You might say the executive set to become the chief financial officer at CarLotz possesses a stylish and flavorful professional background that includes multiple mergers and acquisitions.
Tom Stoltz, who has held executive positions at companies such as Food Lion and Citi Trends, has been appointed as CFO of CarLotz in a move that’s effective Nov. 30. Stoltz will report to CarLotz chief executive officer and co-founder Michael Bor.
The appointment arrives not only long after the arrival of Becca Polak as the company’s first chief commercial officer and general counsel while CarLotz announced it would become a public company via a merger that is subject to certain closing conditions with special purpose acquisition company Acamar Partners Acquisition Corp.
Stoltz, a veteran senior finance professional with close to three decades of public and private company experience, brings extensive retail industry expertise to the role and most recently served as the chief financial officer of Chicago-based Portillos Hot Dogs. Previously, Stoltz held roles with Fortune 500 companies Dollar General and Food Lion, as well as senior roles at a number of retail industry public and private companies.
“CarLotz has experienced incredible growth in recent years, and the transaction to become a public company will take the company to the next level,” Bor said in a news release.
“As the business rapidly scales, we are fortunate to have Tom join with his deep knowledge and skill set, coupled with his strong retail experience,” Bor continued. “I am confident that Tom’s experience will help us grow the business and execute against our long-term goals.”
Additionally, Stoltz previously served as chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Body Central, a prime destination for trendy women’s apparel at affordable prices, where he led a change in control capital raising transaction.
Prior to Body Central, Stoltz served as the CFO of Citi Trends, Cato Corp. and Fanatics, where he led the M&A process in 2011 to sell the family business to GSI Commerce.
Stoltz also has completed two prior IPOs in his career at Factory Card and Party Outlet in 1996 and again with Citi Trends in 2005.
“I am thrilled to join the exceptional CarLotz team at this important inflection point in the growth of the company,” Stoltz said. “CarLotz continues to produce exceptional annualized growth rates and the company’s future looks immensely promising as the only consignment-to-retail sales operation in the used-vehicle industry.
“I am excited to build on CarLotz’ impressive track record of excellence and growth and look forward to working closely with Michael and the rest of CarLotz’ outstanding management team,” he continued.
Steve Carrel, who is managing director at TRP Capital Partners, a leading private equity fund in the transportation sector and investor in CarLotz, added his perspective on Stoltz coming aboard this month.
“Tom brings the right skillset and experience to CarLotz at a pivotal time in its growth trajectory,” Carrel said. “As the company seeks to build out a national platform of hubs, and accomplish other critical growth initiatives, I’m confident Tom’s leadership and public company experience will help the company achieve its great potential.”
After being indicted in one of the largest tax evasion schemes ever to be prosecuted by the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service, Bob Brockman now no longer is the chief executive officer of Reynolds and Reynolds.
The company announced on Friday that Brockman has stepped down as CEO. Reynolds president and chief operating officer Tommy Barras has been named CEO.
The company said in a news release that the change is effective immediately.
“I am both humbled and excited by the opportunity to lead this company,” Barras said. “I have the benefit of the most talented senior executive leadership team with decades of automotive experience to lean on.
“We also have talented associates who are passionate about the business,” he continued. “That’s an unbeatable combination and the future looks very bright.”
Reynolds highlighted that Barras is a long-time company executive who joined the company in 1976. He was named a company officer over software development in 1988 and has held the position of executive vice president of software development since 2008.
Back in June, Barras was named Reynolds president and COO. The company said he will retain those titles along with his CEO role.
Friday’s development arrived three weeks after a federal grand jury in San Francisco returned a 39-count indictment, charging Brockman with tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and other offenses.
Those charges stem from an alleged decades-long scheme to conceal approximately $2 billion in income from the IRS as well as a scheme to defraud investors in the software company’s debt securities.
Noel Watson has resigned as chief financial officer of automotive digital marketplace TrueCar to accept another business opportunity.
Watson, whose new opportunity will be with a privately held company “outside of the automotive vertical,” according to TrueCar, expects to remain in his current position through Nov. 16.
That is to ensure a smooth transition for the company, and TrueCar said that until it identifies a permanent candidate, the company’s controller, Charles Thomas, will serve as interim principal financial officer.
TrueCar said Watson’s resignation is not related to any issues involving the company's operations, financial statements, internal controls, policies or practices. The company said it looks forward to announcing its financial results on Nov. 5 for the third quarter ended Sept. 30. The financial results announcement will take place following the close of market.
“While today’s announcement is bittersweet, I am proud of what we have accomplished and take comfort in knowing that I leave TrueCar well positioned to deliver on its strategic plans and to unlock its next chapter of growth,” Watson said in a news release. “I have the utmost confidence in the TrueCar brand, executive team and employees.”
TrueCar president and chief executive officer Mike Darrow thanked Watson for his contributions to the company.
“Noel has been instrumental in helping us navigate a period of rapid business transformation, and in positioning the company for future success as we execute on our strategic vision of building the industry’s leading modern digital car buying marketplace,” Darrow said. “We wish him continued success in this next chapter of his career.”
ACV Auctions welcomed two new executives with vast experience from outside the automotive industry to support enhancements within the company’s financial operations and continued advancement of its workplace and culture.
According to a news release distributed on Tuesday, the new chief financial officer at ACV is Bill Zerella and its vice president of people and culture is Sallie Reid.
ACV highlighted that Zerella is a recognized financial executive, bringing more than 20 years of leadership experience in scaling technology companies to become global businesses. His experience includes CFO roles at Fitbit, Luminar Technologies and Vocera Communications.
Meanwhile, ACV pointed out that Reid is an accomplished human resources leader experienced in building vibrant company cultures placing human capital at the core. Reid joins ACV most recently from Delaware North where she served as vice president of human resources and brings prior relevant experience with Genuine Parts Company and Wegmans Food Markets.
“I look forward to the additional perspectives and knowledge that Bill and Sallie will bring to ACV from their diverse industry experiences. They will be impactful additions to our leadership team as we grow our share in the massive used car automotive sector,” ACV Auctions chief executive officer George Chamoun said in the news release.
“With Bill and Sallie’s respective contributions we will continue on our path to bring transparency to used cars, while being the most desired place to work,” Chamoun added.
ACV reiterated that Zerella has tremendous expertise building teams and scaling businesses. He was most recently the CFO of Luminar Technologies, a leading autonomous vehicle sensor and software company. In two years, he led the company’s growth model, raised more than $150 million in equity and scaled key functions driving significant growth in revenue.
Prior to Luminar Technologies, Zerella served as CFO of Fitbit, which was the highest growth technology company in the country in 2016, according to the news release. Zerella was with Fitbit from 2014 to 2018, leading them through an initial public offering of $841 million, one of the largest consumer technology IPOs in history.
The company said Zerella will lead ACV’s financial operations at a time when market conditions are pushing automotive retailers to consider new, innovative ways to conduct business.
“I am eager to immerse myself in such an innovative, digitally-driven business relied upon by so many industry players across the country,” Zerella said. “ACV is pioneering the rapid digital transformation of the wholesale auction and inspection industry and I’m thrilled to join the team at such a critical period of growth.”
ACV mentioned that Reid has served as a strategic partner within large private and Fortune 200 companies to help achieve key business outcomes through the growth and development of their people.
ACV also highlighted that Reid focuses on employee development, leadership coaching, change management, succession planning and team building to create powerful experiences for employees, customers and clients. In addition, her experience managing large acquisitions and the related integration efforts will be an important asset to ACV as the company continues to grow both organically and through acquisition, according to the company.
Most recently, Reid served as a vice president of human resources for Delaware North, one of the largest privately held hospitality and food service companies in the world. Prior to Delaware North, she spent 10 years at Genuine Parts Co., an international organization engaged in the distribution of automotive and industrial replacement parts.
ACV also noted that Reid established career fundamentals spending more than 10 years at Wegmans Food Markets, a large regional supermarket chain that is consistently ranked a Top Place to Work in the Country.
“I am extremely excited to build upon ACV’s mission to be a best in class organization to work for. ACV’s prioritization of its people and commitment to building a world-class culture drew me to the opportunity,” Reid said.
“I look forward to playing a strategic role in furthering the company culture, advancing the development of our talent, and continuing to make ACV a compelling and innovative workplace,” she went on to say.
Copart has made a trio of senior leadership moves this week, including naming a new chief operating officer, chief marketing and product officer and chief financial officer.
Starting with the new COO to replace the recently retired Sean Eldridge, appointed to that position was Steve Powers, who had been the company’s Eastern Division vice president of operations. Powers has been with the company since 1995, joining when Copart acquired New England Recovery, and became VP of operations in 2010.
Meantime, Copart has named former Avis Budget Group and Lithia Motors CFO John North to serve in that role for the company.
North’s most recent post was as the Avis Budget CFO, following 17 years at Lithia. His various posts at the public retailer included CFO and chief accounting officer.
Named as the Copart CMO/CPO is Scott Booker. Among his former roles were serving as president of Hotels.com and chief executive officer at Healthgrades.
These executives will report to Copart president Jeff Liaw.
“I’m delighted to appoint these three exceptional leaders to their new positions. Steve Powers has served Copart and its predecessor companies for almost 40 years and brings unmatched experience and insight to our operations,” Liaw said in a news release.
“He is a respected leader, among our own team as well as with our customers and members. We also extend our gratitude to Sean Eldridge, who has recently retired after his own exceptional 30-year journey with Copart,” Liaw said.
He added: “I’m equally excited about appointing Scott and John to their new positions. Scott brings extensive experience in the highly competitive travel marketplace business to help shape our future as we continue to build and enhance our global platform.
“John likewise brings relevant experience to his new role as CFO, most recently serving as global CFO of a complex vehicle rental business, as well as his many years serving as CFO of a high-growth automotive retailer. For both Scott and John, their functional experience in complex global businesses, combined with their analytical rigor and leadership skills, will help enable us to achieve our growth ambitions.”
A former leader with AutoNation and Sonic Automotive has joined Shift as its chief revenue officer, a newly created position at the used-car ecommerce company.
Named to the post is Mark McCollum, who most recently was founder and chief executive officer at auto retail software company Automotive IntelliQuence.
Shift, which is on its way to going public through a business combination with special purpose acquisition company Insurance Acquisition Corp. (which is publicly traded), also recently hired a chief financial officer, Cindy Hanford.
In a news release Wednesday announcing the CRO appointment, Shift co-founder and co-chief executive Toby Russell said, “Shift has built out a strong management team whose unparalleled technology expertise has provided us an edge in building a differentiated consumer offering. With the addition of Mark, we’re now adding to that mix veteran automotive retail expertise.
“He possesses a unique understanding of the rapidly evolving auto retail industry along with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and auto-tech experience,” Russell said. “It’s a rare combination, and his leadership will be critically valuable as Shift enters the public market and is poised for significant growth.”
McCollum’s prior roles also include time as market president at AutoNation and as a general manager at Sonic, among other auto retailers.
“As someone who has spent his entire career in this industry, I see a unique opportunity at hand for Shift to be transformative in the industry, and believe the company is positioned for tremendous growth,” said McCollum. “This is an exciting time to join Shift, and I look forward to helping the company fulfill its potential and achieve great success.”
Earlier this month, Shift announced it had added three new members to its planned public-company board of directors following the approval and completion of its pending merger with Insurance Acquisition Corp.
Shift said all three of the new directors are former executives of global consumer companies. Those companies include General Motors, Wealthfront and Hilton.
The three new directors are Victoria McInnis, Kellyn Kenny, and Adam Nash. Nash became a director in May.
Those new directors will join Shift’s existing directors Emily Melton, Manish Patel, and Jason Krikorian, along with Shift’s co-chief executive officers Russell and George Arison on the board.
Shift’s merger and journey toward becoming a publicly traded company on Nasdaq first announced back in June took an important step forward last week.
The vehicle ecommerce platform announced that the registration statement on Form S-4 filed by Insurance Acquisition Corp., to the previously announced business combination with Shift has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Automotive marketing cloud company Orbee Auto recently named Peter Fong as chief revenue officer, stating that Fong could improve the company’s offerings “aimed at enabling automotive dealerships to more easily tackle the complexities of today’s digital marketing landscape.”
Fong’s more than 26 years of industry experience includes various executive-level sales, marketing and brand management positions at Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler/Chrysler Group LLC.
He also formerly served as senior vice president of dealership operations at the National Automotive Dealers Association. He most recently ran his own consultancy that advises auto industry companies.
Orbee Auto said Fong’s auto industry experience, along with Orbee Auto’s platform and services, brings “a new level of vision” to dealerships, trade organizations, media companies, and manufacturer agencies.
Fong is a military veteran who served as a Naval aviator and leadership and management instructor,
The company said Fong joins its team “at a critical moment in the history of the automotive industry.” Because of the pandemic, dealerships are working to adapt their digital channels. That includes more digital showroom traffic, higher used-vehicle demand, and a need to compete with direct-to-consumer car sales, the company said.
“What I have come to learn about Peter is that he rolls up his sleeves and really engages the dealer community helping connect dots for them in a way that is understandable and actionable,” Orbee Auto chief operating officer Atul Patel said in a news release.
Patel continued, “When you match Peter’s network and insight with our amazing team of contributors, strong partnerships, and highly engaged customers, I’m excited about the transformation we will drive in this industry.”
“Orbee Auto has shown the devotion and determination to assist automotive dealerships through the difficult world of digital marketing, and with that, it was an indisputable decision to join them,” Fong said.
Fong continued, “Daniel Kim and Atul Patel assembled a team that structured a system and vision which enables a new light to the automotive industry. I am delighted to bring more to this company with my industry experience and relationships with a vast range of dealerships.”
Orbee Auto chief executive officer Daniel Kim said Fong possesses strong knowledge of the automotive industry “and will help deliver Orbee’s vision of empowering automotive dealerships in a digital-first landscape.”
“His passion for truly wanting to help automotive dealers thrive makes him a great addition and leader to our company,” Kim said.
Fong said being associated with a minority-owned company with many minority employees was a strong deciding factor in his decision to come to Orbee. The company said he joins several automotive executives who have recently left C-level positions at major OEMs for “innovative start-ups that are more nimble and well- positioned to make quicker decisions to impact change for the better.”
Shift Technologies has added three new members to its planned public-company board of directors following the approval and completion of its pending merger with Insurance Acquisition Corp.
Shift, an online used car marketplace, said all three of the new directors are former executives of global consumer companies. Those companies include General Motors, Wealthfront and Hilton.
The three new directors are Victoria McInnis, Kellyn Kenny, and Adam Nash. Nash became a director in May.
Those new directors will join Shift’s existing directors Emily Melton, Manish Patel, and Jason Krikorian, along with Shift’s co-chief executive officers Toby Russell and George Arison on the board.
“The addition of Victoria, Adam, and Kellyn is a huge win for Shift as each brings enormous talent, intelligence and breadth of experience at a critical time in our growth,” Arison said in a news release.
Arison continued, “We are particularly excited to continue to build a strong, diverse, and balanced board once we are a public company and leverage the huge market opportunity created by consumers’ growing preference for online car buying.”
McInnis is a long-time automotive industry senior executive with more than 20 years of leadership and broad operational roles at General Motors.
Shift said McInnis “earned a reputation as a change leader and champion of women’s professional growth.” Her financial experience includes time as vice president of internal audit and chief tax officer at GM. She has also served as audit chair for VectoIQ, the special purpose acquisition company that recently merged with zero-emissions truck company Nikola.
Nash is a chief executive officer and product leader, investor, and speaker, and Shift described him as “a recognized visionary in the development of products that delight consumers.”
Nash previously served as chief executive officer and chief operating officer of Wealthfront. At that company, he helped lead the creation of a new category of automated investment services, growing assets under management from less than $100 million to more than $4 billion.
He also served as vice president of product at Dropbox, leading the teams responsible for strategy and management of products that served more than 600 million users.
As vice president of product at LinkedIn, Nash was responsible for user experience, growth, search, and mobile.
Shift described Kenny as a “transformational marketing leader with a reputation for accelerating growth inside some of the world's most iconic consumer brands.” Those brands include Hilton, Microsoft, Uber, and automotive lender Capital One.
She most recently served as global chief marketing officer for Hilton Worldwide. In that post, her teams worked across 18 trading brands and 120 countries. More than 100 million loyalty members led to Hilton’s largest annual growth on record, according to Shift.
Kenny has expertise in “hyper-local marketplace advertising, the virtuous-cycle of building a loyal customer base, and the network effects of scaled regional and national expansion,” according to Shift. She focuses strongly on workplace culture, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Kenny was also a member of Hilton's senior leadership group during 2018 and 2019, and at that time, Fortune named Hilton the No. 1 Best Place to Work in the U.S.
“The addition of our new board members marks a new phase for us as a company, bringing together experienced leaders from diverse backgrounds to help lead us to further success,” Russell said.
Dealers know they have millions worth of equipment and inventory at their facility, requiring complex insurance to protect them. Risk Point Underwriters hired a new executive on Thursday to ensure its products and services meet store demands.
The company that offers programs for dealer open lot and garage package for franchised auto, motorcycle, RV and heavy truck dealerships announced that Scott Hoy has been named executive vice president for the specialty auto dealer underwriting unit.
Risk Point Underwriters said Hoy will be responsible for driving profitable growth and delivering customer excellence through independent agents.
Bryan Wilburn is president and chief executive officer of the parent company, Risk Theory. Wilburn said in a news release, “We are excited to add Scott to our company. He brings a proven leadership track record, impressive industry reputation, vast insurance experience, relationships, and knowledge specific to our dealership insurance offerings.”
Hoy’s leadership background in these industries and niche specialization comes from 25 years of experience at Victor, Marsh & McLennan’s managing general agency business; SeaFire Insurance Services, a managing general underwriter specializing in automotive dealerships; as well as the national vice president of sales for Zurich and Universal Underwriters Group.
“As the largest automotive dealership insurance program in the country available to independent agents, I am very excited to join the Risk Theory team,” Hoy said.
“I look forward to working with the most experienced leadership team in our industry, and continue their success providing world class insurance solutions to dealerships across the country,” he went on to say.
A recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers now is part of the executive team at DealerSocket.
This week, the software company announced the appointment of Tony Graham as executive vice president and general manager of its Auto/Mate business unit. DealerSocket highlighted that Graham brings a proven track record of success, experience and leadership working with automotive dealerships to his new role.
Graham served in various leadership roles during his 26 years with CDK Global and ADP Dealer Services, including vice president of sales, multiple regional general manager roles, and chief customer experience officer.
“I am thrilled to welcome Tony to DealerSocket and our executive team,” DealerSocket chief executive officer and president Sejal Pietrzak said in a news release.
“Tony has a deep understanding of and experience in the automotive retail industry, especially the DMS space, and he shares our commitment to our dealers and team members. Tony will be a tremendous leader of our Auto/Mate business unit,” Pietrzak continued.
Credited with successfully launching CDK's Minority Dealer Business in 1999 and running the program until last year, Graham also served as executive sponsor of the company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. Last year, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from NAMAD.
“I’ve known Tony for well over 20 years. He has a tremendous amount of integrity and empathy for his dealership customers and just has a real passion for whatever he’s doing,” said Ernest Hodge, CEO and president of Atlanta-based March/Hodge Automotive Group. “I have been thoroughly impressed with him throughout his entire career. He’s just outstanding.”
Graham now joins DealerSocket as executive vice president and general manager of Auto/Mate, which DealerSocket acquired in February to offer dealers a comprehensive new choice for an all-in-one, intelligent software platform for their stores.
“The two things I’m most proud of are the number of employees I helped develop and grow as their mentor, and that I have been dedicated to supporting automotive dealerships from the smallest to the largest operations. My focus has always been on customer relationships and service, and that matches DealerSocket’s and Auto/Mate’s commitment to customer service for dealers,” Graham said.
“These are important times in the industry, and the combination of DealerSocket with Auto/Mate offers dealers a full platform solution with deep focus on customer support and innovative software. I’m excited to get started with DealerSocket,” he went on to say.
For more information, visit DealerSocket.com.
