LeasePlan USA announced that it has appointed a new chief commercial officer to oversee the company’s sales and client relations teams.
Chosen for the position is Ricardo Fonzaghi, who most recently served as senior vice president of LeasePlan International sales.
For 11 years, Fonzaghi was responsible for developing global fleet management programs for corporate fleets based in the Americas.
“Ricardo has delivered savings and quality improvements to clients by analyzing and understanding the financial, competitive and process sides and consolidating this into a results-focused solution,” LeasePlan USA president and chief executive officer Jeff Schlesinger said in a news release. “We look forward to continued growth and client loyalty under his leadership.”
Fonzaghi has more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications, internet and fleet management industries.
“Talent, expertise and strategic focus are hallmarks of LeasePlan’s sales and client relations teams,” Fonzaghi said. “I am honored to join them in delivering creative solutions to our clients.”
LeasePlan is a global fleet management company that manages an estimated 1.6 million vehicles and provides services in 32 countries, according to the global group.
Auto Financial Group announced on Wednesday that Dave Pratt recently joined its vehicle remarketing department as remarketing manager.
Pratt has more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry.
He has worked in various capacities at dealerships throughout his career, which includes successfully fulfilling a role within the fleet lease industry as a sales and marketing manager, according to the online provider of innovative financing products for credit unions and banks.
"We are very excited to add Dave to our team,” Paul Marquez, AFG director of remarketing and client relations said in a news release. “In addition to his extensive experience in the automotive industry, Dave also has the expertise we need to streamline our operations and increase value for our customers."
Pratt was most recently responsible for building and running three auctions in Texas.
In his new position, he will oversee all daily operations of the AFG team.
"I look forward to leveraging my experience in remarketing at AFG as we continue to grow while providing the highest level of customer service to our clients," Pratt said.
The Houston-based company uses selling networks ranging from traditional auto auctions to direct wholesale to internet selling platforms.
“Pratt joins AFG as it logged a record year of growth in 2016. Remarketing volume has tripled since 2014,” the company said. “AFG now has a geographic footprint covering the entire US and works with several auctions nationwide to facilitate quick inventory movement.”
Stream Companies, a fully integrated advertising agency in business for more than 20 years, named Subi Ghosh as its new senior director of dealer strategy this week. Stream highlighted that Ghosh’s breadth of experience running successful eCommerce and sales departments at dealership groups and, more recently, building a small digital agency makes her a perfect fit for this newly created role.
Ghosh’s position will be to enhance Stream’s role in working alongside clients in supporting their business objectives through digital marketing and improved online sales processes and digital retailing.
“Subi’s track record and reputation in the automotive industry is second to none. We are thrilled to welcome her to the Stream Team and will enjoy watching her lace up her orange sneakers,” Stream co-founder David Regn said.
Ghosh has become a respected industry figure and speaker in the automotive industry. She brings five years of valuable dealership experience and three years agency experience to the Stream team. Also, Ghosh has been involved with Women in Automotive as a founding board member.
“We are excited that she made the decision to make Stream her home. We know she had many opportunities and offers on the table. She was aligned with our vision and making our clients the best they can be and we wanted her to be part of the team,” Stream chief digital officer Bill Parlaman said.
Ghosh is driven by a passion to be an advocate for dealers and to be a small part of moving this industry forward. Her role at Stream allows her to bridge dealers with innovative, industry leading, seamless marketing and website services.
“When I saw a company whose core values to be innovative, to always strive to do right by their dealer clients and to focus on being a leading agency so closely matched mine, I knew it was the perfect fit for me,” Ghosh said.
JMN Logistics and Transportation announced on Tuesday that it has selected a new recruiter for its corporate location in St. Louis.
Chosen for the position is Clint Youngerman, who comes to JMN with more than 22 years of experience with the U.S. Army, 13 of which was spent recruiting, according to JMN.
In his new role, Youngerman will be responsible for recruiting, screening, interviewing and hiring qualified driver applicants according to JMN’s hiring standards.
“Clint is a wonderful addition to our team, he brings a deep blend of recruiting and personnel skills with him,” JMN chief operating officer Cindy Darnell said in a news release.
“We look forward to the progress he will make with our recruiting team.”
Throughout Youngerman’s service, he held various positions, such as recruiter and recruiter supervisor.
“Youngerman’s past experience will translate perfectly into his new role,” JMN said.
Last week, CDK Global announced the appointment Ron Frey as chief strategy officer and that CarStory, the automotive brand of big data company Vast, has been selected to join its partner program.
CarStory Market Reports, which offer consumers real-time data directly on the vehicle details page (VDP), are now available to all CDK customers through the program.
CDK’s Partner Program was created to connect industry-leading digital vendors with dealers. CarStory joins 25 other partners who have come aboard.
“We’re very pleased to be included in the CDK Partner Program and to enable integration of our Market Reports into CDK dealers’ VDPs,” Chad Bockius, chief marketing officer of CarStory said. “Time spent on VDPs is one of the key predictors of sales: the more car shoppers engage with a dealer’s VDP, the faster a vehicle will sell, and our Market Reports should help amplify that engagement for CDK customers.”
CarStory delivers more than 15 million of its Market Reports to consumers throughout the country each month.
“The Market Reports’ comprehensive information keeps consumers focused on dealership websites, eliminating the need to click off to other websites for additional research,” CDK said in a news release. “CarStory Market Reports’ patented technology automatically determines which aspects of a used vehicle are most significant to consumers and then identifies the top three or four features that are the unique price drivers for that vehicle.”
CarStory Market Reports has been adopted by over 6,500 dealerships nationwide, including 50 percent of the top dealer groups, according to CDK.
Information provided in the reports are generated from a combination of real-time used vehicle listings and data from eight million plus used car searches each week.
Meanwhile, Frey replaces Malcom Thorne, who is retiring after more than 15 years at CDK.
In April, Frey will join CDK. In his new role, he will be responsible for strategy and business development as well as product management.
"Ron Frey has been a respected strategist and operating executive within the automotive industry for many years, and we are pleased to have him join the CDK Global executive leadership team.” CDK president and chief executive officer, Brian MacDonald said in a news release.
“Ron will oversee corporate strategy, business development, and product management as we continue our focus on delivering the kinds of innovative products and services that dealers need to grow and manage their businesses. Also, I want to thank Malcolm Thorne for his many contributions to CDK's success and wish him well."
Most recently, Frey has been delivering consulting services to the automotive industry through his company, RL Frey.
In 2007, Frey became president of AutoNation Direct. He worked on generating and testing new initiatives in transactional sales outside the traditional store environment and was later promoted to chief strategy officer of AutoNation.
Dent Wizard International announced this week that it has hired Jim Townsend as vice president of information technology.
Most recently, Townsend served as vice president and chief information officer of Dylex Solutions, an IT consulting firm based in Atlanta.
Dent Wizard said he brings expertise stemming from an extensive background in the technology field.
“Jim brings a considerable amount of first-hand field knowledge to this position, which will be critical for Dent Wizard’s continued leadership in introducing new technology solutions to our customers, as well as to our sales and service techs throughout North America,” Dent Wizard chief financial officer Tammy Conner said.
In his new role, Townsend will oversee all functions of Dent Wizard’s IT systems.
He will report to Conner and work from the company’s headquarters in St. Louis.
Before Dylex Solutions, Townsend was chief information/technology officer for Performance Team, a third-party logistics company.
Townsend holds a bachelor's of science in computer science from Everest College.
This week, KAR Auction Services announced that Sriram “Srisu” Subrahmanyam has joined the company as senior vice president of business transformation. The company noted Subrahmanyam brings more than 20 years of executive operations and consulting experience to the role, including leadership positions across multiple Fortune 1000 companies and industries such as aviation, technology, logistics and education.
Subrahmanyam will report to Don Gottwald, chief operating officer for KAR.
“KAR has accumulated an extensive portfolio of capabilities focused on simplifying automotive remarketing through data analytics, innovative technology and exceptional service,” Gottwald said. “Srisu is widely recognized for his ability to optimize performance, operations and outcomes across complex and diversified global companies.
“His broad expertise will help accelerate KAR’s go-to-market strategy and identify new ways to make our company and customers more effective, efficient and successful,” Gottwald added in a news release.
Prior to joining KAR, Subrahmanyam served as global vice president of engineering for Ingram Micro, a wholesale technology distributor. He previously served as executive vice president and chief operations officer for BrightPoint Americas and in executive leadership positions at Career Education Corporation and United Airlines.
“The wholesale automotive eco-system is undergoing a rapid transformation,” Subrahmanyam said. “KAR’s end-to-end remarketing platform presents a unique opportunity to lead this transformation and deliver innovative new solutions across existing and emerging markets.
“I am excited to help shape KAR’s future and to work with this incredibly accomplished leadership team and company,” he went on to say.
Subrahmanyam holds a doctorate in chemical engineering from Purdue University and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India. He is a frequent author and lecturer on topics including organizational optimization, design and culture.
Subrahmanyam also is a member of the board of directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis and has served on a variety of other prominent industry and community organizations throughout his career.
AutoNation said Wednesday that Jon Ferrando — who is executive vice president – general counsel, corporate development and human resources — will retire from the company on March 31.
Effective April 1, Coleman Edmunds will serve as acting general counsel and corporate secretary. He is currently AutoNation’s senior vice president and deputy general counsel.
“I have enjoyed this opportunity to serve on the senior management team and to contribute to the company’s success during my tenure at AutoNation,” said Ferrando in a news release. “It has been rewarding to work with the outstanding teams that I had the opportunity to lead at AutoNation. I look forward to the company’s continued success in the years to come.”
“I thank Jon for his 20 years of exemplary service and leadership at AutoNation. In addition to serving as the company’s general counsel for over 17 years, Jon has served on the executive committee for over a decade,” said Mike Jackson, chairman and chief executive officer, in a news release.
“He also successfully led AutoNation’s human resources and benefits departments for over 10 years, and most recently led the company’s corporate development team since 2011,” he continued. “We wish Jon all the best in his future endeavors.”
TrueCar named its executive vice president of OEM development on Tuesday, appointing longtime Edmunds and automaker exec Michael Darrow to the role.
Darrow was most recently the chief sales officer at Edmunds, where he worked for more than 14 years in a variety of positions.
In the new post with TrueCar, Darrow will head up new OEM program initiatives supporting “TrueCar’s ongoing commitment to create a best-in-class modern automotive marketplace.”
Darrow will report to Chip Perry, TrueCar’s president and chief executive officer.
“Mike has a truly unique background and will be a huge asset for TrueCar because he has deep experience and success as both an OEM executive and as an early pioneer and innovator in the online auto industry,” Perry said in a news release.
“No one else in the third-party space can say they have managed a billion dollar OEM incentive budget and held a long-time senior executive role at an industry-leading third party,” he said. “Mike will be leveraging the insights he gained from these two symbiotic industries to help us take our existing OEM incentives platform to an entirely new level.”
Darrow’s first role with his former employer was as CEO of Edmunds Data Center, before transitioning to a position as executive vice president of sales and launching Edmunds OEM advertising efforts. His last position there was as chief sales officer.
Darrow spent close to two decades with Chrysler and Nissan before joining Edmunds.
“I'm very excited to lead TrueCar’s drive to enhance and grow its OEM relationships and targeted incentives business,” Darrow said. “I believe the company's unique closed loop attribution model and its unparalleled affinity partnerships provide a very compelling opportunity for OEMs to significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their incentive programs, which have grown to become more than two times larger than all of their combined traditional and digital advertising spending.”
Global fleet management company LeasePlan USA recently named Michelle Davis as its new regional sales vice president for the Southeast.
Davis, with more than 12 years of successful fleet experience, was most recently district sales manager at Supreme Corp. There, she helped clients find solutions to improve their driver experience.
There’s much untapped potential for fleets when it comes to saving money, said Davis, if fleet managers look at the bigger picture.
“The first step is to reduce your TCO by selecting vehicles with the highest resale value and lowest fuel and maintenance costs,” she said. “Then, you can look at other areas for possible cost-saving opportunities.”
Some target areas, said Davis, to reduce TCO include:
- Depreciation. “Evaluate your fleet to make sure you’re using the right vehicle for the specific job application and replacing vehicles at the optimal time.”
- Maintenance and repair. “Creating a preventive maintenance schedule can help avoid expensive repairs later!”
- Strategic decisions. “Leverage data to drive better fleet utilization and improve life-cycle costs.”
More of Davis’ TCO tips can be found here.
As regional sales vice president, LeasePlan indicated Davis will be based Louisiana and work with potential clients of up to 1,000 vehicles. The company insisted she will ensure her clients are using the most up-to-date strategies and present solutions to help better manage their fleets.
“Michelle brings to LeasePlan a winning combination of industry knowledge, a passion for all things fleet and an innovative, problem-solving mindset,” said Brian Barber, senior vice president of sales.
“We welcome her to the family and look forward to her continued success,” he added.
