TrueCar named a chief people officer on Thursday, appointing Jill Angel to the role.
Angel, who had previously been executive vice president of people at Leaf Group, will report to TrueCar president and chief executive officer Mike Darrow.
Angel joined Leaf Group in 2015. Her experience in “people operations” began after two decades in operations, finance and customer service at various ecommerce platforms.
“We’re delighted to welcome Jill to the TrueCar team as we build an organization ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of supporting a modern-day marketplace serving both dealers and consumers,” Darrow said in a news release.
“Jill will serve as a strategic partner to me and the rest of the executive team, advising on key organizational issues as well as assuring appropriate resources and programs are in place as we scale our TrueCar+ marketplace,” he said.
In the news release Angel added, “I look forward to bringing my experience to TrueCar and working to bring operational solutions to the team. I’m passionate about many aspects of HR, including compensation strategy, building relationships with key stakeholders and identifying talent, and I can't wait to use my skills to develop and retain teams at TrueCar.”
NuVinAir's newest executive brings a diverse automotive background to her position, having experience with an automaker, a software company and a retailer.
The company that offers a suite of patented and proprietary products that are designed to create healthy vehicle interiors safely has named Misa Tanaka as its new regional support director for the West Coast.
In her new role as a sales and marketing lead, NuVinAir said Tanaka will create and implement strategies for meeting the evolving demands of key account rental-vehicle clients.
“As we continue to expand NuVinAir’s operations and national partnerships, we are doubling-down on providing our partnerships with superior support,” NuVinAir chief executive officer and founder Kyle Bailey said in news release. “Misa offers deep expertise in the automotive industry, as well as in building national account relationships, and we are proud to welcome her to our team.”
With more than a decade of managerial expertise in the automotive industry, NuVinAir highlighted that Tanaka specializes in sales and marketing consulting, inventory management and vehicle procurement.
Prior to NuVinAir, Tanaka worked at Stellantis as the marketing and incentives sales planning manager where she was responsible for developing and communicating new-vehicle incentive programs, as well as overseeing the region’s monthly incentive portfolio, budget and expenditure effectiveness.
Previously, Tanaka worked at Dealer-FX Group, a software-service solution for automotive retailers and OEMs where she leveraged her expertise in delivering sophisticated analytics.
Tanaka began her professional career at CarMax where she worked as the buying point of contact, executing recruitment techniques that were utilized in numerous locations.
“NuVinAir offers an exceptional leadership team, company culture, and growth opportunity, and I’m excited to join a company that shares my values, both personally and professionally,” Tanaka said.
“I’m confident that my relevant work experience in the automotive industry, combined with my passion for achieving success, will enable me to quickly build relationships and make a positive impact both within the organization, as well as with our West Coast partners,” she went on to say.
Among NuVinAir’s product offerings is its autonomous cyclone treatment, which is geared to produce healthy, clean vehicle interiors.
The cyclone is used with ReFresh and ReStore, respectively, to freshen a vehicle’s interior, as well as eliminate extreme odor and reset the vehicle to a like-new condition.
The company’s newest product, ReKlenz-X, is a high-performance stain remover and an EPA-approved, eco-friendly disinfectant that can kill 99.9% of germs, bacteria, and viruses on vehicle surfaces, according to NuVinAir.
As part of its product portfolio, ReNuSurface is an eco-friendly, all-in-one cleaner that can replace multiple products and save on supply costs.
CarOffer, which is part of the CarGurus network, has named its vice president of consumer operations, and taking on this newly created role is Kim Jenkins, who was previously senior director of training and implementation.
In the new role, Jenkins — who has been with CarOffer for about five years — will head up the company’s consumer operations department.
That department was created in August to support the CarGurus Instant Max Cash Offer platform, which is powered by CarOffer and allows dealers to bid on and acquire used cars online from consumers.
“Kim has been a tremendous contributor to the growth and success of CarOffer since she joined our company almost five years ago,” CarOffer founder and chief executive officer Bruce Thompson said in a news release.
“Her dedication to leading a high performing team along with her passion for an unparalleled customer experience make her the perfect executive to lead our consumer operations team,” Thompson said.
Before her time with CarOffer, Jenkins was senior client services manager at auto retail software provider Tail Light.
“CarOffer is an exceptional company and I'm proud to be a part of the journey,” Jenkins said in a news release. “I’m looking forward to leading our exceptional team and seeing the growth of the consumer business in the months and years ahead.”
AutoIMS has promoted director Keely Smith to the role of vice president of contracts and business services.
Smith has been with the company since March 2002, when she joined as head of customer service and was one of the early employees at AutoIMS.
She eventually began managing customer contracts billing and compliance. In her new post, Smith will head up contracts, billing, risk management and compliance matters.
During her time at AutoIMS, she had led the development of a risk management program for company clients and her team has heled automate several aspects of the company’s operations.
Smith was one of Auto Remarketing’s Women in Remarketing honorees in 2012.
“Keely’s 20 years of success demonstrates a legacy of relationships, growth, and dedication. Keely’s strength is in managing customer relationships and she has long-term friends in the industry who trust and respect her judgment. She enjoys reinforcing the value proposition of AutoIMS during contract negotiations and helps ensure win-win outcomes for both parties,” AutoIMS chief executive officer Venkat Krishnamoorthy said in a news release.
“Keely is an amazing steward of our data compliance standards. Protecting our clients’ data and the company’s data assets has always been forefront for her. She is also very active in sharing her experience with the industry and serves as a co-chair of the IARA Compliance committee.”
Smith, who worked at MCI WorldCom before joining AutoIMS, added: “Being lucky enough to transition from telecom to remarketing technology 20 years ago changed my life. I’ll always be grateful to Don Meadows for investing in me and teaching me about the industry.
“It’s a blessing and an honor to work for a company that truly strives to help its clients be successful. I would not have gotten this far without the help and support of Venkat, our entire AutoIMS team, and industry friends. I look forward to what’s in our future and continuing to contribute to our industry’s success.”
The year that followed Gettacar partnering with the Danis Auto independent dealership got the wheels turning for founder and chief executive Yossi Levi and team.
Gettacar, which launched in 2018 as an ecommerce-only online car-buying platform, “transformed” the Philadelphia store in 2020, supplying it with inventory and also utilizing its reconditioning capabilities, Levi said.
What resulted was a 52% increase in sales for Danis Auto between 2020 and 2021.
That growth spurred an idea for Levi: What if Gettacar scaled this model, buying independent dealerships and repeating that process?
That’s where the company, which has pivoted to an “omnichannel-first” model, finds itself today.
In addition to Danis Auto and its two locations (which is where Levi came from before starting Gettacar), the company has deals to purchase four independent dealerships, acquisitions that are expected to close in coming months.
“We buy these traditional dealerships, we empower them to sell online or in store, along with enhancing their experience, bringing more inventory, bringing a better suite of just internal tools and processes,” Levi said. “And that way, we grow the business, we improve the customer experience and we scale.”
To help the company scale, Gettacar has hired its first-ever chief operating officer: John Foley, who was set to depart from his role as COO at CarLotz this month.
Levi lauded Foley’s skillset in the scaling department, as he helped CarLotz grow from two hubs to nearly two dozen in his time with the company.
“He knows how to build teams, he knows how to build sourcing channels and we knew that it was the right fit from a values perspective and a competency perspective, he was the right fit for the company,” Levi said.
The four stores that Gettacar is purchasing are all on the East Coast, as Levi says the company currently is “very regionally focused, with aspirations to be national.”
As it scales, Gettacar is looking for high-level independent dealerships that have been operating more than seven years, score high on customer reviews, situated in ideal locales and “align on values and customer base,” he said.
So, why buy independents, in particular, versus setting up shop as a third-party provider or buying franchise dealerships?
“We’re doing the hard work here, where No. 1 we’ve built very, very, very sophisticated infrastructure. To build a reconditioning center and logistics operation, there’s only a handful of independent auto retailers in the country that have done that. Not many people have these big inspection centers and what not, that can do this at scale and do it very efficiently and profitably. That’s the first reason,” Levi said.
“The second reason is, we have the progressive ecommerce DNA in our blood. That’s what we started as … that’s what led us to doing this,” Levi said. “And you couple that with the fact that these independents are typically overlooked. And when you find good independents, you have the creative freedom.
“I like to (say), we don’t have the franchise shackles. We’re a startup, we’re fast growth, we want to come in and we want to bring our experience with our facade. And you just can’t do that on the franchise side,” he said. “That’s the really exciting part for us here … we come from this world. We’ve done this and now we’re just accelerating our growth by making acquisitions and growing inorganically, as well.”
Yossi said the company found that the most efficient and effective way to scale was through acquisitions of independent dealers. Gettacar also determined the best approach was to be omnichannel rather than strictly ecommerce.
It makes sense considering that “you have marketing expenses at an all-time high, CPMs are super high, and you realize that you have these undermanaged assets that you can come in and really make an impact, especially because we’ve built a very, very strong infrastructure over the last several years,” Levi said.
As far as next steps, Gettacar has its attention on finalizing its transactions and moving forward from there.
“We’re laser-focused on closing our four acquisitions and focusing on execution, period. Nothing fancy. Let’s acquire this asset and have it produce a better customer experience and sell more cars more profitably after acquisition. It’s really that simple,” Levi said. “We’re just not looking to do anything too fancy right now. Rather, just execute.
“And then in addition to that, of course, bringing John on board, helps us really add horsepower to the operational side of our business. And scale faster. We’re a well-capitalized business in obviously a strong used-car market, and we want to move faster,” he said.
“We know we have a very unique playbook. We’re first to market. We have an experienced team … we have a duty to move as quick as possible and prove out that we can digitally transform these traditional dealers and bring a better customer experience and grow sales along the way.”
The top executive leadership changes at CarLotz continued on Thursday.
Along with announcing that chief operating officer John Foley and chief technology officer Dan Valerian will be departing in April, CarLotz appointed a new president as well as a new CTO.
Taking on the role of president of consignment-to-retail used vehicle marketplace is Ozan Kaya, who will be in the position starting on April 25. CarLotz also said its new chief technology officer as of April 17 will be Eugene Kovshilovsky.
Kaya and Kovshilovsky will report to incoming chief executive officer Lev Peker, who will be taking on the role effective April 18.
On March 15, CarLotz announced that the last day of employment for co-founder and chief executive officer Michael Bor would be the following day.
All of the executive actions arrived amidst the CarLotz rolling out a mobile app as well as forging a relationship with Car Capital.
“On behalf of the company and incoming CEO, Lev Peker, I am extremely pleased to welcome Ozan and Eugene to the CarLotz leadership team,” CarLotz board chairman Luis Solorzano said in a news release.
“Ozan brings a deep knowledge of building strong customer experiences and relationships based on operational excellence, which will support the company’s growth and drive our mission to create the world’s greatest vehicle buying and selling experience,” Solorzano continued. “Eugene has demonstrated expertise in scaling technology solutions to best serve both the company and its customers.
Their skills will be invaluable to the organization as CarLotz enters its next chapter of growth,” Solorzano went on to say.
As president, CarLotz said Kaya primarily will be responsible for hub operations and revenue and inventory management.
Kaya was previously chief financial officer and chief operating officer of ShopRunner, a members-only e-commerce platform. Prior to that position, he was chief financial officer at Kapow, a leading online platform for companies to book events across the United States.
“I am honored to join CarLotz and contribute to executing the Company’s innovative business model with my CarLotz teammates in Richmond and in the 22 hubs across the country,” Kaya said. “I look forward to making an impact on this unique company and working alongside our consumer and commercial consignors, partners and teammates in the coming weeks.”
Kovshilovsky was most recently senior vice president of software engineering at CarParts.com. Previously, he was vice president of engineering at EnterpriseAlumni.
“I look forward to joining the company and leading the technology efforts at CarLotz, building upon the strong technology infrastructure, to continue to ensure the best experiences for our guests, whether they are buying, selling, or consigning their vehicles through CarLotz,” Kovshilovsky said.
Solorzano also addressed the impending departure of Foley and Valerian, saying, “On behalf of the board of directors and all CarLotz teammates, I would like to send my most sincere thanks to John and Dan for their contributions and many years of service to CarLotz. We all wish them the very best in their future endeavors.”
XLerate Group, the parent company of America’s Auto Auction, has reinforced its sales and marketing departments by placing a trio of experienced wholesale market professionals into critical roles.
The latest move arrived on Friday when the company announced the appointment of Sawyer Walker as director of national sales for the combined wholesale operation.
Walker started in the auction industry as a sales representative with the Brasher’s family auctions. Throughout the next decade, he continued his growth in the industry with regional and national sales management positions, joining America’s last year.
AAA senior vice president of sales Pat Dudash said in a news release, “Sawyer understands the dealers and buyers in our industry from a national perspective. We’re excited to have him join us as we continue to promote leadership and support for our 39 auctions, their dealers and our clients.”
AAA executive vice president Chuck Tapp added, “Sawyer’s experience exceeds his years in this industry. He has a natural expertise for sales, and I see him as an important component in the future successes of our company.”
The news release also contained Walker’s perspectives on taking this position.
“I am honored to be in this new and expanded sales role,” he said. “I look forward to building on my existing relationships and am excited to create new ones as I work with the strong team forged from XLerate Group and America’s Auto Auction.”
The action involving Walker isn’t the only personnel move by XLerate and AAA in recent days.
The company also named Melissa Miller as director of marketing and Kaetlin Sherk as national sales manager, as their new positions took effect immediately.
“The addition of Melissa and Kaetlin expands support of our 39 auctions, strongly operated by tenured GMs, and better prepares us to meet the needs of our customers,” Tapp said in another news release.
Tapp elaborated about what Miller brings to her position.
“Melissa Miller has worked in the auction industry for more than 26 years,” Tapp said. “She’s been a noteworthy leader at America’s Auto Auction Kansas City — growing from managing dealer sales to marketing manager — successfully leading their sales promotions, public relations and advertising team.”
In reaction to being placed in this executive role, Miller said, “I am very honored to join with the XLerate Group|America’s Auto Auction leadership team I’m excited to work on the merger of these two successful groups into one national auction powerhouse.”
Meanwhile, the company highlighted Sherk, who joins AAA as national sales manager, has also risen in the ranks of the auction arena from driver and block clerk to fleet/lease manager and GSM at Columbus Fair Auto Auction.
“I realized early on that I had a passion for connecting with customers as well as an eye for analyzing data and spotting trends to help customers increase retention values and sales percentages,” Sherk said. “During my time at Columbus Fair, I focused on using these same tools to penetrate our dealer market and maximize market share.”
Dudash offered his assessment of what Sherk will bring to her post with AAA.
“Kaetlin built a top-performing sales and marketing team at Columbus Fair by focusing on client relationships and leveraging our company’s national brand presence to increase their commercial consignment,” Dudash said. “We look forward to that same energy and success on a national level.”
On Wednesday, Copart announced that its board of directors has appointed Jeff Liaw, who has been serving as president and chief executive officer North America, to be co-CEO in a move that’s effective on Friday.
According to a news release, Copart said Jay Adair will continue his leadership of the company as co-CEO and as a member of the board of directors.
The company recapped that Liaw joined Copart in 2016 as chief financial officer and was promoted to president in 2019. He was named CEO North America last February.
Prior to joining Copart, Liaw served as the CFO of FleetPride and as a principal of TPG Capital Management, a private equity firm.
“We are pleased to appoint Jeff as co-chief executive officer. As president and more recently, CEO North America, Jeff has demonstrated an unparalleled ability to drive innovation, inspire his colleagues and enhance our strong partnerships with customers.” said Willis Johnson, chairman of Copart’s board of directors
“Jay’s continued oversight of strategy, business development, capital allocation, and the company’s vision will allow collaboration with Jeff, further strengthen the leadership of Copart and ensure continuity in management and succession planning. I look forward to the continued success of Copart under their partnership,” Johnson continued.
The news release also contained comments from both Adair and Liaw.
Adair said, “I’m honored to partner with Jeff as co-CEO. Working with Jeff over the past six years, I have been impressed with his understanding of our operations, his relentless focus on improving our processes and performance across the organization, and the insights his prior experiences have brought to our team. Jeff is an extremely talented leader and I have never been more confident in our future.”
Liaw added, “I am thrilled to accept this new role and thank Willis, Jay, and the rest of the organization for their trust in me. We remain committed to innovation and excellent customer service as the path to our continued profitable growth.”
After announcing a move into used-vehicle financing during NADA Show 2022 earlier this month, Solera Holdings reinforced its management team on Thursday by appointing top insurance and automotive business executives to key roles.
The company said Bill Brower, Mike Roberts, Dan Barrington and Lewis Scott will bolster Solera’s industry position in vehicle lifecycle management.
“Solera is excited to welcome these highly respected industry veterans to our team. They share our passion for rapidly driving the digitalization and transformation of vehicle lifecycle management,” Solera chief administration officer Jing Liao said in a news release.
“Their combined experience and expertise complement an already deep bench of highly effective business executives. We will continue to focus on advancing our ability to significantly accelerate the success of our customers,” Liao continued.
Solera highlighted Brower is a prominent insurance expert, admired for his thought leadership regarding the future of claims. The company said he brings rich insurance experience and has led strategic business units at Liberty Mutual, Nationwide Insurance, and LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
As Solera’s new industry relations leader, Brower will advance its insurance and claims business and help define the future of Solera products and services.
The company noted Roberts comes to Solera with a rich background in and deep knowledge of the automotive industry. He held various global management positions with OEMs, dealers, and solutions providers, most recently with Cox Automotive as a senior sales executive for Dealertrack DMS.
Roberts now heads Sales for Solera’s fleet business, where he directs the sales function of several key product lines and is responsible for creating a highly disciplined, results-driven sales culture.
Solera mentioned Barrington is a successful executive in the automotive insurance space, previously serving in senior roles at Arity (an Allstate company), CCC Information Services and LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Solera pointed out that Barrington has closely partnered with more than 100 insurance carriers during his career and led teams that achieved significant commercial wins in insurance telematics solutions, property and casualty insurance operations, distributions and claims.
The company said Barrington brings a comprehensive view of customer interactions and is a champion of fostering long-term business relationships. He leads the sales for U.S. Claims at Solera and has already achieved “incredible traction with customers.”
Rounding out Solera’s latest leadership hires is Scott, who is the company’s new head of sales for national accounts and aftermarket. Before joining Solera, Scott held senior executive positions at Horizon Bank, Allstate Insurance, American Express and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
“Scott’s passion for collaborating with customers and integrating smart technologies into the customer experience make him a great addition to Solera’s team,” the company said.
Solera went on to mention all four executives will work closely with Tony Graham, who is executive vice president of North American sales.
“Solera looks forward to the positive impact these additions will have on advancing our commitment to continuously improving the experiences and results of our customers,” Graham said. “Their exceptional experience and expertise make them valuable additions to our team and will help grow our long-term success.”
Fueled in part by acquisitions during the past year of MAX Digital, Drivably and Monk SAS, ACV said its workforce now tops 2,000 teammates across its North American footprint.
And the digital automotive marketplace and data services partner for dealers and commercial partners welcomed its newest employee on Friday, as ACV expanded its senior leadership team with the addition of Leanne Fitzgerald as chief legal officer.
Responsible for managing all of ACV’s legal, regulatory and compliance matters, ACV highlighted Fitzgerald is a seasoned leader with experience working for public technology companies, most recently serving as general counsel and secretary for Cerence, as well as previously having leadership roles with Nuance Communications and EMC Corp.
Fitzgerald will report directly to ACV chief executive officer George Chamoun.
“Leanne’s background and intersecting interests of engineering, business and law are a perfect match for ACV to help drive our ongoing growth and foster security for our company’s continued innovations,” Chamoun said in a news release.
“Leanne’s experience will help further build trust and transparency as we continue to expand our team, bringing unique perspectives to push data-driven digital technologies that enable customers to source, value, buy, sell, and manage inventory, in an ever-evolving industry,” Chamoun continued.
In this role, the company also said Fitzgerald will provide counsel to the board of directors, executive team and additional senior management team members. She will also serve as secretary to ACV’s board of directors.
“I am excited to join the ACV team as the company further builds upon its mission to provide advanced digital data-driven solutions to its customers with its growing team of industry leaders,” Fitzgerald said.
“Having a background in the automotive technology space, I look forward to building upon that and partnering with the leadership team to ensure the continued development of ACV’s offerings addressing the needs of our customers and shareholders,” Fitzgerald went on to say.
