Manheim announced general manager appointments at four locations on Wednesday: Trevor Enge at Manheim Georgia, John Duplanty at Manheim Tucson, Gus Jones at Manheim Arizona and Maxine Vega at Manheim New Mexico.
“Backed by their experience and passion for the business, these general managers will help Manheim deliver outstanding client service and continuously improve the auction experience,” said Barry Roop, vice president of the local and mobile, West region for Manheim. “They are eager to partner with dealers, make it easy for them to work with Manheim and tap Cox Automotive’ s full line of products and services to support client growth.”
Enge has led business and product strategy for Cox Automotive and Manheim since 2012, in addition to serving as the interim lead of Manheim Canada. He also previously worked in business development with Ally Financial/SmartAuction, product development and strategy for Chrysler Group, and was a product engineer at Borg Warner Automotive.
For 11 years, Duplanty has held different roles at Manheim, he started as an intern while an undergrad at Arizona State University and later became general manager of Manheim Arizona, a role he's had for the past two years. During Duplanty's tenure at Manheim he's been the assistant fleet manager at Manheim Tampa, operations manager for Manheim Tampa and Manheim St. Petersburg, and assistant general manager of Manheim New York.
Jones began his career at Manheim in 2006 as a dealer sales manager and held roles at several Arizona locations, such as Manheim Tucson and Manheim Phoenix. He leaves his role as assistant general manager at Manheim Phoenix after nine years to serve as the new general manager at Manheim Arizona.
Vega joined Manheim 14 years ago and has held various roles since. She served as a financial controller at multiple Manheim locations, including Manheim Denver, Manheim New Mexico and Manheim El Paso. Before her recent general manager appointment at Manheim New Mexico Vega was operations manager at the location.
“Manheim is delighted by this crop of talent and values what they can offer our clients and the industry,” said Mark Ford, Manheim regional vice president southeast. “We are committed to providing these team members the tools and information they need to succeed in 2017 and beyond.”
Effective Dec. 1, Columbus Fair Auto Auction announced that Greg Levi has been promoted to president and chief operating officer.
Levi had served as general manager for three-and-a-half years and has been COO since August of last year. Now, he has the role of president of CFAA, too.
“Our auction has gone through a transformation this last year and Greg has led that initiative,” CFAA founder Alexis Jacobs said. “As an independent auto auction, we need to continue to differentiate ourselves in the market, Greg has done that through employee empowerment, performance management and business process optimization.”
Previously Levi was executive vice president of Finance Express and held dealer leadership posts before arriving at CFAA.
“We endeavor to be different. Different in our marketing approach, our personnel development and our client engagement. Alexis has allowed us to challenge the conventions of old and use technology to enhance our market position and presentation,” Levi said.
“This group is family, and I am blessed to be a part of the family,” he went on to say.
Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced on Monday it has welcomed a new head of marketing, Patrick Reilly.
Reilly will govern the development of the dealership management system (DMS) company’s corporate marketing strategy.
"Patrick brings a wealth of marketing knowledge to this position and I'm excited to have his energy, expertise and guidance for achieving our ambitious vision for Auto/Mate's future," said the president and chief executive officer of Auto/Mate, Mike Esposito.
Reilly has a background in marketing research, advertising, branding and strategy for technology companies and agencies spanning more than 25 years.
Previously, Reilly held senior marketing positions at CommerceHub and Pitney Bowes Software. His advertising experience includes serving as president of Citrin-Reilly & Associates as well as executive vice president of Smith & Jones.
"In addition to having a great product, Auto/Mate has a compelling brand, story, company culture and message," said Reilly. "I'm looking forward to executing a strategy that will convince auto dealers that this DMS solution is their best choice."
Alliance Inspection Management (AiM) made a pair of personnel announcements on Tuesday.
First, the third-party inspection company said that 20-year industry veteran Michael Connolly has joined the AiM team as vice president of auction operations. Concurrently, AiM has promoted Jeff Gaetz to the newly created position of vice president of business development, with an initial focus on auction and related business.
The company highlighted Connolly will oversee and manage all of AiM’s vehicle inspection operations at auctions sites around the U.S. Connolly’s responsibilities include managing AiM’s nationwide network of auction inspections and operations, as well as supporting customer relationships throughout the U.S. and Canada.
In this role, Connolly will work to grow the business at fixed locations and work with the major consignors, auction companies and independent auctions to provide inspection services and technology solutions to meet the needs of buyers and sellers. He will report to AiM senior vice president of operations Tom Gardner.
“Michael is well respected for his business acumen and integrity,” Gardner said. “He’s a terrific addition to AiM’s team, and brings tremendous experience in directing business operations and a great track record with national accounts for major corporations.”
In his new role, Gaetz will be responsible for designing and implementing new business models and tactics, evaluating current plans and identifying specific areas in need of improvement. Gaetz will report directly to AiM senior vice president of sales and marketing Eric Widmer.
“Over the course of the last year, Jeff has become a pivotal team member in expanding our auctions business throughout the U.S. and Canada,” Widmer said. “His understanding of the industry landscape is clearly an asset to our growing business, and we want to utilize his strengths on a broader scale.”
For more information about AiM, visit aiminspections.com.
MetroGistics announced on Monday the promotion of Craig Clayton, who now serves as vice president of information technology.
“Even though we’re in the transportation and logistics industry, innovation is at the heart of our operations,” said William Billiter, co-founder and managing partner of MetroGistics. “Craig has done a great job keeping us at the leading edge of technology, and we are pleased to promote him to vice president.”
Clayton has more than 12 years of IT management experience, he joined MetroGistics as director of information technology in 2013.
Today, as vice president of technology, he is responsible for generating strategic IT recommendations and conferring tech-focused mergers and acquisitions.
Additionally, Clayton oversees MetroGistics’ IT Department, which encompasses architecture and infrastructure services, enterprise applications services, networking, and telecommunication services.
Clayton formerly held senior leadership positions at Sumner County School System and AmeriFlex, where he served as chief information officer.
Cox Automotive has named David Pyle senior vice president of enterprise dealer partnerships.
In his new role, Pyle will oversee the company’s sales division within the client success organization. He will lead a team that is dedicated to selling products from the suite of Cox Automotive brands, including financial, inventory, media and retail solutions, to enterprise clients.
This team also is responsible for providing a unified sales, service and support experience.
Pyle was one of the founding employees of Autotrader.com, now the Cox Automotive brand Autotrader. Since joining the company in 1998, he has held a variety of leadership roles in operations, product and sales.
Pyle led the former Autotrader/Kelley Blue Book sales team for three years before joining the company’s client success group in 2015. He was most recently senior vice president of client services for Cox Automotive, leading loyalty and rewards strategy.
“David is especially qualified to lead the enterprise dealer partnerships team in meeting its goal of identifying unique ways to help our clients improve their business and solve their toughest challenges,” said chief client success officer Raj Sundaram.
“Cox Automotive fosters a client-obsessed culture that is committed to deep partnerships, and I look forward to David’s leadership as we continue to evolve how we help our clients achieve success.”
Pyle earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Auburn University in Auburn, Ala.
Cars.com on Monday announced the appointment of Brooke Skinner Ricketts as chief marketing officer, effective immediately.
Skinner Ricketts most recently served as vice president of brand and design at Avant. Prior to that she was head of brand strategy at Twitter.
“Cars.com is here to help people win, and by welcoming Brooke, we’re delivering on that promise,” said Alex Vetter, president and chief executive officer of Cars.com. “As we prepare to become an independent, publicly traded company in early 2017, Brooke's strong track record of optimizing marketing effectiveness and implementing forward-thinking brand strategies will move Cars.com toward becoming the trusted platform of choice for automotive consumers and advertisers alike.”
“I’m thrilled to be joining the team at Cars.com and becoming part of one of Chicago’s homegrown digital pioneers,” Skinner Ricketts said. “It’s such an exciting time for Cars.com and I know that the company and the brand are both in a great position to grow and thrive in the next stage of our evolution.”
Skinner Ricketts also previously served as vice president of brand strategy at DigitasLBi from 2011 until 2014. Her responsibilities included building a strategy practice and opening a new office in San Francisco.
From 2004 until 2011, Skinner Ricketts led efforts to refresh brand relevance across a large global portfolio at FCB and DraftFCB. While there, she advanced from strategic planner to senior vice president of global strategic planning. Skinner Ricketts began her career at Doe Anderson and PriceWeber in Louisville, Ky.
She received a bachelor’s degree from Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Mass. In 2014, she was recognized by Crain's Chicago Business as a member of its 40 Under 40class and, this year, she was named to Crain’s Tech 50 list.
Skinner Ricketts became a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow in 2014 and is on the boards of Housing Opportunities for Women, Chicago Cubs Charities and She100.
On Thursday, ADESA announced the promotion of Kevin Rhoads to general manager of ADESA Kansas City.
“Kevin has been a vital part of the growth at ADESA Kansas City in recent years, bringing a positive focus to building lasting customer relationships,” said Paul Lips, chief operating officer at ADESA. “Our consignors, dealers and staff will benefit from his effective approach to sales and operations.”
Since May 2014, Rhoads has served as dealer sales and services manager at ADESA Kansas City. Under his leadership, ADESA Kansas City was named dealer auction of the year for 2015.
Rhoads brings more than 20 years of management experience, in addition to 15-plus years in the automotive industry.
Prior to joining ADESA, Rhoads served as the sales and marketing specialist at Naked Lime.
Between 2007 and 2013 he held a series of positions related to increasing responsibility in sales management within the auto auction industry.
During his tenure as director of internet sales for a three-store dealership outside Kansas City, he developed an internet sales department from the ground up.
Rhoads' predecessor, Harold Chapman, now leads ADESA Nashville.
On Thursday, Group 1 Automotive announced the appointment of Charles Szews to its board of directors.
Szews joins eight other directors on the company’s newly expanded board.
"Charlie brings strong leadership, experience managing global businesses, and expertise in capital allocation and generating shareholder value," said Earl Hesterberg, Group 1 president and chief executive officer.
For close to two decades, Szews held a variety of senior management roles at Oshkosh Corp., formerly Oshkosh Truck Corp., a designer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of access equipment, such as commercial, emergency, military and specialty vehicles and vehicle bodies.
"During his tenure at Oshkosh, Charlie led strategy development and deployment, as well as 16 acquisitions. We look forward to the insight and experience he will add to our talented management team," said John Adams, Group 1 chairman.
At Oshkosh, Szews was named vice president and chief financial officer in 1996, executive vice president in 1997, president and chief operating officer in 2007 and chief executive officer in 2011. He retired as the chief executive officer in December 2015.
Currently, Szews is also a director and audit committee member of Rowan Companies, as well as director and member of the audit and finance committees of Commercial Metals Co.
From 2006 to 2013, Szews served as a director and audit committee member of Gardner Denver Inc.
Spireon on Tuesday announced the appointment of three executives: Todd Abbott as chief revenue officer, Carla Fitzgerald as chief marketing officer and Rick Gruenhagen as chief technology officer.
The company said its new leaders will be instrumental in implementing its transformative next phase of growth.
“Carla, Todd and Rick bring a powerful combination of technology industry perspective and global leadership experience to the Spireon team,” said Kevin Weiss, chief executive officer. “Their collective experience will further propel the company on its journey of explosive growth through industry-leading go-to-market strategies, best-in-class product offerings, and technology innovation in both existing and new business categories.”
Abbott has more than 30 years of sales experience and has served in roles building sales and marketing teams, in addition to executing market strategies for global organizations and companies such as IBM, Cisco and Avaya.
He formerly served as the president and chief executive officer of Tely Labs.
“With over 3 million active subscribers on its connected vehicle platform, Spireon is a proven leader in the vehicle telematics space, with a tremendous opportunity for further growth. I’m excited to join this passionate team to help meet the needs of our customers and continue to build and lead a world-class global sales organization,” said Abbott.
Fitzgerald previously led marketing teams and strategies at CA and Quest Software. Most recently she served as chief marketing officer at Smith Micro Software.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to build on the tremendous success that Spireon has achieved in the vehicle telematics market to expand into new segments of the Connected Car and IoT industries,” said Fitzgerald. “Spireon’s product brands are highly trusted, and we intend to maintain our reputation as the ‘gold standard’ and market leader in every market we enter.”
Spireon said Gruenhagen brings distinct and extensive technology expertise to his new position.
He has held key leadership roles at PayPal, Amazon and Microsoft and built SaaS-based platforms that effectively monetize Big Data and Internet of Things solutions.
“It’s clear that Spireon’s industry-leading vehicle telematics solutions are providing compelling value for transportation customers. I’m honored to be selected as Spireon’s CTO to further evolve our technology platform and products, and am excited to be part of this talented team and continue to push the boundaries of connected vehicle innovation,” said Gruenhagen.
Prior to joining Spireon, he served as vice president of software engineering at Impinj, where he built the end-to-end technology platform that launched the company into a fruitful initial public offering.
