Carlease announced Wednesday that it has appointed Cars.com 's former president and founder Mitch Golub to serve as chairman of its board.
This follows news from last month that the company has raised $3.5 million in an initial funding round led by venture capital firm Lightbank, along with a group of auto industry veterans that includes Golub.
In addition to expanding markets nationwide and increasing business leasing partnerships, the company said that it is investing in both its technology platform and digital experience.
“The company is capitalizing on increasing numbers of lease transactions, particularly in the luxury and millennial markets, and offering consumers an expert, efficient and stress-free experience,” Golub said in a news release announcing his appointment. “The interest in and support of Carlease is tremendous, and I couldn't be more excited to join the board of directors as the chairman.”
Before joining Cars.com, Golub spent over 20 years at the Tribune Co., where he leveraged his extensive background in product management to help with the development and management of start-ups in print, broadcast and online.
Golub also held a leadership role in Tribune's emerging New Media Group, where he created and launched Digital City, in partnership with America Online, according to Carlease. He received the Tribune Co.'s first Values Award, in recognition for business achievements that demonstrate creativity and entrepreneurialism.
“Mitch is a visionary and powerhouse leader in the automotive and digital industries and we are thrilled to have him as the chairman of Carlease's board of directors,” said Carlease chief executive officer Andy O'Dower. "His deep industry experience and knowledge of the consumer buying process will be invaluable as we scale the Carlease business quickly, enhancing our consumer product platform and digital experience, adding dealer partners and launching markets nationwide. I'm confident his counsel will make an important impact on our company and its growth,” he continued.
O’Dower is the former director of product at Cars.com and the former chief product officer at Curiosity.com.
Via its site, Carlease partners with dealers to offer consumers a single-point-of-contact experience where they can lease a vehicle to be delivered to their door.
“Carlease provides a convenient, one-stop shop to consumers looking to lease a new car by helping them find the right car, with the right offer, and delivering it to their home or office” added Golub. “In the process, they are increasing transaction opportunities for dealers – making this business a win-win for the industry.”
Golub is currently the president of MFG Digital, an investment and consulting firm that specializes in on digital start-ups.
PERQ announced Tuesday that it has appointed Stephanie Thompson to be its new vice president of client success.
Thompson most recently worked at Gannett as a key account sales director specializing in online and traditional marketing.
In addition to building strong teams that specialize in developing long-lasting client relationships, PERQ said her nearly 15-year background within the automotive, retail and furniture sectors includes managing complex client engagement across multiple communications channels.
“Stephanie brings over a decade of experience building teams responsible for creating an optimal customer experience,” PERQ executive vice president of operations Paul Champion said in a news release. “Among the many qualities she brings to our team is her ability to make our client-facing experience better, more proactive and responsive. She’s an incredible coach and has done a great job empowering our team to be their best.” Champion continued.
In her new role, Thompson has been tasked with leading a broad initiative to refine and expand client onboarding, data reporting and lifecycle processes across each of the verticals PERQ sells to.
“I am honored to put my experience and skills to work for PERQ in this leadership capacity, during what is a very important and exciting time in the company’s history,” Thompson said. “At PERQ, we are completely dedicated to our clients, and, as the team lead for client success, I can tell you that we plan to dramatically expand the value they receive from PERQ products, services and team members.”
Group 1 Automotive recently announced Mercedes-Benz and Smart franchise acquisitions from U.K.-based Robinsons Motor Group. The dealer group has also appointed Darren Guiver to serve as its U.K. operations managing director, a move that was effective Thursday.
The company acquired three smart franchises and five Mercedes-Benz franchises.
During Group 1’s quarterly conference call on Feb. 8, the company discussed looking for new-car dealership “opportunities” in the U.S., U.K. and Brazil markets.
The company has increased its U.K. operations to 47 dealerships, which includes 12 existing brands.
“We are pleased to further expand our global relationship with Mercedes-Benz through the addition of these five dealerships to our growing UK platform,” Group 1 chief executive officer Earl Hesterberg explained in a new release.
Group 1 said that it expects to generate an approximate $260 million in annualized revenues from the acquisition.
The newly acquired dealerships are located northeast of London in Suffolk and East Anglia and neighbor several other existing Group 1 dealerships in the area.
Meanwhile, in his new role as head of U.K. operations, Guiver will report directly to Hesterberg.
Following the sale of his dealer group, Spire Automotive, Guiver joined Group 1 in February 2016.
“Darren is a highly experienced retail operator with a proven track record of success,” Hesterberg said. “My top management team and I have complete confidence that Darren is the right person for this role. He and I have been working together almost daily for the past two years so we expect this transition to be seamless.”
An auction executive who gained experience in Florida now is overseeing an operation in Virginia
Auction Management Solutions client Richmond Auto Auction recently announced that Wyatt Carter has been promoted from assistant general manager to general manager, effective immediately.
Carter has been with Richmond AA since the beginning of 2017, previously working for ADESA Orlando and Sanford Auto Exchange in Florida. He has been in the auction business for 13 years, holding many auction positions including fleet lease manager and assistant general manager.
Richmond AA owner Mark Motley said, “We are very excited to have Wyatt move into this new role within the company. He has done an excellent job with the growth and development of the auction and is very deserving of this position.”
Carter said, “I have been fortunate to work with great people here at Richmond AA. Our operations team continues to improve on productivity and efficiencies while our sales team builds a credible base of dealer consignment business and aggressively growing commercial consignors.”
Auction Management Solutions president Tom Stewart who provides consulting services for Richmond AA, praised the operation for making this personnel move.
“We are excited for Wyatt in his new leadership role. With his vast auction experience, we look forward to our continued success in servicing and growing their clients, both dealers and consignors,” Stewart said.
Richmond Auto Auction operates on 35 acres of land, offering more than 400 units weekly through seven lanes. A full reconditioning and mechanical facility, in-house body shop, in-house transportation, AutoIMS and full integrated on-line capabilities are available.
For more information, go to www.richmondaa.com.
Mark Fields remains involved in the automotive industry — in a heavy-duty way, as a matter of fact.
Fields, who retired as president and chief executive officer of Ford last May, recently was appointed to the board of directors of FleetPride, one of the largest independent distributor of aftermarket heavy-duty truck and trailer parts.
Fields certainly carried a heavy load during a 28-year career with the Blue Oval.
During his tenure as chief executive officer, and before that as chief operating officer, Fields oversaw Ford’s fastest global manufacturing expansion in a half-century and its most aggressive schedule of new product introduction ever.
Before that, Fields served as president, The Americas, where he developed “The Way Forward” plan to return the company to profitability. He also served as executive vice president, Ford of Europe and Premier Automotive Group, as well as president and CEO of Mazda Motor Corp.
“We are very excited to have Mark join FleetPride’s board. He brings a wealth of operating and marketing expertise to our company during a dynamic period of growth,” FleetPride CEO Al Dragone.
Fields recently completed a term as chair of the U.S.-China Business Council, and he currently serves on the IBM board of directors.
As AutoGravity continues to build its roster of OEM captive clients, the FinTech firm specializing in mobile auto financing availability strengthened its executive team, as well.
The latest personnel announcement included AutoGravity appointing Meesh Pierce as vice president of product management.
“Meesh is a seasoned leader with deep expertise in building industry-changing products. And with her understanding of emerging technologies and agile development, she's the perfect fit for our team,” said Andy Hinrichs, chief executive officer of AutoGravity. “With her track record of driving innovation across industries, Meesh will lead our product team to evolve our platform and help connect AutoGravity with more car buyers across the nation.”
Prior to joining AutoGravity, Pierce served as VP of product management at Fandango. There, she was responsible for planning and managing cross-business platforms, collaborating with business and technical stakeholders, and supporting Fandango's core data, content, customer authentication and global payment systems.
Before her role at Fandango, Pierce spent more than 10 years as a product, strategy and marketing consultant across a variety of industries and brands, including Epson America, Energy & Power Solutions, luxury hospitality and luxury real estate private equity.
“AutoGravity is uniquely positioned to transform the way millions of consumers buy and finance their cars,” Pierce said. “The disruption and sea changes that have begun in the automotive industry mirror the innovation we’ve seen across the energy sector, travel and entertainment industries.
“I'm grateful for the opportunity to bring together consumers, lenders and dealers to realize AutoGravity’s potential to revolutionize the car buying experience through its technical product offerings and impressive team,” she went on to say.
Back in December, AutoGravity selected a new chief technology officer in a move that came before landing relationships with the captives for Audi and Nissan.
ActivEngage announced Tuesday that it has brought aboard Jeff Clark to serve as its new vice president of sales.
Clark is a sales leader with over 20 years of experience leading large automotive industry sales teams, the company said.
"Jeff brings with him an abundance of sales expertise, key connections and invaluable relationship-building skills that we feel are essential to ActivEngage's continued rapid growth," company chief operating officer Ted Rubin said in a news release. "Jeff's appointment to this new position is a milestone for our company. His industry knowledge, level of professionalism and desire to bring true value to his customers, is directly in line with our company values and will help us aggressively move into the future."
Clark most recently served as the chief sales officer of DealerOn, where he oversaw the company's sales operation and strategic partner business development, along with its enterprise accounts and OEM relationships.
Prior to DealerOn, Clark also held senior sales, marketing and management roles at Cars.com, Coca-Cola, Dealer.com and Auto-Bid Systems.
"I'm thrilled to join ActivEngage at a time when the car business is evolving, and dealers need to find new pathways for customers to engage across digital channels," added Clark. "Consumers want to interact with car dealers more effectively and proactively, and that's exactly what live chat, and ActivEngage specifically, brings to the table."
This spring, Clark will be a speaking at the Digital Dealer 24 Conference & Expo in Orlando, according to ActivEngage.
Infomedia announced Monday that it has appointed former Dealertrack Technologies executive Sharon Kitzman as president of IFM Americas following Karen Blunden’s departure.
For over a decade, Kitzman most recently served as vice president and general manager of Dealertrack DMS.
In addition to working as an executive and consultant to automotive technology companies, Infomedia said that Kitzman’s background within the automotive and technology communities includes M&A and leadership development.
Before joining Dealertrack, she was senior director marketing and product with Reynolds and Reynolds.
“Sharon’s appointment signifies Infomedia’s commitment to fast-tracking growth in the Americas,” Infomedia chief executive officer Jonathan Rubinsztein said in a news release. “Her relationships, experience and knowledge of the automotive landscape provide an excellent foundation for Infomedia to advance our position in the region. Sharon will oversee our long-term commitment in the Americas of enabling dealerships with intuitive, data-rich technology to transform their workshop productivity and drive customer loyalty.”
In her new role, Infomedia said Kitzman will report to Infomedia chief executive officer Jonathan Rubinsztein.
She has been tasked with driving IFM Americas’ sales strategy, leveraging Infomedia’s existing relationships and identifying new opportunities to support Infomedia’s growth, according to the company.
“More than ever, I believe dealerships are looking for innovative technology to help them retain customers and grow profitability. Trends suggest consumers are hanging on to their cars longer and therefore a quality customer experience during a service repair is critical to automakers and dealerships," added Kitzman. “Infomedia’s unique and integrated approach to technology enables dealerships to remove the business silos of parts and service operations to create workflow efficiencies and exceptional customer experiences.
"I think Infomedia’s technology is a game changer and I look forward to collaborating with automakers and dealerships to deliver customer-focused efficient solutions throughout the Americas and beyond,” Kitzman continued.
CarMax announced Friday that John Standley has retired, and its board of directors has elected new members Peter Bensen and Robert Hombach, effective April 1.
Standley, chairman and chief executive officer of Rite Aid Corporation, retired from the board this past Monday because of other business demands, the company said.
And Jeff Garten, Yale School of Management Dean Emeritus, who has served on the board since 2002, intends to retire from the board at the company annual meeting on June 26.
“We are pleased to welcome Pete and Bob to the CarMax board,” CarMax chief executive officer Bill Nash said in a news release. “Their considerable executive leadership and operational experience, as well as their deep financial knowledge, will make them both highly valuable additions to our board.”
Bensen retired from McDonald’s Corp. in 2016 as its chief administrative officer.
During his 20-year tenure beginning in 1996, Bensen held various leadership positions including executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Prior to McDonald’s, Bensen was a senior manager at Ernst & Young LLP.
Hombach is the retired executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief operations officer of Baxalta, a biopharmaceutical company created by parent company Baxter, in 2015.
He joined Baxter in 1989 and served in several roles, including both company chief financial officer and treasurer.
Bensen and Hombach will both serve on the Audit Committee, the company said.
A pair of top-level executive changes unfolded at the Blue Oval this past week.
Ford Motor Credit named Brian Schaaf as chief financial officer and treasurer. Currently, Schaaf is controller of Ford Motor Com. Global Purchasing.
According to a news release, Schaaf will be responsible for Ford Credit financial planning, analysis, accounting and capital strategy.
The automaker also indicated Marion Harris, who has been CFO and treasurer of the OEM’s captive since 2015, has been named vice president of Ford Mobility Business Group.
“I am pleased to have Brian join Ford Credit as we continue our profitable growth, supporting Ford’s automotive and mobility businesses,” said Joy Falotico, Ford Credit chairman and chief executive officer.
“Brian has broad finance, treasury, auditing, international and leadership experience. He will bring a wealth of valuable experience, skills and insights to our team,” Falotico continued.
Prior to becoming Global Purchasing controller, Schaaf was Ford assistant treasurer for seven years. He also served as Ford general auditor and corporate business development director.
In addition, Schaaf held key positions, such as finance director, controller, and various financial analysis and business strategy roles, in Ford automotive operations, including in the United Kingdom.
Schaaf joined Ford in 1989 after working as a mechanical engineer.
