Credit Acceptance Corp. and Wise F&I each have received accolades for how great their workplaces are.
For Credit Acceptance, the finance company that specializes in subprime auto financing now has claimed six accolades so far this year, with the most recent accomplishment being named by Crain’s Detroit Business as one of the 50 fastest-growing companies in the Detroit area.
“We’re honored to receive Crain’s ‘Fast 50’ award for the eighth year in a row,” company officials said in a news release.
Fast 50 is based on a ranking of companies in Crain’s database of private and publicly traded companies by percentage revenue growth between 2017 and 2020, and by dollar revenue growth during that same period.
Credit Acceptance ranked No. 8 this year, the same ranking of a year ago.
The company highlighted that this is the sixth workplace award that it’s received this year. The others include:
—Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance (last seven years in a row)
—2021 Top Workplaces USA Award
—2021 Nevada Top Workplaces (last two years in a row)
—Computerworld’s Best Places to Work in IT (seven-time winner)
—2021 Best Workplaces for Millennials (five-time winner)
Meanwhile, Wise F&I has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2021 honor by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Top Workplaces.
The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage.
The anonymous survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization, including alignment, execution, connection and more.
“We hold our team members in the highest regard at Wise F&I,” Wise F&I president and chief executive officer Matt Croak said in another news release. “We appreciate all of our employees’ hard work and dedication because at the end of the day they make the difference. We have a great staff of highly competent and client-focused team members that always strive to better serve our clients.
“I am very grateful for this prestigious award, especially since our team members made it happen through their anonymous feedback,” Croak continued. “We will continue to further the team member experience here at Wise F&I and make it a destination for those that want to be part of an exceptional team.”
The American Recovery Association announced that nominations still are open for the 2021 NARS Industry Awards, which will honor exceptional members of the repossession industry during the North American Repossessors Summit set for October.
Submissions can be made for five different accolades, and the association is accepting nominations through Aug. 1
Once award submissions close, the NARS Planning Committee will deliberate and vote on a top three in each category, which will then be open to the entire industry to vote on the winner.
If you previously submitted a colleague for an award for NARS 2020, ARA said that submission will still be considered during deliberation for finalists.
Winners will be announced at NARS 2021, which is scheduled for Oct. 7-8 in Irving, Texas. According to ARA, the award categories include:
Recovery Agent of the Year
The Agent of the Year Award honors the agent who has demonstrated outstanding professionalism, understanding of lender needs and full compliance with industry standards, as well as protection of the consumer’s rights and safety.
Service Representative of the Year
The Service Representative of the Year Award represents someone who has shown exemplary performance and has consistently excelled in their position. This person demonstrates integrity, creates a positive atmosphere in their workplace, and displays a strong commitment to the mission and values of our industry.
Humanitarian of the Year
Humanitarian of the Year submissions showcase an industry professional of any position who contributes significantly to alleviating human suffering and improving the quality of life in their community. This person demonstrates leadership through outstanding volunteer accomplishments that bring honor to the collateral recovery profession.
Agency Owner of the Year
The Agency Owner of the Year Award will go to an owner who has at least a three-year commitment of excellence within their company and the collateral recovery industry. This person should also be able to document their commitment to professional education and compliance training as well as the use of innovation and creativity in enabling their company to prosper and extend its reach in the collateral recovery profession.
Leadership Award
The Leadership Award is an accolade that honors someone who showed leadership through 2020. This can be anyone in the recovery industry that you feel has pushed past every boundary and obstacle that was inevitably thrown their way this year and has overcome despite the odds — someone who has exuded true resiliency.
Nominations can be made via this website.
In more signs that the industry is returning to some normalcy, the Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) held its 2021 annual conference in Las Vegas earlier this month, welcoming more than 500 attendees in person and another 150 virtual attendees
RMAI leaders also capitalized on the event by honoring an outstanding member and RMAI’s executive director.
In 2017, RMAI created the President’s Award, which recognizes an individual for outstanding contributions and services to the association and membership. The award goes to someone serving on an RMAI committee who is selected because of contributions to committee goals and innovative ideas helping further the success of RMAI.
This year, RMAI presented the President’s Award to Amber Russo of Kino Financial, which is a certified debt buying company that joined RMAI in 2019.
“When faced with the need to change course and innovate, she champions the effort enthusiastically with tireless dedication ensuring success,” RMAI said in a news release. “Her efforts paid dividends as she co-chaired two successful virtual silent auctions that raised record donations for the RMAI Legislative Fund.
In addition to being a member of the fundraising committee, RMAI said Russo also served on the editorial and social media committee.
Russo also is a Certified Receivables Compliance Professional.
In what the organization said was a “closely guarded secret,” the RMAI board of directors awarded the Bud Reitzel Lifetime Commitment Award RMAI executive director, Jan Stieger.
RMAI created the Reitzel Award to recognize an individual for outstanding leadership and dedication in the receivables management industry who has demonstrated ideals the namesake demonstrated during many years of service.
Stieger joined RMAI in 2011. Through her leadership, the organization highlighted that she has overseen the complete transformation of RMAI from an entity operated by an association management company to “one of the most dynamic and respected organizations within the receivables management industry.”
RMAI pointed out that Stieger’s many accomplishments over the past decade include:
• The development of a robust state and federal government advocacy program that has protected the industry and driven significant policy changes. Since 2011, RMAI said it has been successful in over 95% of its advocacy efforts.
• Launching and the continued enhancement of the Receivables Management Certification Program from a program originally focused on debt buying companies to a highly valued program that benefits the entire receivables industry, by providing significant operational controls and consumer protections contained in rigorous and uniform industry standards for certified debt buyers, collection agencies, collection law firms, brokers and process servicers.
• Expanding RMAI’s education and networking experiences from RMAI’s annual conference and executive summit to regional events such as this September’s Advocacy Training and Baseball Night in Atlanta.
• Rebranding the association in 2017 from DBA International to RMAI with an expanded focus on secondary market opportunities and RMAI certification, both of which continue to grow RMAI’s footprint today.
• Successfully led RMAI through the many challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the issues faced by the industry as well as membership in 2020, RMAI is now in its fourth straight year of membership growth.
The Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals (AFIP) recently gave out the Jakob Murray Lange Memorial Scholarship that recognizes a Northwood University student for exemplary work during an internship the previous summer.
Receiving the financial award along with a marble obelisk in recognition of her achievement was Chelsea Mallams, a Northwood University senior majoring in automotive marketing and management.
Mallams interned at Art Moran Buick GMC Mitsubishi in Southfield, Mich., last year. She is on Northwood University’s Dean’s List with a 3.8 cumulative GPA.
The AFIP scholarship is one of the many achievements on Mallams’ resumé. She also was named the NIADA / Cox Automotive Northwood University Annual Scholarship winner in 2018.
A member of the National Society of Leadership and Success, the nation’s largest leadership honor society, and Alpha Gamma Delta, she is currently the event coordinator for Northwood’s Fashion Showcase. Mallams is also a United Way student volunteer and a TLC tutor.
Upon her graduation in May, Mallams hopes to land a challenging position with an automotive retailer that will allow her to draw on experience to drive results. She earned her AFIP certification in 2019 and is interested in either F&I or broader dealership operations.
Mallams hails from Livonia, Mich., a suburb of Detroit. In addition to her dealership experience, she worked for Zeal Credit Union in Livonia and CARite in Redford, Mich.
This is the eighth year AFIP has awarded the scholarship, which honors an AFIP staff member, Jakob Murray Lange, who died in a car accident in 2013. A plaque recognizing the scholarship recipients is on display in the NADA building on the Northwood University campus.
According to AFIP chairman Dave Robertson, “Northwood University’s automotive marketing and management graduates offer employers a blend of academic knowledge and practical skills uncommon among individuals entering the workforce. They are actively recruited in the industry. As AFIP’s 2021 Jakob Murray Lange Memorial Scholarship recipient, Ms. Mallams represents the best Northwood has to offer.”
The AFIP scholarship recipient is selected each year by a Northwood automotive marketing and management department committee.
“Internships have been essential in preparing our students for meaningful employment for many years,” department chair Elgie Bright said. “Actual dealership experience is key to student success as they move from the classroom to the showroom. The AFIP scholarship supports students in their career paths and boosts interest in internship opportunities.”
For more information about Northwood University’s Automotive Marketing & Management program, visit www.northwood.edu. For more information about AFIP, visit www.afip.com.
Portfolio found a way to get its collective minds off of the frigid conditions currently in the Lone Star State at least for a little while this week.
The provider of F&I products and reinsurance programs announced it was again highlighted as one of the Best Companies to Work for in Texas, as selected by the Texas Association of Business, Texas SHRM and the Best Companies Group.
Portfolio’s Dallas office has made the 100-company list every year since 2017.
Public and private companies with facilities and at least 15 employees in Texas are invited to enter a two-part survey process. Entrants are ranked based primarily on a survey of employees and partly on an evaluation of such criteria as workplace policies, systems, philosophies, practices and demographics.
“We are proud to remain a member of this exclusive club of great Texas companies and will continue to support our Dallas team’s efforts to make Portfolio a great company to do business with as well as a great place to work,” said Brent Griggs, president and CEO of the Lake Forest, Calif.-based company.
“They have earned every accolade they have received,” Griggs added in a news release
The full list of 2021 honorees will be announced on May 13 at an awards gala at the Fairmount Austin.
The coronavirus pandemic certainly has impacted the workplace and made completing day-to-day tasks challenging at times.
Credit Acceptance and Flagship Credit Acceptance not only have overcome those obstacles, each finance company recently received honors for the quality of its work environment.
For Credit Acceptance, the provider specializing in the subprime market now has collected nine accolades so far this year after Credit Acceptance was named one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the nation. This is the ninth year in a row that Credit Acceptance has won this honor.
Credit Acceptance was selected as one of the top 151 companies out of 1,100 nominations in the fall 2020 competition.
“We were evaluated by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR), an independent research firm, which reviewed several key measures such as communication, work-life balance, diversity, recognition, retention and more,” the company said in a news release.
The other nine workplace awards that Credit Acceptance has received this year include:
— FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For (last seven years in a row)
— Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance (last six years in a row)
— 2019 National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For
— 2020 Nevada Top Workplaces
— Computerworld Best Places to Work in IT (six-time winner)
— Crain’s Fast 50 (last seven years in a row)
— Michigan’s Best and Brightest in Wellness
— 2020 Detroit Free Press Top Workplaces (last nine years in a row)
Meanwhile, Flagship Credit Acceptance recently announced it has been certified as a Great Place to Work, a program that acknowledges companies that have established a documented excellent workplace culture and is based on anonymous associate responses to the Trust Index survey.
The company indicated a majority of Flagship’s 850 associates responded to the survey. Out of the responses, 89% of associates stated Flagship is a great place to work, compared to 59% of employees at other U.S.-based companies.
Additionally, 92% of respondents said they felt welcomed when they joined the company. And even more importantly, 91% of associates responded they were provided with the resources and equipment to be successful, and 90% stated they were able to take time off when they felt it was necessary.
“Our belief is that a diverse and inclusive culture that is uplifting and supportive is the backbone to enabling our associates to perform at their best,” Flagship chief executive officer Bob Hurzeler said in a news release.
“By creating a supportive culture that our associates want to be a part of, we ensure they provide first-class service to each of our customers,” Hurzeler continued.
As part of Flagship’s corporate culture, the company highlighted that it provides associates with volunteer time off, supports local and national nonprofits and charities, and more recently has supported the Boys and Girls Club of Chester, Pa., with a food drive to support families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience and leadership behaviors. The organization helps businesses around the world survey employees, benchmark results and identify the best workplace cultures.
Since 1998, Great Place To Work has been responsible for the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For list.
An executive who has been with AUL Corp. for nearly 20 years has been honored with a Latino Business Leadership Award by the North Bay Business Journal as part of the publication’s fifth annual competition.
AUL financial reporting and analysis leader Elizabeth Gutierrez received the accolade as part of a program created to honor the most outstanding Latino leaders, innovators and visionaries in the North Bay.
Gutierrez began her career at AUL in 2001 as a customer service representative, and during her time with the F&I solutions provider has earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from CSU-Sacramento in accountancy.
AUL highlighted that Gutierrez’s financial reporting and analysis helps to guide the firm’s growth strategy.
In addition to her corporate success, AUL mentioned Gutierrez also goes above and beyond in her community. She was part of a team that helped raise more than $98,000 for Napa Humane, more than $55,000 for Leukemia Lymphoma LLS and assemble more than 10,000 food packages for Rise Against Hunger.
“I am very proud to be honored by the North Bay Business Journal as a leading Latina businessperson, but I am prouder that the Latino business community as a whole is being recognized and acknowledged for its growing influence,” Gutierrez said in a news release.
“I believe one of the greatest challenges currently facing the Latino community is a lack of recognized role models. In the North Bay especially, we have so many amazing Latinos and Latinas making a positive impact in our community. I am so honored to be recognized,” she continued.
Gutierrez is one of 13 Latino leaders being lauded for both their professional accomplishments and their involvement in the community. Gutierrez and the other winners will be honored at a virtual awards celebration on Tuesday via Zoom.
Founded in 1987, the North Bay Business Journal's coverage has expanded from Santa Rosa to the rest of the North Bay area, covering Sonoma, Napa, Marin, Solano, Mendocino and Lake Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area.
AUL president and chief executive officer Jimmy Atkinson explained the decision to nominate Gutierrez for this award program was an easy one.
“As soon as the Business Journal’s competition was brought to our attention, there was a unanimous call for us to nominate Elizabeth,” Atkinson said.
“Her constant drive, professionalism and dedication to her work at AUL and within the local community are beyond reproach. We are very fortunate to have her as a key member of our finance team,” Atkinson said.
APCO Holdings recently made it to a prestigious list of successful companies for the fifth time.
The administrator of automotive F&I products and home to the EasyCare, GWC Warranty and MemberCare brands was named one of the 2020 Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation for the fifth time.
Determined by an independent research firm, APCO highlighted that the entrants are evaluated on work-life balance, diversity, strategic company performance, compensation and more. The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation Winners will be honored during dual virtual Illuminate Business Summit weeks in October and February.
In recognition of the impact they’ve had locally, APCO was also named one of Atlanta’s Best and Brightest Companies for the fifth time.
“We want to do everything we can so that our employees feel supported and empowered by working here, with the ability to grow both professionally and personally,” said Crystal Meinert, director of people and HR transformation at APCO.
“This is a recognition of APCO’s dedication to fostering a culture where our employees take great pride in contributing to our shared success, bringing our core values to life,” Meinert continued in a news release. “Our greatest asset is our people and winning this award for five years is validation of that.”
Out of the 1,300 companies that submitted nominations for the 2020 Best and Brightest national award, officials said only 147 were named to the prestigious list.
“Through the first half of 2020, the Best and Brightest Companies To Work For have demonstrated leadership and forward-thinking as they pivoted their business and workforce through COVID-19,” said Jennifer Kluge, president and chief executive officer of the Best and Brightest Programs.
“As the conversation and focus has shifted, our Best and Brightest winning companies have also been a voice for important actions regarding race. It is in these unique times (that) the Best and Brightest Companies To Work For excel and share their knowledge with others,” Kluge went on to say.
Wolters Kluwer Lien Solutions is adding to its trophy case again during what's been a rewarding year so far.
The company announced this week that it has won four 2020 International Business Awards , including two Gold-level awards, as part of the Stevie Awards program for innovation. The company’s newest accolades included:
• Best FinTech Solution: iLien Motor Vehicle: Driving Motor Vehicle Titling to Perfection (Gold)
• Best Financial Services Solution: Portfolio Sync: Mitigating Risk for Commercial Lenders (Gold)
• Best FinTech Solution: iLien Manage: Confidence in Managing One’s Loan Portfolio (Silver)
• Best B2B Solution: Lien Insights Report: Leveraging Borrower Data to Manage Risk (Bronze)
With these latest accolades, Lien Solutions has won 14 industry awards so far in 2020 as it continues to focus on innovation and technology in solving key client issues.
“We are delighted by the continued independent market recognition of these industry-leading solutions , not only from clients but through accolades such as these prestigious IBA awards,” said Raja Sengupta, executive vice president and general manager of Wolters Kluwer Lien Solutions.
“These impressive awards reflect our ongoing commitment to product innovation and our longstanding leadership in Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) lien management offerings for the lending industry, as well as our innovative vehicle titling product,” Sengupta continued.
As a cloud-based SaaS, iLien Motor Vehicle can deliver a single solution for processing and managing motor vehicle titles. The offering can help solve the most unique and complicated challenges in title perfection.
Portfolio Sync is a UCC lien management solution that can combine a finance company’s existing iLien filings into one view, no matter how they were filed. The tool can provide greater visibility into the entire portfolio, identify possible issues that may require handling to maintain a finance company’s secured interests and allow clients to manage actions on all liens from one dashboard.
The company explained iLien Manage is a portfolio of web-based solutions that can enable finance companies to manage and address risks in their entire UCC lien portfolio with analytics, visibility and automation.
Finally, the Lien Insights Report can provide detailed reporting on a finance company’s estimated UCC lien position and insights into lien activity for each of its debtors, providing a comprehensive, real-time view of lien positions across one’s entire loan portfolio.
Now in its 17th year, The International Business Awards, “the International Stevies,” are open to all organizations worldwide and include categories to honor accomplishments in all aspects of work life. The 2020 IBAs received entries from organizations in 63 nations and territories.
IBA details and 2020 Stevie Award winners are at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.
A firm highlighted among the Special Finance 175 — McGlinchey Stafford — recently announced that 19 attorneys and eight of its practice areas have been recognized in the 2020 edition of Chambers USA – America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
Each McGlinchey practice area maintained its 2019 ranking, and the firm added two “band-ranked” attorneys in the 2020 edition of Chambers USA.
The firm was commended for its strength in the following practices, based on client commentary:
— Nationwide: Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Compliance and Litigation)
— Louisiana: Banking & Finance
— Louisiana Bankruptcy/Restructuring
— Louisiana Corporate/M&A
— Louisiana Labor & Employment
— Louisiana Litigation: General Commercial
— Louisiana Real Estate
— Mississippi Litigation: General Commercial
The full list of McGlinchey Stafford attorneys listed in the 2020 edition of Chambers USA includes:
— Ricardo Aguilar, Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Louisiana) and Litigation: General Commercial (Louisiana)
— Rodolfo Aguilar Jr., Corporate/M&A (Louisiana)
— Samuel Bacot, Real Estate (Louisiana)
— Patrick Beauchamp, Banking & Finance: Public Finance (Louisiana)
— Stephen Beiser, Labor & Employment (Louisiana)
— Magdalen Blessey Bickford, Labor & Employment (Louisiana)
— Lauren Campisi, Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Compliance) (Nationwide) and Banking & Finance (Louisiana)
— Rudy Cerone, Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Louisiana)
— Douglas Charnas, Tax (District of Columbia)
— Katherine Conklin, Labor & Employment: Employee Benefits & Compensation (Louisiana)
— Mark Edelman, Financial Services Regulation: Consumer Finance (Compliance) (Nationwide)
— Manuel Farach, Real Estate (South Florida)
— Dewey Hembree III, Litigation: General Commercial (Mississippi)
— Christine Lipsey, Litigation: General Commercial (Louisiana)
— Jean-Paul Perrault, Corporate/M&A (Louisiana)
— Michael Rubin, Banking & Finance (Louisiana)
— Jess Sperry, Real Estate (Louisiana)
— Stephen Strohschein, Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Louisiana)
— Hunter Twiford III, Litigation: General Commercial (Mississippi)
Chambers USA conducts in-depth, objective interviews of thousands of lawyers and their clients around the world to compile its directories. The publication’s rankings are based on interviews with those active in the legal services marketplace, namely law firm clients and individual lawyers, as well as assessments of a law firm’s recent work on behalf of its clients.
Rankings are determined by evaluating qualities clients most value in lawyers and law firms, including technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, and commitment, among others.
