RoadDealer.com, an online platform that gives dealerships the ability to buy, sell and trade aged and wholesale vehicles between stores, recently named former TrueCar and AutoNation exec Ben Shamsizadeh as executive vice president of dealer services.
And after focusing its efforts in the Midwest, RoadDealer.com highlighted the addition of Shamsizadeh is propelling the company to expand nationally.
Through its members-only community, RoadDealer.com’s inventory database holds more than 20,000 vehicles ready for dealerships to buy from fellow dealers, creating an online network of dealers seeking an alternative to auctions. RoadDealer.com's exclusive platform eliminates auction fees and replaces them with one low monthly fee.
“We’re very excited to welcome Shamsizadeh and his talented team to Road Dealer,” president and founder Jim Battista said.
Road Dealer has been in business for more than five years and has plans to broaden itself from its Midwest roots to a national level now with Shamsizadeh as part of the company.
“We helped dealers save millions of dollars in auction fees since we started, and through our Buy Figure feature, dealers can get top dollar for their unwanted trades. Now, since we hired Ben and his team, we'll be doing that across the country,” Battista said.
Battista and Shamsizadeh share a passion for helping dealers save money.
Shamsizadeh has been a professional in the automotive industry for more than 11 years. Before his role as director of sales with TrueCar, he was the national manager at AutoNation. Shamsizadeh says his retail experience has led him to Road Dealer’s solution.
“I’m so passionate about Road Dealer because I believe the auctions have forgotten who their true customers are,” Shamsizadeh said. “They have too much control over car values and are collecting an undue amount of money that belongs to the dealers.
“With the right dealers working together, we can take back the control. Road Dealer will put dealers back in the driver’s seat,” he went on to say.
For more information about RoadDealer.com and how it can streamline buying and selling used vehicles, visit www.roaddealer.com.
ADESA has announced management promotions at two auction locations.
Jay Hinchman, former general manager at ADESA Las Vegas, and Geoff Parker, former general manager at ADESA Cincinnati/Dayton, were both recently promoted to regional vice presidents to oversee the company’s new Midwest and Mideast auction regions, respectively.
Brenda Aden, former assistant general manager of ADESA Las Vegas, has been promoted to general manager. Mike Long, former assistant general manager of ADESA Cincinnati/Dayton, has been promoted to general manager, while Jay Smith, former dealer sales and services manager at that location, has been promoted to assistant general manager.
“Mike and Jay have been with ADESA for more than 10 years each and have proven to be successful leaders, skilled at developing and implementing business partnerships and serving the diverse and unique needs of our customers,” said ADESA president and chief executive office Stéphane St-Hilaire. “Brenda, who has more than 20 years of auction management experience, has greatly contributed to the success of our auction site in Las Vegas and truly understands this market.
“The strong leadership and industry knowledge that Mike, Brenda and Jay bring to their new roles will be a great asset for our employees and our customers at these locations,” he continued.
Aden joined Manheim Denver in 1995 and served in auction management roles in both Orlando and Las Vegas, where she opened Premier’s Las Vegas Auction and served as assistant general manager. She joined ADESA Las Vegas in 2010.
“Brenda brings a diverse and unique skill set to her role as general manager with two decades of extensive experience in areas such as fleet/lease, factory and specialty accounts,” said Hinchman. “She is well-liked and well-respected by employees and customers alike and has developed loyal relationships across the industry.”
Long joined ADESA in 2003 as the financial coordinator before advancing to the role of assistant general manager of ADESA Cincinnati/Dayton. Prior to that, he served as accounting manager and controller for Lovett & Lovett Associates and was the staff auditor for Ernst & Young.
“Mike has built strong relationships with many of our customers during his many years with this auction location,” said Parker. “He has the first-hand knowledge and experience of the operations and support of the staff at ADESA Cincinnati-Dayton, and I am excited for Mike to lead this auction into the future.”
Smith first joined ADESA Cincinnati/Dayton in 2005, where he served in a variety of roles including sales manager, marketing manager, fleet/lease manager, account manager, and dealer sales and service manager. Prior to that, he worked at Manheim’s Cincinnati Auto Auction, where he was sales manager for six years.
TrueCar has hired former Autotrader executive Paul Edmonds as its senior vice president of dealer marketing and operations.
His most recent post was at RiskIQ, an external threat Internet security company where he had been since December 2014.
Prior to that, Edmonds had been in various roles with Autotrader and Trader Publishing Co. for 15 years.
His positions at Autotrader included various account management, sales and training posts and such executive roles as vice president of sales operations and new business initiatives.
Edmonds’ position just before joining RiskIQ was as a divisional vice president of sales. When he officially joins the TrueCar team this month, he will report to Brian Skutta, the executive vice president of dealer sales and service who joined TrueCar on Feb. 29.
(Skutta had been chief executive officer of AutoAlert since 2014. His prior roles include heading up the launch and growth of the Trade-In Marketplace at Autotrader, and his post as vice president and general manager of VINSolutions after Autotrader’s purchase of the company.)
“Paul’s deep experience serving dealers, along with his proven track record of consistently driving operational success, make him an ideal addition to TrueCar,” Skutta said in a news release. “His leadership will prove invaluable as we continue to ramp up our service and support model to better serve our dealers.”
The hiring of Edmonds coincides with TrueCar expanding its dealer support and services, the company said. That includes hiring 100 or more field service consultants, which are part of the Dealer Pledge program TrueCar revealed in March.
Edmonds' responsibilities in the new post will be to “work to bridge the gap between the company’s consumer product and its valued dealer customers,” TrueCar said in its news release.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to build on the strong foundation that exists in operations, sales, support and service at TrueCar, and to create a program that will be second to none in the industry from a customer experience perspective,” Edmonds said. “We’re in a unique position to build an experience that delights both the consumer and our dealer partners at the same time.”
Alliance Inspection Management has hired Jeff Gaetz as vice president of auction operations.
Gaetz will oversee and manage all of AiM’s vehicle inspection operations at auction sites throughout the United States. He also will manage AiM’s nationwide network of auction inspections and operations as well as supporting customer relationships throughout the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, he will work to grow the business at fixed locations and work with major consignors, auction companies and independent auctions to provide inspection services and technology solutions to meet the needs of buyers and sellers.
“Jeff Gaetz is a great addition to the AiM team,” said Tom Gardner, senior vice president of operations. “He brings a wealth of experience in auction operations and is well-respected in the auto auction industry. Jeff can immediately provide great leadership and support to our organization and to our customers.”
Gaetz spent more than 20 years at Southern Auto Auction, where he last held the position of national sales manager. His main focus was on nurturing national and regional accounts in the automotive, banking and finance industries.
He also served as vice president for Eastern Powersports and as regional car sales manager for Hertz Corp., where he managed the retail, wholesale and special event operations in the Northeast.
He holds a degree in business administration from Norwich University and is credited with developing what is described as the auction industry’s first vehicle management solution, “Auction 2000.”
LotVantage, a provider of digital marketing solutions for automotive, marine, powersports, RV, trailer and outdoor power equipment dealerships, promoted Jim Jabaay to vice president.
In an announcement on Friday, the company recapped that Jabaay joined LotVantage in late 2014 to operate the company’s sales and marketing teams. The company highlighted that his experience in the automotive industry, through his family’s dealership experience and with Manheim, has made him an extremely valuable asset to LotVantage.
“His innovative ideas have helped develop a company that will grow and continue to separate from the pack. Jim also has a passion and commitment to customer service,” LotVantage president and chief executive officer Matthew Brown said.
Reacting to the promotion, Jabaay said, “I am very grateful to have this opportunity to grow in my role at LotVantage. Our software, dedicated team members and strategic partners are what have helped this company succeed at such a rapid rate. I foresee our rapid growth continuing well into the future.”
MetroGistics, a provider of automotive logistics services, has promoted Jeremy Cope to the position of vice president of operations. He previously served as director of logistics operations.
“We’re delighted to promote this dedicated expert to VP of operations,” said William Billiter, co-founder and managing partner. “Jeremy has been eager and successful at putting forth his best abilities in all he has accomplished while being a part of the MetroGistics team. It’s an exciting development along with the square-footage expansion the company is soon to implement.”
Cope has 15 years of experience in vehicle transport and logistics, the last four with MetroGistics. His first role with the company included operating an auto hauler.
Cope oversees several aspects of the operations department, including the asset side, logistics group, dispatching, key accounts, aging, and track and trace. He also oversees the quality and assurance team
A statement from RouteOne released Monday afternoon indicates that chief executive officer Mike Jurecki is leaving the company to take the same position at FordDirect.
Jurecki, who headed the creation of the RouteOne joint venture that launched in 2002, had been CEO from the beginning.
FordDirect confirmed the news to Auto Remarketing in a statement and said the move will be effective June 6.
“We’re excited to welcome Mike to FordDirect,” FordDirect chairman of the board Bill Keith said in the statement. “The board is confident his expertise and strategic vision will help FordDirect continue to innovate, grow and meet our goal of helping Ford and Lincoln dealers sell and service more cars and trucks.”
“Under Jurecki’s leadership, RouteOne experienced extraordinary growth and success. With the major emphasis he placed on integrity, service and reliability, overall customer satisfaction averaged 99 percent for the past three years running, with similar results before then," RouteOne expressed in its statement.
“RouteOne’s network grew to over 1,300 finance sources and an industry-leading 125 dealer service provider integrations. It also earned industry leadership in e-contracting, having processed 2 million e-contracts in 2015 and pushing towards 2.5 million in 2016. Resulting from the innovation he drove, most recently RouteOne launched its newest product, a seamlessly integrated desking component, with additional new product launches planned in the coming months.”
Before the RouteOne days, Jurecki spent more than 20 years with Ford Credit, which came together with Ally Financial, TD Auto Finance and Toyota Financial Services to start the RouteOne joint venture.
RouteOne said its board of directors is conducting a selection process and hopes to name a new CEO soon.
“Everyone at RouteOne wishes Mike Jurecki and his family all the best as he embarks on his newest career endeavor,” the statement said.
CallSource has named two veteran sales and marketing executives to its management team.
Bill Bauwens lends more than 15 years of sales expertise to his new role national sales manager in the company’s automotive division, while Robin Schweitzer brings 20 years of experience to her new role as marketing director.
“We are pleased to welcome Robin and Bill to our team and look forward to the many ways they will help us continue our growth as a leading call management company for the automotive, health care and home services industries,” said Elliot Leiboff, chief strategy officer of CallSource. “They will be instrumental in expanding our footprint as the only call management company with a United States Patent for tracking, analyzing, and, crucially, training sales staff to better handle inbound phone leads.”
Bauwens was previously vice president, sales and marketing, for Santa Barbara-based Neovia, where he increased sales by $500,000 in his first nine months and developed strategic sales and marketing initiatives that drove 90 percent. ROI.
“CallSource, a leader in its space, empowers its management team to be on the cutting edge of technology and product development,” said Bauwens. “I look forward to being part of this strategic team as we take this exciting company to the next level of innovation.”
Schweitzer previously consulted on digital marketing for YP and Taproot and was vice president for client marketing at Valassis, a national marketing and media company, where her accounts included McDonald’s, Starbucks and AT&T.
“CallSource’s entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to customer success are inspiring,” said Schweitzer. “I look forward to working within its people-focused culture, which clearly breeds passion and commitment to results.”
CallSource helps businesses track, analyze and improve incoming call performance.
ADESA continued its recent string of personnel moves on Thursday by promoting Steve Dudash to be vice president of dealer services.
In this role, the business unit of KAR Auction Services explained Dudash will lead ADESA’s more than 300 dealer sales professionals across the country to ensure best practices and standardized processes are implemented nationwide to deliver a premium customer experience. This dedicated team focuses on serving dealers’ wholesale auction needs and providing business support, analytics and training.
“It is critical that we have the right leadership in place to lead our dealer services division, and Steve’s experience and impressive track record are a perfect fit,” said Stéphane St-Hilaire, chief executive officer and president of ADESA. “For nearly 20 years, he has worked on both the buying and selling sides of the spectrum in the wholesale remarketing industry and understands the unique needs of our dealer customers.”
Dudash has been with ADESA since 2002, where he has held a number of management roles for ADESA and OPENLANE, including dealer sales professional, director of dealer services, director of dealer sales and director of strategic accounts.
Prior to joining ADESA, Dudash worked for Neron Broadcasting and Flow Automotive Companies. He has a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University.
Search Optics, a provider of digital marketing services to the automotive industry, has hired Ryan Soffa as vice president of global enterprise solutions. Soffa, who has more than 20 years of auto industry experience, will help further expand Search Optics’ international reach by helping auto dealerships strengthen their retail business.
“During his extensive experience in the automotive industry, Ryan has demonstrated a proficiency for growing businesses and increasing revenue through delivering quality service to clients,” David Ponn, chief executive officer of Search Optics Global, said in a news release. “His qualifications make him the perfect hire for Search Optics as we continue our rapid expansion in 2016.”
Soffa spent the last 13 years with FordDirect, most recently as senior vice president of product strategy. During his time with the company, he oversaw its digital growth, greatly expanding its body of internal and external resources.
In a three-year period, Soffa designed and implemented FordDirect’s product curriculum and development strategy, fueling $150 million in revenue growth and a 300,000-unit increase in vehicle sales. Additionally, he implemented the company’s enterprise solution, which provides websites, CRM, multichannel marketing, digital advertising, and social media and reputation management to more than 3,200 dealerships.
Soffa has a deep understanding of both dealerships and OEMs, including broad knowledge of how to create value by integrating technology with real-world expertise. He believes this is a critical business philosophy for dealership growth.
“Today’s customers want global infrastructure and efficiencies. By its nature, the digital marketing business is a global one, and our customers are demanding digital acumen and technology in all countries they serve,” Soffa said.
“Search Optics has a collaborative environment focused on international growth and is one of the last digital marketing companies that still focuses on the customer and solutions rather than valuations and consolidations,” he continued. “It is my pleasure to join Search Optics to lend my expertise to the company and its clients.”
Search Optics has corporate offices in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ireland, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States.
