Among a series of executive moves, NCM Associates went into Canada to find its new director of retail solutions, training and development.
Taking on this role is Trevor Robinson of Vancouver, British Columbia, who is being asked to lead and expand the NCM 20 Group and retail consulting programs to better support the company’s growing clientele in the U.S. and Canada.
With more than 15 years’ experience in the motorsports industry leading and managing diverse cross-functional teams most recently in support of the retail dealer channel, Robinson joins NCM with achievements in performance and operations management as well as product development and engineering. The company highlighted Robinson grew up around the car business and is a self-proclaimed “gear head.”
“NCM has been fortunate to have experienced significant growth in the past five years along with its clients,” NCM president and chief executive officer Paul Faletti Jr. said on Tuesday.
“It is imperative that we on-board talented leaders, like Trevor, to meet the needs of our employee-owners, as well as our current and future clients,” Faletti continued.
Along with hiring Robinson, Faletti appointed Robin Keller, NCM’s former marketing communications director, as chief operating officer for the company last October. Skye Nguyen replaced Keller as marketing communications director later that month; and in January, Richard Head joined as the director of education, leading the NCM Institute division.
“Each of these individuals brings fresh perspectives and ideas to bear on our strategic initiatives to aggressively enhance and expand the NCM brand and service offerings,” Faletti said. “I am very excited to have such a strong leadership team in place and look forward to what we will accomplish for our customers.”
In addition to these latest appointments, NCM is restructuring internally to focus more attention on strategic business and product development initiatives to expedite the design and delivery techniques of new and enhanced product and services.
“This is a great time to be a car dealer,” Faletti said. “We see our clients making significant investments in their dealerships to give them more insight, greater efficiencies and increased profitability.
“It is critical that NCM also make investments in our business model to remain responsive to their needs,” he went on to say.
Coincidentally, the same week that unusual thunderstorms raced across much of the country, Dent Wizard promoted two new hail business development managers.
Grant Allen and Scott Whitney will take on the two newly created positions designed to help the company continue to improve its hail response services across North America.
Allen and Whitney previously worked as regional hail managers, Allen covering North Carolina and South Carolina; and Whitney covering Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah, the company shared.
Allen joined Dent Wizard in 1999, and Whitney joined the company in 2011. The two will report to Todd Yanak, Dent Wizard’s vice president of business development for hail.
The newly promoted execs are part of a 30-person hail management and support team that work with thousands of technicians in the field responding to hail damage throughout the U.S. and Canada.
“2014 was a year of tremendous growth for Dent Wizard’s Hail Department,” said Yanak. “We instituted new programs, updated our systems, and strengthened our partnerships with many of our customers. With Grant and Scott in their new roles, we are confident that 2015 will provide many more opportunities for growth and helping our customers.”
Mike Black, chief operating officer of Dent Wizard, added: "Both of these gentlemen have extensive experience in the industry and in responding to hail storms, which has been helpful to our customers and to Dent Wizard. They understand the value we provide through our ability to execute, serve, and work as a partner during very hectic, catastrophic events.”
After forming America’s Auto Auction 10 years ago and leading its growth to the 12-member group it is today, Richard Gundy retired from the business in late March. Taking on the role of chief executive officer is Ben Lange, who adds the CEO title to his existing duties as president of the company.
Meanwhile, former MAFS, Manheim and Black Book executive Jeff Bunch is now the group’s chief operating officer.
Dustin Miller, who has been with the company since inception, remains its chief financial officer.
America’s Auto Auction also promoted John Swofford, with the company since 2011, to serve as regional manager for the Texas markets; he will continue as general manager of America’s Auto Auction Austin, as well.
Additionally, the company promoted Brian Thomas, who has been with the company since 2008, to the role of regional manager responsible for the company’s locations in the Eastern U.S. His most recent post was as general manager of America’s Auto Auction Jacksonville.
Gundy retires from the business after a decade leading America’s Auto Auction. In addition to the 12 locations it operates, the company has an affiliated floor plan company in Auction Credit Enterprises.
America’s Auto Auction began its purchases in 2005 with the acquisitions of Jacksonville Auto Auction, Tulsa Auto Auction and Greenville Spartanburg Auto Auction.
Lange came aboard in 2006 to lead operations for Gundy, and also brought America’s Auto Auction Dallas with him.
The company rebranded its entire corporate entity to America’s Auto Auction, and Lange was named president and COO.
“I needed someone with experience and integrity to help run the business and found the ideal partner in Ben Lange. With his experience in both retail and wholesale vehicle sales and in auction operations, he has proven to be a tremendous asset to the company and an integral part of our success and growth over the years,” Gundy said.
Lange added: “I love the auction business, and we developed a business plan to buy independent auctions in order to build a strong regional footprint. We determined it was best to plan for strategic growth by 'buying one good one at a time,' and not focusing on fixer uppers.
“We are looking for well-run operations that have good reputations in our industry, which has yielded us 12 auction locations today. After just 10 years in the business, we’re the third-largest provider of used cars in the country, and the company is in a great position to build for the future,” Lange said.
As for the latest move, the company broke ground for construction earlier this year for its second greenfield site, America’s Auto Auction Houston (the first greenfield was America’s Auto Auction Austin in 2007).
Additionally, its Auction Credit Enterprises affiliate floor plan company currently operates in Texas and Georgia and is “rapidly expanding” into new markets. Headed up by Bunch, its leadership also includes Marshall Baker, who was recently named its COO. Baker’s background includes time with MAFS and Ford Motor Credit.
“At America’s Auto Auction we maintain a keen focus on both buyers and sellers in order to nourish healthy local markets and build strong foundations for institutional remarketers,” said Lange. “As the fastest-growing auction company in the country, we know how important a well-run facility is, and we’ve worked hard to ensure that each one of our auctions offers the highest level of service to every customer.”
KAR Auction Services announced today that it has named Michelle Kaiser Bray as the company’s new vice president, intellectual property and technology counsel.
Bray, formerly a partner for Indianapolis-based Faegre Baker Daniels, will be responsible for assisting the KAR legal team with matters related to global technology transactions, privacy and data security, and intellectual property licensing and enforcement.
“Michelle is a well-respected legal professional, with a vast skill set of intellectual property experience in a wide variety of industries,” said Becca Polak, KAR’s executive vice president, general counsel and board secretary. “Her diverse expertise and track record of success make her the perfect fit for our legal team.”
Bray, a certified privacy professional (CIPP/US), focused on intellectual property, privacy and data security with multinational apparel brands and automobile and financial service companies in her former position with Faegre Baker Daniels.
The new VP currently serves on the National Advisory Board for the Women Like Us Foundation and is the vice president of the Creative Arts Legal League as well an active member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Bray has previously been awarded several honors, including the Women in Law Award, Best Lawyers in America, Indianapolis Trademark Lawyer of the Year and Indiana Super Lawyers.
Black Book announced Tuesday the appointment of a new vice president.
Formerly the executive director of product management at Jacada Inc., Chris du Toit takes on the newly created role of vice president of product management, where he will be responsible for leading product strategy and product management for all of Black Book’s product offerings. He will focus on the enhancement of existing products as well as the development of new offerings for the entire group, which includes National Auto Research, Veretech Holdings Inc. and Canadian Black Book.
He will report to Tom Cross, the president of Black Book.
“Chris’ impressive expertise will be a great asset to our entire team and he will be instrumental in our dedication to continuous innovation and the creation of breakthrough products,” Cross said.
Prior to joining Black Book, du Toit led Jacada’s company transition from on-premises systems to cloud-based SaaS products in the position of executive director. He earned his B.S. in computer science from Rhodes University in South African and holds a J.D. from Concord Law School.
Black Book announced Monday it has a new chief technology officer and senior vice president, a newly created role for the company.
Chosen for the role is Laird Popkin. The promotion is effective immediately.
In the new position, Popkin is responsible for all product development and IT operations for the entire group, which includes National Auto Research, Veretech Holdings Inc., and Canadian Black Book, which the company acquired last week.
Popkin will report to Tom Cross, president of Black Book.
In his previous role, Popkin was a chief enterprise architect at Kaplan Inc. He touts more than 25 years of executive and technology management experience and has held CTO positions at Pando Networks; Warner Music Group; 3Path; Sotheby’s Holdings; and News Corp’s Internet Services.
“Laird is the ideal choice to help drive Black Book’s IT and product initiatives as we continue to leverage technology capabilities and innovations and create breakthrough products and services for the automotive industry,” Cross said. “Laird’s technical expertise, passion for technology, and operational excellence will help us in our commitment to continually enhance our market-leading products to meet the needs of our customers.”
The chief executive officer of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies announced this week he is stepping down to pursue personal interests.
Greg Miller has led the company for seven years.
Greg Miller said, “This is the right move for me personally, for my family and for the business. It has been a privilege to fill the role of CEO and to be a steward of this outstanding organization that my parents sacrificed so much to create and develop. The Larry H. Miller Group of Companies is now entering a new phase and requires a new structure. I have been fortunate to have worked with some of the best and brightest people anywhere.”
Clark Whitworth, president of Larry H. Miller Management Corp., will assume Greg Miller’s duties.
Also announced Monday, Gail Miller, owner of the dealer group, will be transitioning the group to a new corporate structure
The new format will include an outside board of directors, and is designed to provide for multi-generational family ownership and future growth, the company said.
Gail Miller said, “Today is a significant day in the history of this company. The changes announced in the organizational structure of the group are a natural evolution of a large and growing enterprise. Larry’s dream was for our businesses to survive the two of us well into the future. This change will provide the structure for that to happen. Greg was successful in taking over for Larry while facing one of the toughest economic times in our country’s history.
“He has done an outstanding job leading this organization and his many accomplishments will have a profound, lasting effect on our family businesses and our communities for generations to come. I am extremely proud of the work he has done and very appreciative of his excellent leadership these past seven years,” she continued.
Asbury Automotive Group has revealed its most recent plan to cull the shortage of automotive technicians at the company. The auto group says it plans to hire between 200 and 400 technicians over the next year or two.
The dealership group says it has opportunities to expand its quick service offerings as well as its traditional service offerings across all of its stores and collision centers.
In order to obtain the technicians, Asbury plans on utilizing its working partnerships with local technical schools, community colleges, its vehicle manufacturing partners and its own Asbury Technical Institute, which completed its first graduating class in September. ATI is an internal program that trains eligible technician candidates, including current employees, with classroom and hands-on training.
Asbury says it anticipates a mid-single digit growth rate percentage for its parts and service gross profit for the rest of the current year.
FordDirect announced the promotion of three of its employees into senior-level positions. Among the advancements include the promotion of Jeff Krupp to senior vice president of OEM services, Chris Johnson to vice president of consumer acquisition, and Greg McLaurin to vice president of dealer operations.
Krupp, in his most recent position as vice president of OEM services, was responsible for leading the technology team and the development of OEM-related digital properties. Adding the senior-level to his occupation adds additional responsibilities, which includes continuing the growth of FordDirect’s tier-one business and heading the company’s competency building. He will also be responsible for driving the company’s technology strategy and security initiatives.
As the new vice president of consumer acquisition, Johnson will manage customer acquisition and market-related activities with the primary focus of driving leads to dealers. Johnson’s previous position with the company was senior director of advertising, where he overlooked the company’s advertising products, including its Digital Advertising Solution, and its Social Media and Reputation Management Service.
Previously the senior director of dealer operations, McLaurin’s responsibilities as the vice president of dealer operations will include add leadership responsibilities while maintaining his job of providing strategic consultation and operational support for digital sales and service solutions to Ford and Lincoln dealers.
Dent Wizard International announced Friday that is has hired a new regional business development manager for its Mid-South region. Formerly a brand manager for Aston Martin and a general manager for multiple dealerships, Kaylene Cohen joins the Dent Wizard team with over 15 years of experience in the automotive industry.
In her new role, Cohen will manage Dent Wizard’s business in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah while working from her office in Chesterfield, Mo. She will report to Addison Thomas, the company’s regional vice president of Midsouth.
“Kaylene’s determination, dedication and drive will no doubt serve her well as she begins to cultivate customer relationships in the Midsouth region,” Thomas said.
Cohen’s previous experience also includes time spent as the general manager of Plaza Motors in St. Louis, selling luxury brands such as Audi, Porsche, Land Rover and Cadillac, as well as general manager at Mercedes Benz – Progress Point in Weldon Spring, Mo.
“Kaylene understands the return on investment and value associated with reducing the number of days that vehicles are not fully reconditioned and ready for the front line, which will certainly benefit our clients,” said Mike Black, Dent Wizard’s chief operating officer. “She brings a wealth of knowledge and is committed to creating win-win scenarios for our dealers and Dent Wizard.”
