement Award has been renamed the Ron Smith Lifetime Achievement Award.
Smith on Auto Remarketing Podcast
Prior to Used Car Week, we recorded an intervew with Smith for the Auto Remarketing Podcast.
Check out our conversation, recorded earlier this fall, below.
