CarNow has named a senior vice president of engineering, who will head up software development and operations.
Hired for the role is Dan Jemiolo, who was vice president of engineering for the user interface platform at Salesforce. Jemiolo was also the founder and site executive of the company’s research and development office in Raleigh, N.C.
His background also includes times with IBM and Dell EMC.
“CarNow really impressed me during the interview process with its thoughtfulness, authenticity and domain expertise,” Jemiolo said in a news release.
“The company’s obsession with getting its solutions right is matched by its obsession with having a great culture. I’m really excited about how much we’re going to achieve together in the next few years.”
CarNow CEO Andy Park said: “Dan’s proven track record of building and maintaining top-talent culture at Salesforce is truly impressive and unique in any size of engineering organization. His experience combined with our organizational growth tees up an exciting next chapter at CarNow as a technology leader.”
A longtime executive on the remarketing side of the car business is now with PAVE, which provides a photo-based automated vehicle inspection platform.
Mike Francis, whose background includes time with Alliance Inspection Management, SmartAuction and VW Credit, is now the vice president of sales with PAVE.
Francis’ most recent role prior to PAVE was as vice president of used-car sales at Alliance Inspection Management.
In the new role, Francis will lead sales and business development, particularly around companies with large vehicle fleets.
“As increasingly more vehicle acquisitions and purchases are completed online, we expect demand for PAVE’s automated inspection platform to continue to grow. Mike will be key to PAVE’s growth in this area given his depth of industry knowledge,” PAVE co-founder and co-CEO Brian Steinhauser said in a news release. “In addition, Mike’s experience in vehicle remarketing will enable us to better understand the needs of our dealer and commercial clients as they move more and more to heavy use of online methods to dispose of their vehicles.”
Francis added: “The growth opportunity for PAVE is exponential and I’m looking forward to bringing my knowledge of remarketing and the vehicle inspection landscape to make an immediate contribution to the team. Everyone is looking for the ability to automate the vehicle inspection process with condition reports that are accurate and reliable, regardless of the vehicle’s location. My focus is on ensuring PAVE gets into the hands of fleet managers, dealers, and vehicle remarketers around the world so they can benefit from the advanced vehicle inspection capabilities it delivers.”
Francis will be among the speakers on hand at Used Car Week, which is Nov. 14-17 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego.
He will lead a National Remarketing Conference workshop on “Automating Off-Lease Inspections.”
To learn more about Francis’ session and see the full UCW agenda, visit www.usedcar.biz/agenda.
Dent Wizard International has named a new chief financial officer. Hired for the position was Bryan Wynn, who comes over from Bain Capital, where he worked 12 years.
Wynn’s most recent post at Bain was as an executive vice president supporting the company’s investment in Dealer Tire LLC, which is the parent company of Dent Wizard.
Wynn will report to Dent Wizard CEO Mike Black.
“We’re fortunate to add a seasoned professional who is intimate with our services, customers, markets and growth strategies,” Black said.
“Bryan’s immediate contributions will help us in our vision to transform the reconditioning market.”
Automotive Ventures said Thursday it has added Repairify president Tony Rimas to its operating partner team.
Rimas previously was the co-founder and managing partner of FM Capital. While there, he managed investments that included Autoniq, Frontier Car Group, Vroom, Autopay and Revolution Parts.
His background also includes an operational leadership role with Red McCombs Automotive Group. In that post, he help lead investments in Homenet Automotive, which was acquired by Cox Automotive, and Clickmotive, which was acquired by Dealertrack.
Rimas is the chairman of NitroFill and is the managing partner of AuctionXM, Streamline Recon. He is also an advisor to WarrCloud, Zohr and NuBrakes.
He was previously on the board of ProCare Collision.
“Automotive Ventures is focused on building a bench of talented Operating Partners with the right mix of relevant expertise and skills to support our investment strategy,” Automotive Ventures founder and CEO Steve Greenfield.
“Tony’s impressive track record and experience delivering consistent, high quality returns will immediately add value to the operating partner team as Automotive Ventures continues to mechanize differentiated outcomes for our portfolio companies and our limited partners alike.”
DriveBid, a live vehicle trade-in marketplace set to launch in the coming weeks, has named a national vice president of sales.
Hired for the role is former KAR Global/BacklotCars executive Justin Marquardt.
He co-founded onMARQ Marketing in 2012, providing consulting on digital marketing and social media strategies, before joining information management and digital services company Ricoh as major account executive.
Marquardt joined TradeRev in 2016 as market sales manager, becoming district sales manager in 2018.
His most recent posts were as market sales director and regional director of business performance at KAR, as well as market sales director for BacklotCars.
“DriveBid is truly a first of its kind marketplace that requires a sales leader with specialized automotive industry experience,” said Albert Thompson, founder and chief executive officer of DriveBid and parent company DrivenIQ, in a news release.
“Justin has served in sales, automotive technology and business leadership roles and that is exactly the experience we need to expand the DriveBid brand and grow our national footprint,” Thompson said. “I’m thrilled Justin has joined our team and I look forward to many successes as he leads our sales efforts.”
Marquardt added: ““The automotive industry has always been my passion and I’m very excited to lead the sales charge at DriveBid. Quite frankly, I’m shocked it’s taken this long for a live trade-in marketplace, like DriveBid, to emerge in an industry that begs for direct connection between dealers and consumers in a convenient, online platform.
“I’m looking forward to leveraging my experience to help DriveBid become the number one destination for dealers to buy the inventory they need, straight from the driveway, and to help consumers get the best deal for their car.”
RunBuggy, a tech platform designed to connect car shippers and transporters, has added Automotive Ventures founder and chief executive officer Steve Greenfield to its advisory board.
Greenfield will be a strategic advisor on the advisory board for RunBuggy, which launched in 2018 and landed Series A funding in June in a round led by a syndicate including Larry H. Miller Companies, Porsche Ventures and Hearst Ventures.
“RunBuggy has one of the most advanced and robust technology platforms available in the automotive logistics industry today,” Greenfield said in a news release. “I look forward to working with the management team to lend my 20+ years in the automotive technology space to help further expand their growth potential.”
Kevin Malik is CEO of RunBuggy. In the release, he added: “Steve is one of the most prolific and respected voices in the automotive industry. We’re honored that he chose to join our Advisory Board and believe his keen insight and knowledge of our industry will add immediate value to our growth plans.”
Auto Remarketing parent company Cherokee Media Group has partnered with Greenfield and Automotive Ventures for the second annual National Auto Venture & Investors Conference (NAVIcon), which is part of Used Car Week, happening Nov. 14-17 in San Diego.
NAVIcon, which will be held on Nov. 17 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, provides insights across the entire M&A and auto tech landscapes. NAVIcon will arm attendees with information into innovative early-stage companies as potential investment or partnership opportunities, or those that have technology that might be adopted to create a competitive market advantage.
Cox Automotive announced last week that Peter Grupposo was named senior vice president of sales for the commercial sales, dealer sales and market insights teams at Manheim and NextGear Capital.
Holly Capps, who held the position previously, is retiring from that role at the end of the year, following a 25-year tenure with Cox Enterprises.
Grupposo was previously vice president of dealer sales, heading up the Manheim and NextGear field teams. He moved into that post in 2017.
Capps spent 20 years with Cox Communications, before joining Cox Automotive in 2017 as VP of commercial sales for Manheim.
Capps and Grupposo will work closely in the remaining months of the year to ensure a seamless transition, the company said.
“There is no question, Holly’s vision and execution have made an incredible mark on this company, and her positive impact will last for many years to come,” Cox Automotive chief sales officer Tim McKinley said in a news release. “We can’t thank Holly enough for her many contributions and wish her all the best in the next chapter.”
McKinley added: “I am confident Pete will build on Holly’s strategic thinking and be instrumental in driving critical, enterprise-wide imperatives across the business."
Before Labor Day, America’s Auto Auction expanded its national dealer and commercial sales team.
Then after the holiday weekend, the company appointed Jennifer Leocardi to be vice president of institutional sales for the combined America’s Auto Auction and XLerate Group.
A 20-year industry veteran, America’s Auto Auction said through a news release that Leocardi brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this vital role.
Leocardi was most recently GSM at America’s Auto Auction Kansas City and has managed dealer and corporate sales teams for the past two decades.
Throughout the course of her career, AAA said Leocardi continued her growth by expanding her sales and management skills as well as bringing a customer focused leadership approach to her teams.
“I am honored to join the America’s Auto Auction executive team and am looking forward to working with our exceptional auctions,” said Leocardi, who was among the 2018 Women in Remarketing honorees. “I am eager to establish new relationships, build on my current connections and maximize our corporate account market share.”
The company mentioned Leocardi will report directly to AAA executive vice president and chief revenue officer Chuck Tapp, who said, “We are honored to have someone with her experience on our team. With her proven leadership skills, customer service focus and extensive experience in sales and management, she will play an important role in elevating this great company to the next level.”
AAA chief executive officer Cam Hitchcock added, “Jennifer is a rock star, and I am very excited we were able to promote her. Her insights and experience will help us reach our growth targets.”
Autosled announced this week that Ric Fleisher, co-founder of Urgently and Merlin Mobility, recently joined the board of advisors of the automotive digital logistics marketplace for retail automotive dealers and transport providers.
Earlier in the year, Autosled closed a $5 million Series A round led by Lyndon Rive and established its board of directors with automotive, mobility tech and logistics expertise. The company said the moves continue its mission to revolutionize the automotive transport marketplace by streamlining the vehicle move process for both shippers and transporters.
Last week, the company launched its in-app turn-by-turn navigation for its mobile transporter application. The commercial-grade GPS software allows drivers to toggle between regular and trucking routes for destinations for both Autosled and outside shipments, as well.
And now the company has the experience and expertise of Fleisher who as co-founder of Urgently, a global mobility and roadside assistance marketplace platform. In that role, Fleisher established partnerships with automotive manufacturers and insurance companies which were instrumental in the company’s success.
Today, Fleisher is co-founder and chief operating officer of Merlin Mobility, an autonomous vehicle company with a focus on advanced driving safety solutions for vehicles nationwide.
He has previously been involved in nine startups across real estate, mobile, location-based services, ID verification, networking hardware, speech, streaming video, collaboration, intelligent agents, and RFID.
In reflecting on his new advisory role, Fleisher said in a news release, “I am very excited to work with the Autosled team. My automotive and two-sided marketplace experience lends itself well to the area of automotive transport. We have a tremendous opportunity to disrupt the space with a superior experience just as Urgently has for roadside assistance.”
Autosled chief executive officer Leon Keshishian added, “We are excited to have Ric’s support and guidance as we build the leading auto transport marketplace. His perspectives on platform technology, customer acquisition, and investor relations are great additions to our team.”
ADESA has named a new regional vice president and three new auction general managers.
Appointed to be regional VP for the central region is Craig Estep, and the new auction GMs are Keyvan Nayeri at ADESA Houston, Mina Ibrahim at ADESA New Jersey, and Brandon Clay at ADESA Tulsa.
Estep has been in the auction industry for more than 30 years and had been GM of ADESA Jersey since 2014.
“With Craig’s extensive experience in the automotive industry and strong customer relationships, we’re excited to bring his expertise and leadership to our central region,” ADESA president John Hammer said in a news release.
“His consistent success leading our auction teams to drive positive results will be a huge asset to ADESA customers across the region,” Hammer said.
Nayari was most recently GM at CarMax in Virginia and Ibrahim was most recently assistant GM and ADESA New Jersey. Clay joined ADESA Tulsa in 2020 as the dealer relations manager and has managed the dealer relations and commercial accounts teams there ever since.
“Keyvan, Mina and Brandon all have extensive experience in the retail side of the automotive business, bringing key connections and valuable skillsets to the teams at Houston, New Jersey and Tulsa,” said Hammer. “Each will bring a customer-first leadership approach that will inspire the teams to optimize processes and field resources to meet customer needs more effectively.”
