FordDirect announced late last week the promotion of three of its employees to senior vice president status. The three former vice presidents — James Casazza, John Gottschalk and Marianne Tappy — have been moved up to their senior-level positions after many collective years working in the automotive industry.
Stacey Coopes, the chief executive officer of FordDirect, showed confidence in the three new hires’ abilities.
“Their hard work and dedication played a significant role in helping FordDirect reach its 2013 goals,” Coopes said, “and we look forward to continued momentum this year.”
Casazza, previously the VP of dealer services, moves into the position of SVP of digital retail solutions where he takes responsibility of product strategy and delivery of FordDirect’s digital marketing services.
Former VP of business development and strategy, Gottschalk, will take over the role of SVP of customer engagement. In the position, he will lead the customer engagement team throughout the business while structuring and maintaining relationships with customers.
Tappy, promoted from VP of digital strategy and business development, takes on the responsibility of SVP of global digital innovation. As her title may suggest, Tappy will be responsible for the global tactical course of the various digital areas that FordDirect covers, including online shopping and advertising.
In addition to the three SVPs, the following FordDirect personnel were given senior director roles: Jared Amaral, Rebecca Caldwell, Charlene Chu, Jason Harper, Chris Johnson, Ron Len, Jill Orlando, Christiane Parker, Madhu Reddiboina and Jody Stidham.
General Motors has revealed its choice for the new president of Cadillac.
Chosen for the position is Johan de Nysschen, who previously held executive positions with Audi and Infiniti.
In fact, it was announced on Friday morning that de Nysschen resigned as Nissan Motor Co.'s head of its Infiniti luxury line after two years — a few hours before Cadillac announced the hire.
The new president of Cadillac will be responsible for all aspects of Cadillac globally including sales, pricing and network development, strategic brand development and marketing and product portfolio planning, including input for product engineering and design, the company said.
de Nysschen will join the GM team as an executive vice president of the company beginning Sept. 1 and reports to GM president Dan Ammann.
“Johan brings to our company vast experience in the development and proper execution of luxury automotive brands,” said Ammann. “With over 20 years in this exact space, especially in the development of the Audi brand, his track record proves he is the perfect executive to lead Cadillac for the long term.”
de Nysschen also shared his enthusiasm for joining the Cadillac team.
“I have for some time now been impressed by how the new General Motors has been transformed into a formidable force in the industry,” he said. “The combination of strong corporate leadership and exceptional engineering resources presents the perfect combination to restore Cadillac to its place among global premium brands.
“The recognition of the brand is immense, and the progress on the fundamental product front is widely acclaimed. I am delighted at the opportunity to join the GM executive team to lead the Cadillac business, and I look forward to working with my Cadillac colleagues and our global retail partners,” he continued.
Taking a look at the new president’s background, de Nysschen was most recently the head of the Infiniti brand worldwide.
Before his two-year stint as head of Infiniti, he was chief executive of Audi USA for eight years and president of Audi Japan for five.
He began his career with Audi in South Africa in 1993 after a variety of automotive positions with the Ministry of Transportation, BMW in South Africa and an automotive supplier, the company shared.
ELEAD1ONE announced this week that they have hired a new vice president of strategic operations. The new addition, George Athan, comes into the position with nearly 30 years of experience in the auto retail operations field, including time spent with AutoNation and DCH Auto Group.
Bill Wittenmyer, ELEAD1ONE partner, believes Athan will fit into the company’s culture and aid in the businesses’ continual development.
“George is a terrific asset to ELEAD1ONE as we further expand our core business properties and grow OEM relationships,” Wittenmyer said. “We are thrilled to have him on our team.”
Athan’s primary role as VP at ELEAD1ONE will be to contribute his leadership qualities toward the organization’s future growth, including the expansion of new divisions and creating opportunities for company progression.
Looking to the future, Athan is eager to start this new endeavor in his career and applauds his new employer’s success in the field of providing software solutions to dealers.
“I am increasingly impressed with the commitment ELEAD1ONE upholds for the success of their clients and industry product offerings,” Athan said. “For decades, ELEAD1ONE has continued to grow and has positioned itself as the leader of technical advancements and retail solutions that transform how the automotive industry sells cars, while enhancing their customer base.”
Southeast Toyota Distributors announced this week the new hire of a vice president of sales operations.
Appointed to the newly created role is Billy Hayes, former vice president of global zero emissions vehicles for Nissan in Japan.
As the VP of sales operations, Hayes will oversee the field sales and training departments.
Ed Sheehy, the president of Southeast Toyota Distributors, believes Hayes will contribute to the company’s expansion going into the future.
“One of the ways we can ensure Southeast Toyota’s long-term success is by continually developing and expanding the talent of our team,” Sheehy said. “Billy brings knowledge to our company that will help with our ongoing focus on growth and continuous improvement.”
Before entering the automotive business world, Hayes was a medic in the U.S. Army Reserves. He received his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management as well as a Master of Business Administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Hayes also earned his bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Bates College.
TrueCar announced late last week that it is bringing its legal team in-house by hiring three new leaders. This trio — consisting of Troy Foster, Johnny Stephenson and Jeff Swart — joined TrueCar after years of experience working for the company’s outside regulatory and corporate counsel.
Foster, the new chief legal and compliance officer, is a former partner of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Stephenson, the new executive vice president and chief risk officer, and Swart, the new senior vice president and deputy general counsel, both join TrueCar as former partners of Alston & Bird LLP.
Scott Painter, the founder and chief executive officer of TrueCar, believes that internalizing the legal team will help streamline the growing company’s ability to maintain compliant practices. The company’s president, John Krafcik, reinforces that sentiment through his appreciation of the three new hires’ prior contributions to TrueCar’s legal goals.
“Troy, Johnny and Jeff have proven themselves many times over in helping TrueCar navigate challenging regulatory compliance, corporate governance, corporate transactions, data security and commercial litigation matters,” Krafcik said. “This is hands down the most senior and most battle-tested legal team that I have ever seen at any company of any size.”
The three new hires will collectively continue to cover the same legal issues, but now as full-time employees with an internal perspective.
Foster, a former corporate and securities attorney, is now responsible for managing TrueCar’s overall compliance in regards to auto regulatory, securities and other areas, such as corporate governance.
Stephenson, previously a trial lawyer, will take on the task of being Painter’s strategic adviser as well as being accountable for identifying and managing risk factors.
Swart will apply his auto regulatory compliance skills honed as an attorney and former litigation partner in his new role.
As part of its ongoing commitment to introduce products and services that drive business growth for customers, Manheim tapped on Tuesday two former NextGear Capital executives to be new vice presidents of national accounts.
Now reporting to Manheim vice president of commercial sales Rich Coutu are Peter Grupposo and Janet Hendrixson.
“We’re excited to have the industry expertise and strong leadership of Peter and Janet on the commercial team,” Coutu said. “In these roles, Peter and Janet will provide influence and direction to a team of commercial account managers charged with implementation and execution of the company’s plan to protect and grow current market share.”
Grupposo most recently served as NextGear Capital’s vice president of operations and business development.
In that role, Grupposo oversaw NextGear’s corporate support departments of business initiatives and operational planning. Manheim highlighted that he led the effort to broaden NextGear’s value proposition through delivery of unparalleled service and operating efficiency.
Grupposo also directed all of NextGear’s internal business development functions to drive new business growth as well as strategic initiatives.
Prior to joining NextGear Capital last year, Grupposo worked with Dealer Services Corp. (DSC) from 2005 until the company was acquired by Manheim in 2012.
Grupposo held a variety of roles at DSC, including sales executive, general manager and regional director for the Northeast region.
Prior to joining DSC, Grupposo worked for Enterprise Rent-A-Car during his career.
Hendrixson served as regional director for NextGear Capital prior to this new role. She was responsible for the management and oversight of all aspects of NextGear business in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Manheim noted Hendrixson was also charged with driving sales strategies for new business development, maximizing market return and deploying new initiatives to exceed budgeted goals and revenue.
Prior to joining NextGear Capital, Hendrixson served as general sales manager for Manheim’s Southeast Market. She joined Manheim in 2000 following the acquisition of ADT Automotive.
During her Manheim career, Hendrixson has held many roles in the field, including assistant general manager, mobile inspection strategy, sales and operational leadership.
During her career at ADT Automotive, Hendrixson focused primarily on establishing relationships with key customers and sales support.
Manheim Technology Finishes as Finalist for PMI Award
Manheim Technology, a part of Manheim, was selected as one of three finalists for the Project of the Year Award by the Atlanta chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI). Manheim was in the running because of its strategic plan and implementation of a newly created demand management office effort last year.
Officials highlighted the Manheim project was among eight nominations, and was chosen as one of three finalists for the annual PMI award.
“It was not an easy decision for our judges to make,” said Yvonne Byars, chairwoman of PMI’s Atlanta chapter. “Our three finalists had very detailed and effective presentations. We were excited to select Manheim’s Demand Management Office as one of the finalists.”
A panel of judges evaluated all three projects following separate 10-minute presentations from the finalists, including Manheim, Coca-Cola and Home Depot. Coca-Cola’s project was selected as the winner by the judges, and Manheim was awarded second place.
“We are honored to have been selected by PMI as a finalist for this award,” Manheim chief technology officer Michael Noel said. “It is very nice to see our teams recognized for their great teamwork and dedication to this effort. This new function truly helps Manheim deliver on our promise to add value for our customers.”
System Evolution, assisted Manheim during this project, which was led by Lauren Foster.
“SEI is proud to be a part of the Manheim team and this important initiative,” System Evolution chief operating officer Rob Seichter said. “We are thrilled to see Manheim honored as a torchbearer in the Demand Management space and look forward to our continued partnership.”
PMI Atlanta, an organization that serves project managers throughout many industries in metro Atlanta, hosted the awards dinner that featured analysis of the finalists’ projects on June 9 at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North.
As part of the project, Manheim IT is being recognized for the merger of two technology functions into one group and the Demand Management roll out last year to satisfy business needs. The new team provided a solution to business requests that required support from both IT functions. Demand management is a planning methodology used to manage and forecast the demand of products services.
Two years ago, Cam Hitchcock and Chuck Tapp worked together to create Primeritus Financial Services, one of the lead sponsors again for this year’s Re3 Conference at Used Car Week. Hitchcock and Tapp are collaborating once more; now as part of the leadership of American Auto Auction Group.
Tapp, who is the chief executive officer of Primeritus, has joined AAAG’s board of directors. AAAG is a dealer-centric auction group with physical and private label sale operations in California, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi and Wisconsin.
AAAG was recently acquired and recapitalized by Huron Capital Partners, a Detroit-based private equity firm, and AAAG management.
“Chuck Tapp has over 25 years’ experience in all facets of the automotive remarketing industry, building high performance teams and companies,” said Hitchcock, who now is CEO of American Auction Group.
Prior to co-founding Primeritus Financial Services in 2012, Tapp had been a senior executive at OPENLANE, ADESA, Banc One Credit Company, Drivers Mart and Alamo Rent-A-Car.
“Our management team and Huron are very excited to work with Chuck and benefit from his insight into the dynamic auction industry and AAAG’s strategy to capitalize on its growth initiatives,” Hitchcock said.
Upon being named to AAAG’s board, Tapp said, “I look forward to working with Huron and the AAAG management team. Their auctions have a reputation for superior customer service. I’m confident that my experience will allow me to contribute significantly to the board.”
Furthermore, Huron Capital senior partner Peter Mogk commented about Tapp joining AAAG’s board.
“Chuck’s deep industry experience and track record will allow him to be a great resource and sounding board for the AAAG board,” Mogk said. “We very much look forward to working with him.”
Auto Financial Group, an online provider of innovative financing products including CarMark Auto Finance for credit unions and banks, recently named a former HSBC executive to be the company’s new director of remarketing and client relations.
Joining AFG’s management team is Paul Marquez, who will oversee the remarketing department and help guide business development.
AFG said Marquez has proven himself as an accomplished leader and innovator with nine years at HSBC and most recently serving as president and chief executive officer of of Countrywide Utility Billing Systems.
“We are very excited to add Paul to our remarketing management team,” AFG vice president of operations Dave Langley said. “In addition to his wealth of automotive and finance industry experience, Paul also has the entrepreneurial know-how to expand AFG's remarketing program to financial institutions, insurance companies, and other repossession service providers across the country.”
Marquez joins AFG as it comes off of a string of success and record growth in expanding its geographic footprint to over 40 US states. AFG plans to capitalize on this success by introducing its remarketing products to repossession service providers in these territories.
With quick inventory movement and the ability to deliver funds back in clients' hands within three days of a sale, AFG aims to constantly exceed customer expectations and to double the pace of their remarketing repossessions by 2015.
“I’m excited to come aboard AFG,” Marquez said. “Right now the company is growing rapidly and having record months. I look forward to bringing my experience in remarketing and client relations to AFG as we continue to grow this business avenue while increasing value for our customers.”
In part to help the organization make the transition for its annual convention to be a part of Used Car Week, the National Auto Auction Association announced the appointment of two staff members to new positions in a reorganization of its management structure.
NAAA explained the change, effective immediately, will streamline operations and enhance internal communications for greater efficiency in producing meetings for the organization, which represents 328 member auctions and 100 associate members from a wide range of industry related fields.
Sue Saris was promoted to administrative manager from executive assistant. A 21-year veteran with NAAA, Saris will be responsible for the planning and implementation of NAAA’s conferences and seminars as well as continuing to manage the office along with NAAA’s initiative to host combined events with strategic partners in the industry.
Tricia Heon has been named operations manager after serving three years as NAAA’s legislative and information manager. While encompassing her previous government liaison, advocacy and leadership education duties, NAAA indicated Heon’s new role will involve working with industry partners to expand training and events for all association meetings and sponsorship development to enrich event programming.
The staff restructuring follows the departure of NAAA meetings and events manager Tom Dozier, who has accepted a position with another trade organization.
“We appreciate the contributions Tom made during his five years here that helped expand the networking and training opportunities for our membership with more webinars, educational sessions and speakers, which will continue under our new team,” NAAA chief executive officer Frank Hackett said. “But as we focus on joint events that provide those attending greater value in a single forum, we can reduce the duplication of staff effort by sharing the management tasks with our partners.”
Hackett noted that in 2010, NAAA’s co-sponsor agreement to unite its former Quad Zone spring meeting with the Conference of Automotive Remarketing (CAR) has been a success and grown to become a major industry event.
And in November 2016, NAAA will hold its inaugural combined annual convention with the National Remarketing Conference during Used Car Week. Cherokee Automotive Group — the parent of Auto Remarketing, Auto Remarketing Canada, SubPrime Auto Finance News and BHPH Report — and NAAA have already begun working closely together laying the groundwork for the event at the Red Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
This year’s Used Car Week also is being held at the Red Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Preliminary details about the National Remarketing Conference along with the CPO Forum, the SubPrime Forum and the Re3 Conference all can be found at www.usedcarweek.biz.
Dent Wizard International has announced a new addition to its regional team.
Named as regional business development manager, covering the states of Georgia and Alabama, is Candi Hay.
Hay will focus on acquisition, facilitation and process improvements of dealer accounts for SMART repair services, the company said, which include paintless dent removal, wheel refinishing, bumper repair, interior repair, chip and scratch repair, hail damage repair services and more.
She will also work to grow Dent Wizard’s Mint program for dealership service departments, and the Frontline Fast program for dealership inventories.
Hay brings 15 years of experience in the reconditioning business, including as the owner/operator of a reconditioning company based out of Global BMW in Atlanta.
She will report to Carl Lekebusch, Dent Wizard regional vice president in the Southeast.
“Candi is a proven entrepreneur,” said Mike Black, Dent Wizard chief operating officer. “As such she speaks a language that dealers understand. Her hands-on approach and existing relationships in the marketplace are already showing success in her very short time with us. We’re looking forward to her continued contributions in this very dynamic region.”
