CARS Recon has a new president.
In a move that was effective Friday, director of operations and client services Becky Anderson is now president and will lead day-to-day operations, strategy and planning.
CARS Recon chief executive officer and board chairman Ron Hope (formerly the president) will remain in those positions but will not be directly involved in the daily operations.
Anderson has been with the company since 2021.
Also on the senior management team now are Philip Hall, senior vice president of finance/administration, and Ed Gilley, senior vice president of operations.
“We are a company of almost 20 years, and we take pride in striving to be better today than we were yesterday and better tomorrow than we are today, in all of our endeavors,” Hope said in a news release.
Central Auto Auction now is being overseen by a new auction manager who has been in the industry longer than the operation itself.
Announced earlier this month, the new auction manager at Central AA is Anthony Jasiak, who has more than 25 years of experience. Jasiak started his career as the AGM with ADESA New Jersey and most recently was the general manager of Grand Strand Auto Auction in South Carolina.
“Anthony’s strong sales and operation experience is just what we need at Central Auto Auction,” president Peter Saldamarco said in a news release. “We look forward to having him be a key asset within the organization.
“We are honored to have someone with the experience and industry knowledge that Anthony has join our team. I have all the confidence that Anthony will continue to assist us elevating us to the next level,” Saldamarco continued.
In his new role at Central AA, Jasiak will oversee the day-to-day operations, which include dealer sales, commercial sales and lot operations.
“I am very excited to be a part of the Central AA team. They have an established brand here and I hope to continue with the direction and success they have experienced over the year,” Jasiak said.
Central Auto Auction was founded in 2006 and operates on more than 10 acres, with four lanes, and offers full reconditioning, including mechanical, in-house transportation, title services, AutoIMS and Velocicast.
For more information, visit www.centralaa.com.
CarNow, a digital retailing provider in the auto industry, has named a chief financial officer.
Hired for the role is Tim O’Toole, whose background includes CFO roles with RapidMiner, Yotta, Dyn and Rapid7.
O’Toole’s experience also includes time on the senior leadership team at BladeLogic.
“Having known Tim for nearly 20 years, I am excited for the strategic leadership he brings to our organization and am thrilled to welcome him to the team,” CarNow chief executive officer Andy Park said in a news release.
“Tim was instrumental in our initial public offering and eventual acquisition of BladeLogic, and his proven track record of scaling the financial foundation of technology organizations make him the perfect fit for CarNow as we enter our next phase of growth,” Park said.
O'Toole's arrival comes a little more than a week after CarNow named new senior vice president of OEM relations and national accounts.
HyreCar, which provides carsharing for ridesharing and food/package delivery services, has a new chief technology officer.
In a move that was effective Monday, Ken Grimes transitioned from CTO to an executive advisory role. Hired to be the new CTO was Greg Tatem, whose background includes leadership, tech and engineering roles at Wine.com and Williams Sonoma.
“We are pleased to welcome Greg to the HyreCar team at a time when we are growing rapidly,” HyreCar chief executive officer Joe Furnari said in a news release.
“With Greg’s wealth of engineering and product management knowledge, we will be able to continue expanding HyreCar’s platform capacity 10x,” Furnari said. “I’m confident Greg’s passion for the customer experience will make a tangible impact on how we build products and features that maximize productivity and earnings for our drivers and owners.”
Tatem added: “With current driver shortages, HyreCar is uniquely positioned to provide a cost-effective solution for drivers and is the only platform delivering crowdsourced vehicles for gig drivers in the United States. I’m grateful for the opportunity to roll up my sleeves and work with the fantastic technology and business teams to make HyreCar the most owner and driver-friendly platform available.”
Grimes had been CTO since February 2021.
“Ken has been instrumental in transforming the platform to a true microservice architecture, and he will continue to support the transition as a special advisor. I am grateful for Ken’s many contributions to HyreCar,” said Furnari.
Montway Auto Transport said Tuesday that Kaye Ceille, formerly the company’s chief operating officer, will now be the president of its business solutions group.
In this new role, Ceille will aim to expand Montway’s business-to-business customer base, including dealers, auctions, rental car companies, automakers, auto finance companies, fleet management companies and moving/relocation companies.
Her focus will also entail “delivering five-star experiences for Montway's employees, customers and carrier partners,” the company said.
"I initially joined Montway because it's a company with a great foundation poised for continued growth in an industry undergoing transformation and disruption," Ceille said in a news release. "My goals are to digitize our internal tools to improve communication and visibility for all our stakeholders, innovate our products and services to reach more customers and drive efficiency in our operation."
Ceille joined the company in April 2021 as COO. She was among Auto Remarketing’s Women in Remarketing honorees this year, which were spotlighted in our May magazine.
Her background includes time as president of Avis Budget Group and president of Zipcar.
Mike Maroone now is a strategic advisor to the board at motormindz, a highly specialized global automotive consultancy, which said his “name commands attention at every level of our industry.”
A renowned entrepreneur, investor and auto retailer, motormindz highlighted through a news release on Tuesday that Maroone is regarded as one of the most influential leaders in automotive.
He is the chief executive officer of Maroone USA, leading five automotive franchises in Colorado and one in Florida. Maroone serves as the lead director of Carvana, as well as a director for MDH Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition corporation, and several other leading organizations within and outside of automotive.
“We are humbled and honored to have Mike join us in our ongoing mission to accelerate transformative change in our industry,” motormindz CEO and founder Jeff Van Dongen said in the news release. “He is a world-class entrepreneur and leader whose accomplishments speak for themselves.”
As owner of Maroone Enterprises since 1997, he works both independently and in partnership in multiple ventures. His business interests include automotive, healthcare, aviation, insurance and real estate where his investments include commercial centers, office buildings, cold storage, apartments, town homes and land.
“I am excited to be working with some of the industry’s foremost thought leaders,” Maroone said. “The industry is changing rapidly and motormindz provides the critical thinking that allows the industry to stay focused on continuous learning and change management.”
Maroone’s career in auto retail began with the Maroone Automotive Group which, under his leadership as president, grew to nine franchises in six locations with 900 associates. In partnership with his father, Al, the Maroone Automotive Group was consistently recognized as one of the top-performing auto retail groups in America.
Over an 18-year span, Maroone served as president, chief operating officer and director of AutoNation, where he was integral in building the group into one of the nation’s top automotive retailers. At the time of his retirement from AutoNation in 2015, he helped build a company with nearly 300 dealerships generating close to $20 billion in revenue annually.
“Mike’s name commands attention at every level of our industry,” motormindz president Jason Stein said. “His experience and strategic insights will prove to be invaluable to our continued growth and in the ongoing evolution of our future auto retail practice."
Vroom chief executive officer Paul Hennessy has stepped down from the company to pursue other opportunities, the online retailer announced Monday afternoon.
Replacing Hennessy as CEO is Tom Shortt, who was previously Vroom’s chief operating officer.
Tapped as independent executive chair of the board is Robert Mylod.
The CEO move was approved by the board and is effective immediately.
Hennessy joined the company in 2016, having previously served as CEO of Priceline.
Vroom also announced a business realignment plan, the details of which Auto Remarketing will include in future reporting.
“Today's announcement is the culmination of a thoughtful succession planning process by the board to ensure continuity of leadership while positioning Vroom for long-term success,” Mylod said in a news release. “I would like to thank Paul for his many years of service at Vroom.
“During his time as CEO, Paul oversaw Vroom’s transition from a start-up to one of the largest auto retailers in the United States. While doing so, he recruited and cultivated an outstanding management team — including Tom Shortt — that is now ready to lead Vroom for years to come. I am grateful for his leadership and his friendship,” he said.
Mylod continued: “Tom Shortt is a transformational leader who has already made a huge impact on our business and operations since he joined Vroom in January. He has used his substantial experience in business transformation, supply chain management, and data analytics to address our immediate operational challenges and improve our business processes. He is now relentlessly focused on putting Vroom on a path that will yield significant operating efficiencies through increased automation. He is absolutely the right person at the right time to take the wheel at Vroom and drive us towards profitable growth and shareholder value creation. I could not be more excited to be in a position to help Tom achieve these critical goals.”
In the release, Shortt added: “I am humbled to step into the position of CEO at this important time and even more excited about the opportunity at Vroom than I was when I joined the company.
“With our realigned business strategy, our dedicated and talented Vroommates and our commitment to delivering an exceptional customer experience, Vroom is poised for long-term success,” he said
In March, Automotive Ventures launched an investment fund that focuses on driving strong returns for dealers who invest in early-stage dealership technologies.
And Tuesday, the automotive technology and mobility venture capital firm added three industry veterans to sustain that project as well as the others in its portfolio.
Andrew Gordon, Adam Lafferty and Brian Reed now are all part of Automotive Ventures’ leadership team, serving in a variety of development and operational capacities.
Automotive Ventures explained through a news release that these latest appointments help the company further connect investors with emerging automotive and mobility tech companies to fund the next wave of transportation innovation.
Gordon has been appointed head of value creation at Automotive Ventures.
Prior to joining Automotive Ventures, he was a third generation Honda dealer and the former founder and chief executive officer of DealerScience, which was acquired by TrueCar.
A 25-year automotive industry veteran, Gordon works closely with dealer groups throughout the U.S. to identify solutions that solve key challenges dealers face today, and to guide them as they invest in emerging technologies that are transforming the future of the industry.
Lafferty has been appointed vice president of operations at Automotive Ventures.
The firm described Lafferty as a longstanding technology operations leader and entrepreneur. Formerly, Lafferty served as senior director of strategy and operations for TrueCar and was part of the Center of Operational Excellence for Cornerstone Technologies, a cloud-based people development software and learning tech company.
According to the news release, Lafferty will manage Automotive Ventures’ strategic operations to prepare the company to scale up and grow its investor and portfolio company base.
Reed has been appointed operating partner of Automotive Ventures to help the company work closely with its investors, better identify companies for investment and accelerate their adoption post-investment.
Reed is founder of Digital Auto Advisors, which offers automotive technology consulting and intelligence services to the industry. Formerly, he was the cofounder and CEO of Intersection Technologies and F&I Express, which were acquired by Cox Automotive.
In 2006, Reed was named J.D. Power’s Pioneer of the Internet for establishing auto finance on the Internet. He’s an advisor and board member for several automotive technology organizations.
“Automotive Ventures is committed to hiring the best people to support our investors and entrepreneurs,” Automotive Ventures founder and CEO Steve Greenfield said in the news relase. “I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with Andrew, Adam and Brian in the past, and I respect their leadership skills, value their insight and welcome their vision and ingenuity to support our limited partners and help our portfolio companies grow.
“I’m honored that they’ve decided to join the Automotive Ventures leadership team and I look forward to driving the company forward together.”
Along with the Automotive Ventures DealerFund, the company recently introduced its Mobility Index, which tracks the health of publicly traded mobility companies, weighted by their market capitalization.
And Greenfield also was with a variety of entrepreneurs during this year’s Auto Intel Summit, moderating a panel discussion with some of the 2022 Emerging 8 honorees. If you’re a Cherokee Media Group Premium Member, you can listen to the conversation via this webpage.
Quantum5 reinforced its executive management team on Monday.
The company that offers a platform designed "to transform dealership training and bridge the gap between the traditional and digital customer" announced the hiring of Blair King as its new vice president of marketing and Matt Montgomery as its vice president of accounting and finance.
King, who previously was that brand manager and director of marketing for CallRevu, a call monitoring and phone skills training company, brings more than a decade of SaaS automotive experience.
Most recently, King served as director of marketing for ZipDeal, a start-up company designed to streamline the vehicle-buying experience. In her new role as vice president of marketing for Quantum5, the company said King will oversee the development of the company’s marketing strategy for new and existing products, as well as the implementation of its marketing and brand strategy through campaigns, digital marketing, graphics, trade shows and public relations.
“I’ve listened to tens of thousands of inbound calls for dealerships. I know firsthand the pain points felt by both dealers and consumers. From those conversations, I also learned that the secret to dealership success is effective, unique and sustainable training,” King said in a news release. “And that’s what attracted me to Quantum5 and its advanced learning platform.
“I am truly thrilled to be a part of their executive management team and to help dealers thrive with our training solution. Simply put, I couldn’t envision a better fit for my skillset and mindset,” King continued.
Quantum5 highlighted that Montgomery brings with him nearly 25 years of experience as an accounting professional. Montgomery previously worked for more than a decade at Sharp Electronics Corp., where he ultimately served as controller for the Arizona and New Mexico markets, focusing on office products sales and service, professional displays and IT services.
For Quantum5, the company said Montgomery will oversee all financial aspects of the its business and will be instrumental in helping to manage its growth, bottom-line and finances.
“As a strong personal advocate of employee development, I am pleased to be part of the Quantum5 executive management team,” Montgomery said in the news release. “I completely agree with the company’s overall mission of providing meaningful, data-driven training for dealership employees.
“I especially look forward to working alongside other members of the management team as we continue to change the concept of training,” he added.
Unlike other training programs, Quantum5 looks to blend the power of in-person skills training with backend technology that includes artificial intelligence learning, gamification and community building to create ongoing proficiency in learners.
As sales and service teams work their way through the different levels of the app, Quantum5 explained that they become better at determining needs and motivations of buyers, delivering value and handling objections.
Quantum5 chief executive officer and co-founder David O’Brien noted how the new executives will help the company provider its clients with skills to increase both sales and upsell service opportunities, bridging the gap between traditional and digital retail customers.
“The market response to our relationship-based learning process has been overwhelmingly positive and, as a result, we’re rapidly growing market share,” O’Brien said. “What we love about bringing Blair and Matt on-board is that they both truly understand the enormous value of advanced learning. They get it.”
For more information about Quantum5, visit www.quantum5.ai.
Two days after revealing that Amazon Web Services would be powering its cloud-based infrastructure, Hertz on Wednesday announced that Ned Ryan will join the company as chief product development officer, effective May 9.
It’s the second personnel move in less than two weeks by the rental car company, which also chose a new executive vice president, general counsel and secretary to replace Dave Galainena, who is set to retire.
Hertz said in a news release that Ryan will oversee efforts to deliver connected products and technology to enhance the customer experience as Hertz assumes an increased role in the modern mobility ecosystem.
“Our ambition to lead as a mobility company rests on our commitment to invest in technology and innovation, and Ned is the ideal leader to advance our digital ambitions for the next chapter of Hertz,” Hertz chief executive officer Stephen Scherr said in the news release. “Ned has a record of innovating, having served as founder and CEO of multiple startup businesses, including two successful ventures in the mobility sector and most recently at Ford.
“Ned will work in close partnership with Tim Langley-Hawthorne, our chief information officer, and a growing engineering team to develop world-class technology solutions that position Hertz as a key player in the travel and auto industry,” Scherr continued.
Hertz went on to describe Ryan as an entrepreneurial leader, passionate about building products and teams with a focus on mobility.
In 2013, Ryan launched Breeze, one of the first flexible rideshare financing platforms, which was purchased by Ford in 2016. He also founded Canvas, a vehicle subscription service that was purchased by Fair.com at the end of 2019.
Ryan most recently served in a senior capacity at Ford where he worked on new, digitally connected mobility businesses.
“I’m incredibly excited to join the Hertz team at an important time in the company’s history,” Ryan said. “I look forward to building world-class products for our customers and partners and can’t wait to get started.”
Meanwhile, Hertz also announced that Colleen Batcheler will join the company as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary, effective May 20.
The company said Batcheler will lead global governance for Hertz, which encompasses legal, compliance and government affairs. Batcheler’s appointment will follow the retirement of Galainena, who has served as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary for the past three years and has practiced law for almost 40 years.
Hertz said in another news release that Galainena will continue with the company through June 30 to facilitate a transition.
“We are excited to have Colleen join our leadership team at a time of considerable opportunity for Hertz to engage its customers and to lead the industry in the future of mobility and travel,” Scherr said in the other news release. “Colleen’s strategic thinking and deep experience with formidable consumer brands will better position Hertz to execute on its core priorities of electrification, shared mobility and the delivery of a digital-first customer experience.
“I also want to congratulate Dave on his retirement and thank him for his many contributions to Hertz, which includes helping the company complete its successful restructuring last year and establishing a strong foundation for the future,” Scherr went on to say.
Hertz highlighted that Batcheler has more than 15 years of experience as a business-oriented general counsel and senior leader and more than 20 years of experience advising public companies.
Since 2009, Batcheler has served as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Conagra Brands, one of North America’s leading branded food companies, where she has spent the past 16 years, overseeing all legal and governmental affairs for the company.
Prior to joining Conagra, Batcheler was vice president and corporate secretary at Albertson’s, associate counsel with The Cleveland Clinic Foundation and an associate with the law firm of Jones Day.
“I’m thrilled to join Hertz at this pivotal time for the company,” Batcheler said. “The company’s strategic focus and investment in the future of mobility presents an exciting opportunity and I look forward to working alongside the leadership at Hertz and with all the talented team members around the world to drive the business forward.”
