In response to company growth, LeasePlan USA announced Tuesday it has hired a new vice president of client relations regional sales.
Bringing over 18 years of professional fleet management experience to the role is George Hodge, who is now responsible for strategically guiding fleets to reduce costs and create efficiencies for a portfolio of accounts for the company’s northeast region.
“LeasePlan is a well-respected industry leader. I believe my talents and experience align perfectly with the overall vision of the company,” Hodge said. “I am happy to be a part of such an outstanding organization, and I look forward to what the future holds.”
Hodge’s career began in 1997 at ARI as a stock purchase specialist before he transitioned into client relations in 2001.
“We are pleased to have George Hodge join our team of service experts,” said Jon Toups, LeasePlan’s chief commercial officer. “His leadership and years of experience interfacing directly with customers at all levels will help us continue our mission of making it easier to leaseplan.”
For more information on LeasePlan, visit its site here.
KAR Auction Services has hired former Hyundai Capital America executive Amy Bouck as executive sales director of ADESA.
Bouck, who is a 2015 Women in Remarketing honoree, will manage several major national sales accounts, both at ADESA physical auctions and within the online space, the company said. She will report to vice president of sales John Combs.
“We are excited to have Amy as part of our team,” said Combs. “I’m sure that her vast experience in the remarketing space, combined with her passion for this business and her enthusiasm to serve our customers, will prove to be huge assets.”
Bouck’s most recent post was as Hyundai Capital America’s senior director of lease-end servicing and remarketing.
In addition to 16 years with Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA, Bouck’s experience also includes time with VW Credit and American Honda Finance.
The 2015 class of Women in Remarketing, which includes Bouck, will be recognized during a ceremony on Nov. 19 as part of Used Car Week in Scottsdale, Ariz.
ADESA subsidiary Recovery Database Network (RDN) promoted one of its executives to be chief operating officer on Tuesday.
Taking over the role is Holly Balogh, who joined RDN back in 2012.
“RDN continues to strengthen its position as a leading vehicle recovery software solution. The company serves more customers than ever before, including many of the largest automotive lenders in the U.S., and processes more vehicles than at any time in its history,” said Peter Kelly, president of KAR Digital Services and chief technology officer of KAR Auction Services.
“Holly has been an integral part of that growth, and I look forward to working with her in her new role to increase the scope of services that RDN offers its customers,” Kelly continued.
Balogh brings more than 20 years of business experience in leadership, product management and technical development to her new role. She joined RDN in 2012 as senior product manager and was promoted to senior director of operations in 2014 and vice president of operations in 2015.
In her most recent role, Balogh oversaw the day-to-day business operations and was responsible for integrating partnerships with key global customers.
Prior to RDN, she was vice president of customer support at technology company OneWest.net and a manager at Accenture, a multinational management consulting and technology services company.
“I am honored to lead a talented team that is dedicated to continuing to introduce innovative new tools to our industry,” said Balogh, who holds an MBA from Bradley University.
“I am excited about continuing to work with our customers in my new role and provide the resources that professional recovery companies need to streamline their operations as well as support the unique business needs of our global client base,” she went on to say.
Earlier this week, the National Automobile Dealers Association’s board of directors elected its chairman for 2016.
The post went to Jeff Carlson, who is currently serving as NADA vice chairman. Carlson is president of Glenwood Springs Ford and Glenwood Springs Subaru in Glenwood Springs, Colo., and co-owner of Summit Ford in Silverthorne, Colo. His term as chairman officially begins in January.
The ceremonial event of “passing the gavel” will occur at the 2016 NADA Convention and Expo in Las Vegas.
“This is a great honor, and I’m eager to lead NADA as we continue the important job of protecting the interests of America’s 16,500 franchised new-car dealerships, and the more than 1 million people they employ nationwide,” said Carlson, who represents Colorado’s franchised dealers on NADA’s board.
Mark Scarpelli, who represents metropolitan Chicago’s franchised dealers on NADA’s board, was elected vice chairman. He is president of Raymond Chevrolet and Kia in Antioch, Ill., and is co-owner of Ray Chevrolet in Fox Lake, Ill.
Bill Willis, president of Willis Automotive Group (Chevrolet, Buick and Ford) in Smyrna, Del., was elected secretary. Neale Kuperman, president of Rockland Toyota in Blauvelt, N.Y., was elected treasurer.
The election took place at NADA’s board meeting in Palm Beach, Fla.
Hertz Global Holdings Inc. announced Wednesday it appointed a new executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
Chosen for the role is Matthew Jauchius, who will now lead the company’s marketing strategy for the Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly brands, including customer experience, e-commerce, loyalty program, customer relationship management, social media and ancillary revenue generation efforts worldwide.
The new hire brings with him nearly 20 years of marketing experience in senior and executive roles at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and McKinsey & Company.
"Matt brings to Hertz significant expertise across many marketing disciplines with a strong track record of leading successful integrated brand strategies," said Jeff Foland, senior executive vice president and chief revenue officer. "He is an ideal fit to lead our continued brand architecture work and reinvigorate activity around our loyalty programs and customer experience offerings.
"We will be leaning heavily on his leadership and experience in these areas as we bolster our brands and develop a strong, differentiated customer experience for each of them."
In his most recent post, Jauchius serves as EVP and chief marketing officer at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, where he directed an integrated marketing program that included brand marketing, media, advertising, digital marketing, social media, research and analytics, public relations, communications and customer advocacy functions.
In this position he also led a rebranding, and launched Nationwide's cause-related marketing efforts.
Before moving to Nationwide, the new Hertz hire was an associate principal at McKinsey & Company, working with client marketing organizations across a number of business sectors.
"I am excited to join Hertz at such an important time in the company's history. We will be evaluating and cultivating various strategies to ensure our iconic and valued brands capture leading positions in the industry, while building a first-class experience for our customers," said Jauchius. "I look forward to helping with these important efforts."
Now that the acquisition of Dealertrack Technologies is complete, Cox Automotive shifted a top executive who served as co-president of the newest piece of the company portfolio into a new role.
On Tuesday, Cox Automotive appointed Raj Sundaram to be chief client success officer, reporting directly to Cox Automotive president Sandy Schwartz.
In this key position, the company indicated Sundaram will be responsible for helping clients successfully increase efficiency and grow their business utilizing the combined companies' comprehensive solutions.
“Client success has always been our top priority, and now with Dealertrack we will take the definition of client success to a new level,” Schwartz said.
“With offerings that span the entire value chain in automotive retail, we will take a more strategic approach to delivering the best, most innovative solutions our combined companies have to offer. Raj is the perfect person to lead this effort with his extensive client relationships and deep understanding of the auto industry,” Schwartz continued.
Before Dealertrack, Sundaram — who has previoulsy been a Used Car Week speaker — was president and owner of Automotive Lease Guide. Earlier at Nissan North America, Sundaram held several positions of leadership in financial planning, market research and pricing. He began his career at Ford Motor Co. in the controller's office.
“We are uniquely positioned to leverage our suite of industry leading solutions designed to help our clients drive innovation and lead the transformation of auto retail,” Sundaram said. “We are excited about the potential and focused on client success.”
Sundaram holds an MBA in Finance from Lehigh University and a B.S. and M.S. in Accounting from the University of Mumbai in India.
Skip-tracing and collections expert Alex Price recently resigned his position as executive vice president at MasterFiles to take on new industry challenges.
Price didn’t specify exactly where his career was heading next, only divulging that, “Stay tuned. Change is coming.”
Price has been a panelist several times a wide array of industry events, including North American Repossessors Summit. Price, who has more than 25 years of experience in skip-tracing, collections and public speaking, also is the author of the Skip Tracers National Certification Program, The Florida Records Guide, The Military Installations Guide.
Price still can be reached at (251) 366-7669 or [email protected].
Victory Recovery Services (VRS), a provider in the financial services space for skip tracing and collateral recovery since 1989, recently opened a new branch office in Irving, Texas.
With VRS’ increased presence in the financial services industry as an outsource partner, the company highlighted that it also hired new leadership and incorporated a new software operations platform to manage the compliance portion of its business.
“Dallas is the auto lending capital of America, and as our business continues to expand, it made the most sense to open a new location right in the heart of the auto finance industry,” Victory Recovery Services owner Mark Davis said.
Managing this new office is former GMAC and American Honda Finance manager Rich Sadler, who has 25 years of industry experience.
“I chose to come on board with Victory as they have been one of the most respected names in the skip and forwarding space since their inception into this industry, which they actually helped pioneer,” Sadler said.
“What I liked about what they offer is they are not tied to an auction, or a repossession company or another line of revenue within their company that potentially could cause a conflict of interest,” he continued. “They do one thing, and they do it well.
“I’m excited to build a team around the wealth of talent that exists in the Dallas area,” Sadler went on to say. “I also look forward to sharing the Victory story and their success with lenders who maybe haven’t had a chance to work with them in the past”.
In addition to adding a new location, VRS mentioned that the company significantly increased its technological capabilities; a move executives felt was necessary due to the increasing oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the different state regulatory laws surrounding the work outsource vendors perform for financial institutions.
The key technology piece was licensing the masterQueue Intellaegis platform, an innovator in financial services technology.
In addition, executives highlighted the creation of an interface between VRS’ existing repossession assignment platform, Recovery Database Network (RDN), and its new enterprise level skip tracing platform, masterQueue, will give VRS a significant advantage.
“VRS has made significant investments in the opening of the new office, in the leadership changes it’s made, and in the development of an industry leading combination of technology that is a game changer for one of the oldest and most respected brands in the skip and forwarding space,” company executives went on to say.
VRS added that it is hiring qualified employees for its new office in Texas and also at its Buford, Ga., headquarters. Interested candidates with experience in skip tracing or forwarding should contact the company via email at [email protected].
My Recovery System (MRS), a software solutions company specializing in the repossession industry, recently hired Bill Sheehan as vice president of client services, bringing more than 20 years of experience working in the financial services and collateral recovery industries to the company.
Prior to joining MRS, Sheehan worked at PRA Location Services and The M. Davis Co.
“Bill is a forward-thinking industry leader with a proven track record,” MRS president Jeff Koistinen said. “Bill’s vision for MRS and his knowledge of the industry is a major asset. This is a huge addition to our administrative team.”
Sheehan’s primary responsibilities at MRS will be building and maintaining positive, long-term productive relationships with clients and agents, a skillset to which Sheehan has spent the better part of two decades honing, and identifying and implementing related process improvements.
“I’m extremely excited to join this team of professionals,” Sheehan said. “MRS’s core value of ‘agents first’ is exactly in line with my beliefs. MRS puts the latest, cutting-edge technology at the fingertips of repossession agents.”
The relatively new Momentum Auto Group recently announced the appointment of its new chief operating officer.
Bringing nearly 33 years of experience to the role is George Athan, who is now responsible for directing future business management and revenue growth as well as acquisition strategies to grow and develop future opportunities.
Athan's background includes time with AutoNation, as well as DCH Auto Group and ELEAD1ONE.
Athan’s further responsibilities now include establishing strategic business goals, increasing targeted performance, as well as cultivate manufacturer and financial partner relationships.
“I couldn’t be more pleased that George Athan has joined our team,” said Rahim Hassanally, the group’s president. “George has the national-level experience and knowledge to help take Momentum Auto Group to the next level. As we continue to build on what we have already achieved in nine years, George and the executive team will provide the stability and efficiencies that our operations and customers deserve.”
Athan also commented that he is excited to join the “progressive” team at Momentum.
“Momentum is postured to take advantage of growth opportunities and I look forward to being a part of that growth and continue our ‘Momentum.’”
For more information on the auto group, visit its site here.
