Predictive analytics provider automotiveMastermind has appointed Kos Jha as chief technology officer and Daniel (Dan) Malloy to vice president of sales.
Malloy will work to expand Mastermind’s automotive industry presence by adding new brands, dealer groups and individual retail stores to automotiveMastermind’s portfolio mix. He previously served as national sales director for automotiveMastermind, which provides predictive analytics for dealerships and lists its role as helping automotive dealerships and manufacturers find, engage and earn long-lasting customer relationships.
Jha will manage the technology and global engineering teams while aligning with the product organization. He previously worked for S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“We are most committed to being a true partner to our dealers, and that begins from the very start of our relationship,” Marco Schnabl, chief executive officer and co-founder of automotiveMastermind, said in a news release. “Now, more than ever, dealerships need to look at their market holistically to maximize all possible sales opportunities. Dan is committed to help dealers address their challenges and pain-points through partnering with Mastermind.”
Malloy has worked in the retail automotive industry for more than 20 years, previously serving as general manager for Audi of Freehold (New Jersey) and Group 1 Automotive, and he has worked with brands including Honda, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen. He also provided new-car sales management and marketing initiative implementation in a previous position with DCH Auto Group.
“Mastermind is continuously innovating and pushing the boundaries of predictive solutions, and this year is no exception,” Malloy said in a news release. “There is a lot to get excited about in the upcoming year. I’m passionate about being a strong resource for dealers and am looking forward to showcasing this in my new role.”
Jha has spent more than 25 years in the technology industry. At S&P Global Market Intelligence, he served as chief technology officer for client-facing platforms and analytics products. He oversaw modern cloud-native architectures and big data and analytics technologies to deliver growth and transformation. Prior to that he worked in management consulting to lead IT strategy and implementation at EY, and he also served as a technology manager building software products at Honeywell.
“Kos is an extremely diversified leader who will further help us build a world-class product development team around our strategic product vision,” Johannes Gnauck, chief executive officer and co-founder of automotiveMastermind, said in a news release.
“Mastermind is constantly updating and innovating its technology to best serve dealer partners and their customers,” Jha said in a news release. “My goal is to ensure that the technology is always catering to dealers’ needs and providing the predictive analytics and solutions for each dealer’s market.”
Patrick Ming has joined the ADESA national sales team as executive sales director, and Vince McNeal has rejoined the team as senior director of customer solutions.
Ming joined the business unit of KAR Auction Services through the acquisition of upstream vehicle auction platform OPENLANE in 2011. Ming brings more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, and he most recently served as director of online programs at ADESA, where he oversaw development of customer-tailored upstream auction platforms for several large private-label portfolios supported by OPENLANE.
McNeal started with ADESA in 2005 as a dealer sales representative at the company’s ADESA Lexington auction location before promotions to fleet lease manager and assistant general manager. He went on to serve as executive sales director at ADESA for five years. McNeal was most recently executive director of commercial sales for TradeRev, another KAR business unit.
“Both Patrick and Vince have the skillsets and exceptional customer relationships to ensure a seamless transition to our commercial sales group,” John Hammer, ADESA president, said in a press release.
Matt Arias has been named assistant vice president of operations at America’s Auto Auction. The company describes Arias as “one of the industry’s leading experts in vehicle arbitration procedures, inspections, reconditioning, operations management and resource optimization.”
Arias begins his new role with more than 20 years of auction experience. “Matt will establish stronger consistency in our condition report writing process, enabling our consignors to more accurately price their vehicles and our purchasers to buy with more confidence,” Brian Thomas, senior vice president at America’s Auto Auction, said in a news release. “We’re looking forward to Matt’s veteran leadership and operational expertise to better streamline operations across all of America’s 21 locations.”
America’s Auto Auction also describes Arias as an experienced negotiator, mediator and arbitrator, and he spent many years at Manheim and ADT. He most recently served as Manheim’s director of operational excellence and as director of arbitration. He is currently co-chair of the NAAA Auction Standards and IARA Standards committees. He is also the instructor of the NAAA Standards classes, which take place at various auction locations around the country.
“I’ve worked alongside America’s Auto Auction for many years in my efforts with the NAAA and the Standards Committee, and I know that company to be aggressively committed to supporting their customers and their employees,” Arias said in a news release. “I am excited to have the opportunity to work directly with America’s to continue their efforts to optimize the auction experience, both internally and externally, and across all platforms. I’m fond of saying that we either synch or sink in this industry, and my goal is to find the best ways to enhance operations at America’s so that the processes and flow of information are seamless between the auctions and our customers.”
Arias continued, “Deeply ingrained in the culture at America’s Auto Auction is a commitment to quality assurance, and I admire the fact that the general managers at every America’s auction [are] empowered … with decision-making autonomy, which allows them to respond with lightning speed to meet an individual customer’s specifications. My desk is typically the hood of a car at whatever auction I’m working at. I’ll be covering a lot of geography to work directly with the GMs and their teams at each of America’s 21 auctions to find ways to enhance condition report writing processes, streamline procedures and ensure the greatest customer satisfaction.”
Lithia Motors now has a chief legal officer — its first-ever. And AutoWeb has its first chief operating officer.
Starting with the Lithia news, joining the dealer group in the role of chief legal officer will be David Stork, who comes to the company from JELD-WEN.
His most recent post there was as general counsel.
“David’s unique understanding and proactive approach to the legal discipline as a business partner, is a perfect fit with our team and culture,” Lithia president and chief executive officer Bryan DeBoer said in a news release.
In another C-level first in the auto retail space this week, AutoWeb announced its first-ever COO: Dan Ingle, who joins the company after 12 years with Cox Automotive.
His most recent post there was vice president of international business development, leading the global expansion of Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader brands at Cox. Ingle’s experience also includes time as the IT director at CapitalOne Auto Finance and posts with PeopleFirst.com, Thomson Technology Consulting Group and Ernst & Young.
“Dan’s operational capabilities and extensive insight into the digital automotive marketing landscape will be a strong asset for our executive team,” AutoWeb president and CEO Jared Rowe said in a news release. (Rowe's background includes time leading both Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, respectively, as well as the group at Cox Automotive that oversaw both brands.)
“His leadership at KBB was instrumental to the brand’s digital transformation as he modernized its vehicle valuation process and display, while extending those capabilities beyond the US market. We look forward to leveraging his expertise in operating digital consumer and commercial products as we look to execute on our various strategic initiatives in 2019,” Rowe said.
In the new release, Ingle added: “AutoWeb’s marketing platform provides dealers and OEMs with the necessary advertising solutions to sell vehicles in a dynamic digital landscape. I plan to utilize my experience in managing digital platforms to further enhance AutoWeb’s solutions and ensure we are effectively utilizing our people, technology and data to drive growth and deliver measurable value for our clients.”
Dealer-to-dealer digital auction platform TradeRev announced several executive appointments on Tuesday, including new roles for Kayne Grau and Keith Crerar.
Grau, formerly president of Data as a Service at TradeRev parent KAR Auction Services, has been named executive vice president, U.S. and commercial sales for TradeRev.
Crerar has been named executive vice president of global operations at TradeRev and will oversee all dealer efforts, including registration, auction experience, post-sale support and logistics. TradeRev says the moves are aimed at accelerating the company’s North American expansion and helping dealers experience more simplified, personalized, hands-on support.
“Keith has spent his career working alongside dealers and understanding their challenges — his service-first approach will ensure our customers receive the best, most responsive and personalized service in the industry,” said Becca Polak, TradeRev president and chief legal counsel/secretary at KAR, in a news release.
“And we’re thrilled to welcome Kayne and his entrepreneurial mindset to our team. He is a widely respected dealer advocate who will help inject our offerings with additional data analytics and technology horsepower.”
These moves follow the recent release of TradeRev’s Move Metal services menu, offering dealers customized support levels ranging from self-service to full-service. The menu includes the company’s TradeReady seller protection, an optional service that guarantees no post-sale returns or arbitrations. Crerar will continue to standardize and streamline the TradeRev experience for dealers across North America while deploying new approaches to address some of the auction industry’s historical challenges.
Grau joined KAR through the acquisition of DRIVIN in 2017. He has played a role in fortifying KAR’s data analytics capabilities and syndicating the DRIVIN predictive analytics tools across KAR’s portfolio of physical, online and digital auction marketplaces. At TradeRev, he will focus on accelerating the company’s expansion in new and existing markets and overseeing the TradeRev ground crew supporting dealers who select full-service options. He will also take a more informed and holistic view of TradeRev customers’ used inventory.
TradeRev also announced several promotions within the TradeRev sales organization. Kathy Hopkins, formerly director of dealer sales at sister business unit, ADESA, has joined the team as vice president of sales covering the North Central, Mountain and West U.S. regions. Additionally, Will Farmer has been promoted to vice president of sales for the Northeast, Southeast, and South Central U.S. regions.
Agero Inc., a provider of software-enabled driver assistance services for automotive manufacturers and insurance providers, appointed Bill Gerraughty as chief financial officer, responsible for all finance and facilities functions. Gerraughty’s addition follows the December announcement of new chief operations officer George Horvat.
Reporting to chief executive officer Dave Ferrick, Gerraughty will oversee Agero’s financial strategy. As part of this, Gerraughty will focus on building strong relationships with clients and partners, as well as acting as a strategic partner to the leadership team.
“Bill joins us at an exciting moment in time as we focus on software-led innovation and new business models for our partners—transforming our business and the industry,” Ferrick said in a news release. “With his impressive history in financial stewardship and skill developing creative operational strategies, Bill will be integral in helping us accelerate our growth path and continue to deliver differentiated value for clients.”
Gerraughty comes to the position with nearly 30 years of management and leadership in international finance and operations at private, start-up and publicly traded software and technology companies. He has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, financial modeling and operational planning, in addition to skills in developing strategies that build and sustain growth.
Prior to joining Agero, Gerraughty filled the chief financial officer role at several Boston-area technology companies. Most recently, he was chief financial officer at OnProcess Technology, a tech-enabled services company focused on the aftermarket service supply chain.
Prior to that, he held various finance-related leadership positions at Sparta Systems, NMS Communications, Infinium Software and others. He began his career at PwC in Boston and is currently a board member of LiveData Inc., a provider of real-time operational intelligence solutions for the healthcare and utilities market. A certified public accountant, Bill holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Babson College and a master’s of business administration from the Franklin W. Olin Graduate School of Business.
The National Auto Auction Association said Friday it has promoted Tricia Heon to the new position of chief operating officer. She has served as legislative director and operations manager for eight years. The transition was effective as of Jan. 1.
The association also elected Julie Picard vice president for the 2018-2019 term, and she will serve on the executive board with president Chad Bailey and president-elect Laura Taylor.
NAAA noted that in addition to its expanding role of the 70-year-old trade organization as a voice for the vehicle remarketing industry, the promotion of Heon to chief operating officer reflects the increasing responsibilities of its administration to serve its growing membership. NAAA now represents more than 340 auction members and 130 associate members.
“One of the many reasons we felt the need for the new position is our greater management requirements for daily operations,” NAAA chief executive officer Frank Hackett said in a news release. “We only have a handful of full-time staff yet perform like an association several times that size, which demands effective day-to-day direction.”
Hackett noted that the title was appropriate for Heon because her job of operations manager had already evolved to encompass much of the chief operating officer’s functions. He added that establishing the new position would prepare the association to handle additional work efficiently without increasing staff as it looks to the future. Also, it will allow him more time to focus on strategic planning as chief executive officer.
During her eight years with NAAA, Heon has been responsible for the creation of its political action committee, the annual Day On The Hill advocacy event in Washington, D.C., and the monitoring of federal and state regulations. The association notes that she has been instrumental in the development of projects and initiatives, such as the study to address the technician shortage and reports on the future of the industry, as well as planning meetings and programs.
Heon, who graduated from The University at Albany, N.Y., with a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science and earned a master’s in public administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, worked in local government as a budget analyst and as a consultant projecting the impact of the federal budget on various entities before coming to NAAA.
She will continue to serve as NAAA’s legislative director in addition to her new duties of overseeing the staff and the daily operations of the association as chief operating officer.
Meanwhile, NAAA elected Picard, who is Manheim’s national west regional vice president, at its 70th annual convention in December.
At Manheim, Picard is responsible for developing and implementing strategies for 14 auctions to increase growth, market share, and profitability.
Throughout her 26-year Manheim career, Picard served in numerous executive positions, including vice president and general manager of Manheim Pennsylvania, overseeing the auto auction with 1,600 employees and revenues of $226 million.
“Julie’s experience in the industry, business skills and leadership abilities made her an excellent choice to serve on our board,” said Hackett. “She values team engagement, collaboration, talent development and strategic planning, all of which are important for the advancement of our association and the vehicle remarketing industry.”
A graduate from the University of Montana with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1989, Picard worked for Rhodes and Fullaway, CPA, becoming a senior accountant before leaving three years later to join Manheim Seattle as controller and manager of finance and administration.
After completing the Cox Executive Leadership Program, she was named the Seattle auto auction's assistant general manager in 2000, then general manager in 2007 and market vice president in 2011. Picard served as vice president and general manager of Manheim Pennsylvania from January 2014 until being named to her current position in December 2015. She was honored as one of Auto Remarketing’s 2013 Women in Remarketing.
She also received the 2013 Laurie Dobberphul Top Achiever Award, presented by GE Remarketing.
AutoAlert chief executive officer Mike Dullea announced a trio of executive promotions on Wednesday.
In moves Dullea said, “reflect the overall growth and movement of our organization toward more large-scale relationships, which include global initiatives,” the promotions include:
—Don Favero to global vice president of sales and marketing
—Beth Donovan to vice president of incentives and communications
—Bob Smythe to vice president of field operations
AutoAlert is already involved outside of the United States with manufacturer initiatives that include Ford Motor Company, but these executive promotions within its corporate structure speak to the broader influence of the company globally.
“Our entire executive team is uniquely and immensely talented, and I want to recognize Don, Beth, and Bob for their critical contributions to AutoAlert’s recent achievements and growth,” Dullea said. “Don and I have worked together even prior to AutoAlert, and he is one of the most consistently successful leaders I know. He brings innovation and a keen sense for what works to leading our marketing team.
“Beth has played a key role in our growing success with Ford, and in the development and implementation of our customer experience management platform,” Dullea continued. “Bob was instrumental to our partnership with Ford, and to the success that’s followed. Both Bob and Beth lead the way in ensuring that all of our dealership partners are getting the absolute best results from our products every day, and I look forward to continuing our work together.”
Since joining AutoAlert in January 2016 as VP of sales, Favero has overseen the sales team through the company’s rapid growth, including this year’s partnership with Ford, bringing more than 1,300 additional Ford dealerships onboard. He now adds to his role the leadership of AutoAlert’s marketing department.
Favero came to AutoAlert with more than 20 years of leadership experience and had previously run the sales departments at VinSolutions and other software companies.
Before joining AutoAlert as senior director of communications in April, Donovan held several senior management positions at Ford, where she worked for 30 years. Now as vice president of incentives and communications, Donovan will continue to be a key leader in AlertOptics, an instrumental aspect of the Ford partnership, and other products that help dealerships deliver the industry’s best sales and service experience.
Smythe also held leadership roles at Ford Motor Company, where he worked for more than 36 years, before joining AutoAlert last year. In his previous role of OEM senior director – Ford, Smythe was critical to AutoAlert’s partnership and growing success with the Blue Oval.
As vice president of field operations, Smythe will continue to lead teams out in the field to ensure that the CXM platform and all of AutoAlert’s products best meet dealership needs.
DealerPolicy, LLC, a company in the emerging Insurtech sector, appointed former Cox Automotive executive Mike Burgiss as chief product officer, a newly created position.
Burgiss brings more than two decades of product, innovation, and management experience across the automotive and technology industries, holding senior positions at Cox Automotive and Accenture. DealerPolicy stated that as vice president of digital retailing at Cox Automotive, Burgiss sparked the ongoing transformation of car buying and selling into an efficient, convenient, and digital experience.
Burgiss holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Virginia Tech.
DealerPolicy chief executive Travis Fitzgerald said: “Mike has a strong track record of successfully leading automotive industry change. His leadership at Cox Automotive was a key ingredient in the company’s current leadership position in the automotive retail digital transformation.
“Mike will be a tremendous addition to our company, rounding out DealerPolicy’s executive team and equipping us to scale the business and reach thousands of dealers and millions of consumers as we expand from the northeast to the mid-Atlantic and nationwide in 2019.”
HyreCar recently added an executive with three decades of experience in the dealership trenches.
The carsharing marketplace for ridesharing announced that Brian Allan has been appointed to lead its OEM- and dealer-based shared mobility initiatives and strategic alliances.
Allan brings 40 years of total experience within the automotive industry to HyreCar. For three decades, Allan led the growth of the Galpin Premier Automotive Group, the luxury division of one of the largest volume dealer groups in the nation, Galpin Motors.
HyreCar chief executive officer Joe Furnari highlighted that Allan is a respected voice of authority, thought leader and widely recognized technology advocate in the retail automotive sales and service industry.
“I’m excited to bring an industry veteran of Mr. Allan’s caliber with deep OEM and dealer relationships onto the team. Brian’s passion for our business model will help us capitalize on the significant growth opportunities associated with assisting ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft to onboard drivers with vehicles, along with other upcoming opportunities,” Furnari said.
“Demand for qualified ridesharing vehicles greatly exceeds current supply and fleet owners like auto dealers are the natural progression of institutional supply. We are now poised to capitalize on that vehicle supply opportunity, which we believe can lead us to exponentially increase our revenues,” Furnari added.
With the addition of Allan, HyreCar said it will continue to leverage its business model of carsharing for ridesharing while providing a "path to purchase" for rideshare drivers.
“I am excited to join such an innovative and dynamic company during a pivotal point of tremendous growth opportunity. HyreCar offers a complete solution for automotive franchised and independent dealers to earn revenue streams on otherwise idle inventory while selling more cars,” Allan said.
“In fact, it’s my personal belief that the HyreCar platform will exceed 10,000 vehicles by end of 2019, while helping established dealers enter the Mobility as a Service business,” Allan continued.
“In the face of potential headwinds for traditional dealer vehicle sales, HyreCar’s platform creates new sources of revenue for every dealership department including new car, used car, parts, finance, and of course, vehicle service, by leveraging their current infrastructure,” Allan went on to say.
