Masters of Ceremonies
Tony Dupaquier
Director, F&I Training
American Financial and Automotive Services, Inc.
As Director of F&I Training for American Financial & Automotive Services, Inc.'s Automotive Training Academy (ATA), Tony is responsible for the content, direction, and marketing for F&I University. Tony earned a Communications degree from Sam Houston State University prior to beginning his retail automotive career in 1990 in Houston, TX. Before joining American Financial in 2000, Tony held many positions from salesperson up to general manager. In 1995, Tony earned the prestigious title of Nissan National Walk-Around Champion.
Tony has presented to various 20 groups, state and national dealer associations, and at the 2009 and 2010 NADA Conventions.
Robert Harkins
Industry Consultant and Partner
HH&O Consulting Group
Mr. Harkins' background in the automotive industry includes Consumer Finance, Sales, Finance and Insurance Management and Vice President — Director of Training for an international credit insurance and vehicle service contract administrator. He designs and presents finance and insurance, compliance and ethics seminars and workshops. Mr Harkins is a part of the following organizations: NADA Dealer Candidate Academy; NCM Associates, Inc. — 20 Group Consultant; Manufacturers' Dealer Development Programs; Northwood University — Board of Advisors, Texas Campus; Northwood University — Adjunct Professor; State Dealer Associations; Automotive Satellite Television Network — Primedia Workplace Learning; Federation of Automobile Dealer Associations of Canada; American Truck Dealers — Division of NADA; University of North Texas — Speaker, Business Administration; and AFIP — Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals.
Rod Heasley
National Sales Director
Charter Warranty Company and Autosave Warranty Program
Rod Heasley is the National Sales Director in the U.S. and Canada for Wixom, Michigan based Charter Warranty Company & the Autosave Warranty Program. Rod has over 30 years in the Automotive (retail sales & ancillary product) industry.
Rod has been the National Sales Director for Autosave since April of 2004. He originated and has developed the national Autosave “Agent Certification Program” and is responsible for training, certification and immediate supervision of over 288 Sales Agents and / or Agency’s throughout the U.S. & Canada. The Autosave program has now exceeded the mark of 10,000 dealers enrolled in the warranty program.
Rod has served on the executive board of directors, as well as an executive officer for State Dealer Associations. Mr. Heasley is a contributing international writer, and has had numerous articles on sales training & personal motivation published nationally, as well as in Canada. He conducts many sales training seminars as well as motivational workshops for state dealer associations. He has been a speaker at national conferences in 2007 & 2008 at the BHPH and F & I Conventions.
Keynote Speakers
Joe Becker
President and Chief Executive Officer
CNA National Warranty Corporation
Having begun his automotive career in 1976, Joe Becker held a wide range of positions for several service contract and insurance companies—ranging from claims adjuster and senior claims examiner to Executive Vice President of Operations. He joined CNA National in 1994 and previously served as Chief Operating Officer before being promoted to President/CEO in 2005.
Forrest Heathcott
President/JM&A Group
Executive Vice President/JM Family Enterprises
Forrest Heathcott is president of JM&A Group (JM&A), one of the largest independent providers of finance and insurance (F&I) products and services in the automotive industry, and executive vice president of parent company JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (JM Family), a diversified automotive corporation ranked by Forbes as the 30th-largest privately held company in the U.S. Heathcott is responsible for directing, administering and overseeing the activities relating to JM&A’s F&I, warranty products and services operations. He also serves as a member of JM Family’s Executive Management Team, which oversees the development and implementation of the company’s long-range planning and strategies for future growth. Founded in 1978, JM&A is an inter-related group of companies that offer quality F&I retail products and systems for approximately 2,800 automotive dealerships and retail automotive outlets, which represent all manufacturer makes and models. The products are designed to help maximize profitability on vehicle sales and after-sale opportunities.
Heathcott graduated from Harding University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing. He is currently serving as Chairman of the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He is also an active supporter of Habitat for Humanity, Boca Ballet Theater Company, Youth Automotive Training Center, United Way of Broward County, The Boggy Creek Gang and Saint Andrew’s School. He and his wife, Chris, have two children and reside in Boca Raton, Fla.
In addition to JM&A, primary subsidiaries and divisions include: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC, the world’s largest independent distributor of Toyota and Scion vehicles; World Omni Financial Corp., a diversified financial services company; JM Service Center LLC, the company’s internal shared services center; and JM Lexus, the largest volume Lexus dealership in the world. Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla., JM Family has major operations in Jacksonville and Margate, Fla.; Commerce and Alpharetta, Ga.; Mobile, Ala.; and St. Louis, Mo.
Stephen Wade
Vice Chairman
National Automobile Dealers Association
Stephen W. Wade, president of Stephen Wade Auto Center, St. George, Utah, represents Utah’s franchised new-car dealers on the association’s board of directors.
A new car-dealer and a NADA member since 1973, Wade is currently vice-chairman of NADA. Previously, he has served as NADA's region IV vice chairman and on the Policy and Bylaws, ATAE/NADA, Finance, and Government Relations committees. He also served as president of the Utah Automobile Dealers Association (UADA) in 1981.
Wade has owned more than 20 franchises throughout Utah and has served on numerous automotive factory committees, boards and associations. Currently, Wade’s franchises include Chevrolet, Cadillac, Nissan, Mazda and a power sports store that includes Yamaha, Honda, Polaris and Suzuki.
Active in his community, Wade is presently chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dixie State College and founder of Sun Trust Bank of St. George. He also recently became the owner of Southern Utah’s only TV station, KCSG. Wade has served as chairman of the Salt Lake County American Cancer Society and the State Chairman of the Utah American Cancer Society. He chaired special events of Utah’s Federation for Drug Free Youth and was an alumni board member for the University of Utah. Wade also served in the National Guard from 1969 through 1975. NADA, founded in 1917 and based in McLean, Va., represents nearly 17,000 new car and truck dealers operating about 37,500 separate franchises, both domestic and international.
Paul H. Webb
Principal
Paul Webb Training
Paul H. Webb is a principal of Paul Webb Training / WebbVT – all divisions of I.T.S., Inc, a company whose clients range from vehicle manufacturers to state and national automotive associations. He began his automotive career in 1988 and has presented training and consulting to automotive OEM’s, NADA Dealer 20 Groups, NADA Management Seminars, NADA Convention Speaker, associations and individual dealerships. As Director of Training for leading private and publicly owned Dealership Groups, “Webb” delivered customized sales and management training programs to increase profits as much as $54k in 5-weeks. One client selling 435 used vehicles a month switched to using Street Smart Training increased to a store record of 719 used vehicles in one month.
Kevin P. Westfall
Senior Vice President, Retail Operations
AutoNation
Responsible for developing strategic direction and implementation plans that support and grow of new and used vehicle sales, finance and insurance, service, parts and collision through AutoNation’s automotive retail dealerships. Additional responsibilities include the management of inventory, CSI and training for 20,000 associates. Previously, he served as President of AutoNation’s former wholly-owned captive finance company, AutoNation Financial Services from 1997 through 2001. He is also the former founder and President of BMW Financial Services for North America. Westfall has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Ohio State University.
Confirmed Speakers
Hugh Abernethy
Vice President
DealerTrack, Inc.
Hugh Abernethy is Vice President at DealerTrack, Inc., where he leads the Strategic Accounts Group. This team is responsible for sales of all subscription products to the top 150 dealer groups in the nation. He also manages the DealerTrack DMS sales team. Hugh’s previous roles at DealerTrack included directing the DealerTrack lender business and the DealerTrack Aftermarket Network. Prior to joining the company, Hugh spent 13 years with ADP Dealer Services, with his last position being Vice President of National Accounts.
Richard Ackman
Director of Variable Operations
Germain Motor Company
Richard K. Ackman is a graduate of Wilmington College where he completed his B.A degree in Business and Economics. Rich has over 25 years of corporate, retail and consulting experience in the automotive industry. He began his automotive career in 1982 as a District Manager for The Chrysler Corporation where he held a number of corporate positions. Rich was a Chrysler Dealer for a number of years in the 90s and the General Manager of Towbin Dodge in Las Vegas, Nevada before joining the Germain Motor Company group in 2008 as the Director of Variable Operations where he overseas People, Processes/Systems, Training and Technologies in regards to New and Used Cars as well as F&I. Rich currently resides in Mason, Ohio. He enjoys spending time with his two sons, Zac and Liam.
Brent Allen
President
Stone Eagle Insurance
Brent Allen is the President of StoneEagle Ins. Systems Warranty department and StoneEagle.com. He has 20 years of experience in developing software solutions for the Service Contract Industry. He has worked in every aspect involved in the development and application of Administration systems ranging from receipts of cash to claims adjudication and loss control reporting. Brent has led the StoneEagle team in over 30 service contract system conversions and implementations. He and the team of managers at StoneEagle have created some of the foremost solutions in the industry including credit card payment processes for third party administrators, dealer penetration reporting, service bay sales, direct marketing applications, and data transmittal services.
Gary Allgeier
Director of Finance
The Suburban Collection
Gary Allgeier is the Director of Finance for The Suburban Collection, Michigan’s largest automotive dealer group with annual sales in excess of $1.0 billion.Mr. Allgeier directs the Finance and Insurance Operations for Suburban’s 45 franchises in Michigan and Florida. In addition, he develops strategies with preferred lenders and product partners to create differentiating value-added options for Suburban’s customers. F&I Management and Technology magazine awarded Mr. Allgeier and The Suburban Collection the prestigious “Dealer of the Year” award for 2009.Prior to joining The Suburban Collection in 2004, Mr. Allgeier spent 15 years as an executive with Aon Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, driving income for over 800 automotive dealers in the United States. Recognized as an industry expert in variable processes, recruiting, compensation, income development, and reinsurance, Mr. Allgeier has also trained new dealers at the National Automotive Dealer Academy in McLean, VA. After attending Vanderbilt University and Northwood University, Mr. Allgeier graduated with an Executive MBA from Northwood’s DeVos Graduate School in Midland, MI.
Stephen Amos
President
GSFS Group
Mr. Amos is president of the GSFSGroup®of companies. GSFSGroup provides vehicle service contract programs, GAP, credit insurance, prepaid maintenance, training/income development and participation/reinsurance options to automobile dealerships and financial institutions nationwide.
Mr. Amos oversees the day to day direction and management for all aspects of operations, sales, financial control, and strategic planning for GSFSGroup. Mr. Amos joined the companies in April, 2008 from First Extended Corporation, a nationwide financial services provider.
Born in Ft. Worth, Texas, and a graduate of the University of North Texas, Mr. Amos holds Property & Casualty and Life Producer licenses in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Mr. Amos has been in the automotive industry for 34 years and prior to joining the financial services industry, worked for 14 years in the retail automotive industry starting as a salesperson and working his way up to a Managing General Partner.
Married for 28 years, Mr. Amos has two sons, 22 and 21, respectfully and resides in Houston, Texas.
Sharon Anania
Vice President of Sales
CNA National Warranty Corporation
Sharron Anania has an extensive background in the automotive industry, including three years of retail experience as a finance director at a Chrysler dealership. Over the years she has worked for national F&I providers and a general agency with duties that included training field staff, income-development training at dealerships and compliance training. Sharron is AFIP-certified and holds a property & casualty insurance license. Currently she serves as vice president of sales for CNA National Warranty Corporation.
George Angus
F&I Trainer
Team One Group
George Angus has been referred to as the "Father of F&I Menus" in various trade publications for his ground breaking work in introducing F&I Menu processes nationwide in the early 1990's.
As well as being one of the industry's most productive trainers, George's direct, hard hitting, and sometimes hilarious presentation of research, testing, program development and reality has become the favorite of automobile industry.
George’s background includes 17 years in retail automotive management positions. He left retail in 1994 and was part of the development team that created the concepts that popularized F&I Menus in the early '90's. Since then, George has trained thousands of F&I managers and his popular “Saturday Morning Messages to F&I Masters™” has over 8,000 subscribers.
You may have seen his articles in F&I Management and Technology magazine or seen him quoted in Automotive News and other trade publications. He is a recognized authority on F&I process development. He is a consultant to the leading F&I product corporations as well as automobile manufacturers. He was educated at Davenport College, University of Michigan and numerous industry trade schools. He now heads the Team One Group.
Jimmy Atkinson
Chief Operating Officer
AUL Corporation
Jimmy Atkinson is Chief Operating Officer for AUL Corp. Prior to joining AUL, Jimmy was Senior Vice President for Vehicle Service Contracts at Assurant and has 27 years of experience in the automotive business both in retail sales and management as well as in the F&I consulting, service contract, and insurance space. Jimmy has previously spoken at the F&I Conference, is an eight time speaker at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention, and has spoken at RVDA as well at many other State Association and Twenty-Group meetings. Jimmy is recognized as a leading expert on improving performance in dealership operations in addition to publishing several articles in leading industry publications.
Ken Baruth
VP of Risk and Dealer Credit
Toyota Financial Services
Ken Baruth has 30 years of experience working for captive finance companies. He has worked for Chrysler Credit, Ford Motor Credit and Toyota Financial Services (TFS) primarily in sales and field operations. In his 23 years with TFS, Baruth has served in a variety of field positions including branch manager in Boston then Los Angeles and later as regional manager for the company’s Central region, followed by the Western region where he served until 2010. Additionally, Baruth served as corporate manager overseeing product development and the re-marketing department. Most recently, Baruth accepted the position of Vice President of Risk and Dealer Credit as well as Global Chief Risk officer of Toyota Financial Services Corporation.
James W. Bass
CEO
Auto One Acceptance Corporation
James W. (Jim) Bass is the CEO of Auto One Acceptance Corporation, and a consultant to the special finance and buy here, pay here industry.
Jim, a licensed CPA, was the Executive Vice President/CFO of Drivers Select, a new concept used car operation in the Dallas area from 2004 through 2006. He served on the Board of Directors of Travelers Leasing Corporation of Vancouver, B.C., from August 2004 until the company was acquired by Bank of Nova Scotia in 2006. During the same period, Jim was instrumental in getting Interactive Financial Acceptance of Richmond, Virginia underway (now a subsidiary of Dominion Enterprises). He was the founder and CEO of Autoeloan.com, Inc., a pioneer online subprime finance company which followed his ten year tenure as President and COO of the original Auto One Acceptance Corporation, a nationally licensed sub-prime vehicle financing company.
Jim is a frequent speaker and article author for the nonprime/subprime industry. He has been an active member of the sub/nonprime auto finance industry for more than 20 years, and is one of the principal founders, a current member of the Board of Directors, the past President and Chairman and the currently serving Treasurer of the National Automotive Finance Association.
Michael Benoit
Partner
Hudson Cook,LLP
Michael A. Benoit is a partner in the Washington DC office of Hudson Cook, LLP. He advises banks, sales finance companies, auto dealers, leasing companies, mortgage lenders, other creditors and technology and service providers on a wide range of consumer financial services law, including the Truth In Lending Act and Regulation Z, the Consumer Leasing Act and Regulation M, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and the USA Patriot Act. His practice covers matters involving federal and state laws relating to consumer credit compliance, electronic commerce, privacy, telemarketing, personal and real property financing, and leasing and collection practices.
Michael is a frequent speaker and author on a variety of consumer financial services law topics. His articles have appeared in the American Bar Association’s Business Law Journal, Mortgage Banker Magazine, among others, and he writes monthly columns for Auto Finance News and F&I Showroom magazine. Speaking engagements include the Auto Finance Summit, the Consumer Bankers Association Automobile Finance Conference and Tradeshow, the American Financial Services Association Vehicle Finance Conference, the NADA Annual Conference, the National Vehicle Leasing Association Annual Conference, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Home Equity Mortgage Association, the Conference on Consumer Finance Law, the American Bar Association, and numerous other programs.
Peter Biscardi
President
National Auto Care
Peter Biscardi has been involved in the automobile industry since the early seventies. His experience runs the gamut from retail and wholesale to leasing and rental and fleet administration; working primarily in the Northeast.
In 1973, Pete was instrumental in opening the first retail sales operation for the Hertz Corporation, consequently serving in various management positions within the automobile industry.
After a number of years, he began thinking about striking out on his own and, in 1982 he formed P&L Enterprises, an independent agency specializing in the marketing of vehicle service contracts to automobile dealerships. It was his success in this field that brought him to the attention of one of the largest vehicle service contract administrators in the country, based in San Diego, CA and in 1986 he joined that company as its Northeast Regional Manager, setting a number of production records for that region. In 1990, he joined NAC as the Executive Vice President and in August 2003, Pete was named President of NAC. Under his continued leadership, National Auto Care maintains its reputation as a competitive force in the service contract industry.
Tim Blochowiak
Division Vice President - South
Protective
Tim held a variety of positions in the automotive industry for 12 years before joining Protective in 1999. His Protective roles have included Account Executive, F&I Team Trainer, and Regional Vice President. Tim is currently the Division Vice President in the South and is based in Houston, Texas. Throughout his tenure with the company, he has earned Chairman’s Club designation numerous times. During his free time, Tim enjoys working on his golf game and spending time with his wife, Andrea.
Steve Braskamp
National Sales and Originations Director
Capital One Auto Finance
Steve Braskamp currently serves as the National Sales and Originations Director overseeing a team of ~550 associates in the acquisition and origination of over $6+ billion of Prime and Non-Prime auto loans annually. In this capacity, he is responsible for both external and internal sales, underwriting, loan origination, and dealer risk management for both the Dealer and Direct Lines of Business. Capital One Auto Finance is the nation’s leading non-captive sub-prime vehicle financing provider for franchise automobile dealers.
Prior to this, Mr. Braskamp held various roles in charge of Marketing and Credit for Dealer Prime, Dealer Sub-Prime and Direct business units within Capital One’s industry leading Auto Finance Business. In these roles he was responsible for all strategy and credit aspects of acquiring auto finance loans including marketing, product strategy, valuations, and credit policy.
Mr. Braskamp has also served in numerous marketing and credit positions across Capital One’s other consumer lending products including: managing risk for Capital One’s $7 billion unsecured Installment Loan portfolio, leading acquisitions for Capital One’s Platinum “No Hassle” Credit Card, and building Capital One’s first credit card acquisition channel via the Internet.
He has over eleven years of managing sales, marketing, and credit risk for consumer lending products and is one of twenty individuals accredited as a Senior Credit Officer within Capital One.
Before joining Capital One, Mr. Braskamp worked in investment banking and management consulting. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Business from Wake Forest University.
Darrin Brown
Technical Operations Manager
Grubbs Infiniti
Darrin Brown has been with the Grubbs Family for seven years. During his time at Grubbs, he has familiarized himself with every department in the store. With a common goal of always trying to evolve, trying new things to increase the ROI throughout every department. Currently Darrin serves as the Technical Operations Director.
He started out in the car business in 1998 as a salesman on the floor for one of the largest Toyota dealers in the DFW area. Having knowledge of computers and technology proved to be a valuable asset and as the Internet started to gain popularity he saw this as an opportunity and was instrumental in the creation of the Internet department. Darrin became the Internet Manager overseeing a staff of four and helped create many of the processes that helped performance. During his time with TOP, he helped in F&I and assisted the used car manager in auction purchases and sales. In addition, he worked with many lead providers some who are still in the market place today. Cars.com, Autotrader.com, Autobytel.com are some of the top performers. I spent fours years with TOP and saw the auto industry change greatly during this time.
Darrin started to see the need for a Social media campaign early on and he noticed an increasing number of engagements were now being started by the consumer and not by them. With this in mind, they have implemented a full social campaign that they are continually reinventing. Of course, they are using the top platforms that people are frequenting currently, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and last but surely not least, YouTube. YouTube has grown to become one of the largest online communication tools in the world and Darrin believes they have only seen the beginning as broadband subscriptions increase. Facebook is currently seen today as our most used social environment. We use it to not only to add to our branding, but we use it as a tool to “engage” with our customer base.
Nicole Case
Director, Web Solutions
The Reynolds and Reynolds Company
As Director of Reynolds Web Solutions, Nicole’s career is built on understanding the digital marketing needs of dealers. Reynolds Web Solutions specializes in dealership websites, Mobile marketing, and Social Networking strategies. In leading that business, Nicole applies her knowledge to help Reynolds develop tools that enable dealers to gain measurable results from digital marketing and to make it part of their business strategy and operation. Each year, Nicole works directly with hundreds of dealerships, giving her a unique customer perspective on the business problems dealers are trying to solve and the role digital marketing can play.
Randall R. Crisorio
President and CEO
United Development Systems
Randy Crisorio grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and has been active in the automotive industry since 1973. His retail career began with a very large and storied Chevrolet dealership immediately following active duty in the Marine Corps. While rising through the ranks throughout the seventies which included relocating to Clearwater Florida, he was lured away by one of the industry's most prominent F&I companies. Advancing quickly he soon assumed responsibility for business development for the Eastern US through a staff of regional managers. In 1982, with a solid foundation and a great attitude, he drew upon all of his business experience and stepped up to form UDS, an F&I Training and Development Company. Now more than twenty-eight years later UDS has assumed a leadership role in F&I Training and Staff Development nationally.
Among his professional accomplishments are:
- Authored the Unique F&I Selling System – AutoMenu and its Certification Process
- Authored Complete Five–Day F&I Certification Program
- Authored one of the first F&I Ethics and Compliance Programs in the U.S.
- Authored Numerous Automotive Sales Development Seminars
- Guest Speaker for Numerous Groups Relating to F&I and Front End Dealership Operations
- Well Versed in Automotive related Reinsurance Applications
- Now leads an organization that has been cast as the #1 F&I Training Company in the U.S. by Dealership Vote – Six Years Running
Tom Cullen
President
Repair Assurance
Tom Cullen is the president and co-founder of Vision Marketing Group & Associates, LLC. & the founder of Repair Assurance.
Mr. Cullen brings twenty five plus years of automotive experience to the team at Vision Marketing & Repair Assurance. Tom started in the automobile business with Terry Feldmann owner of Feldmann Imports in Minneapolis, MN. The foundation for achievement was laid in the six and a half years spent working with Mr. Feldmann where he was F&I director, salesperson and sales manager, Tom attributes much of his success to the lessons he learned at Feldmann Imports. Tom states; “Terry required us all to have written goals and demanded high achievement. If it wasn’t business like and honest, we didn’t do it. Terry had three firm rules that have guided me though out my career. Have fun, sell cars and make money.”
Together with Tony Fiorillo in 1999, Mr. Cullen launched Vision Marketing Group & Associates, LLC. Vision Marketing was created to offer automobile dealers a success based support company. Tom states; “Tony and I recognized the training void in the markets we were in and attributed that void to the lack of experienced successful representation by our competitors. Our promise to our customers is to supply only proven professionals to train a customer focused approach in their dealerships.”
Today, Mr. Cullen and Vision Marketing Group & Associates, LLC have grown to have customers and representatives in nine states. Vision Marketing is a company that makes a difference, Tom says; “We are a goal driven company that focuses on the fundamentals of sales.
In 2009, Tom founded Repair Assurance to fill the void that exists in dealerships for consumers who can not afford or do not qualify for an extended service contact. Repair Assurance has provided consumers with a great service and dealers with a new opportunity.
Tabor Davis
National Sales Manager
Innovative Aftermarket Systems
Mr. Davis has 18 years of experience in the automobile industry. He joined Innovative Aftermarket Systems in 2005 in his current role, as a National Sales Manager. He is responsible for servicing and training general agents and dealers across the country on IAS’ aftermarket products and services. Prior to serving as a National Sales Manager for IAS, Mr. Davis worked in automobile sales, financial and insurance management, and dealership income development and sales training. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.
Patrick Donahue
Executive Vice President- Agent Distribution
The Warranty Group
Pat is Executive Vice President, agent distribution, responsible for agent relationships, productions and activities for Resource Automotive and oversight of First Extended Service Corporation.
Pat’s career includes finance and insurance management, sales management and general management of dealerships. In 1975, he became a district manager for Pat Ryan & Associates. Since that time, he has held various district, regional and divisional posts in numerous locations throughout the United States. Pat was named President and CEO of Ryan Dealer Group in 1992 and oversaw the transition of Ryan Group to Resource Group in 1996. Pat is a graduate of Northern Illinois University (1972) earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting.
Patrick DeMarco
President
Ristken Software Services
Patrick DeMarco has 20 years of experience in sales and marketing within the automotive industry. Having joined Ristken in 2006 as president he is responsible for overall company growth, identifying new strategic initiatives, and cultivating key client relationships.Previously DeMarco served as the executive director for Power Information Network (PIN), a division of J.D. Power and Associates, where he was responsible for overseeing all retail sales and business development initiatives for the company. Prior to joining J.D Power, DeMarco was vice president of Sales and Business Development for Blue Falcon Networks where he raised capital and led a turnaround initiative. He had previously co-founded MValue.com a Venture funded Internet Company in Los Angeles, where he was responsible for start-up activities including raising capital, strategic planning and business plan execution and implementation. DeMarco also worked for Nissan North America where he was a brand manager for Pathfinder and Frontier Crew Cab and was responsible for advertising, product planning, promotions, and product distribution. DeMarco began his career with Ford Motor Company in positions including regional zone manager, regional marketing manager for the Lincoln Mercury Division and sales development manager for the Ford Division. DeMarco earned his bachelor’s degree in business management at State University College at Buffalo and his MBA degree at Miami University of Ohio.
Sandra Dixon
Development & Training Manager
Ally Financial
Sandra Dixon’s 29 year tenure at Ally Financial includes collections, consulting, sales and training. She joined the Alliance Sales Performance and Development team in 1999 as a sales trainer, bringing several years of dealership and F & I consulting to the position. As Ally Financial’s development and training manager, she is instrumental in the design and delivery of Ally’s F & I program, various Ally sales programs and GM’s Dealer Development process. Sandra serves Ally as a Certified SPIN Sales trainer. She is also a guest instructor for the Ally Financial Managing Retail Operation course offered at Northwood University. Dixon devotes much of her time to developing and delivering various F & I, sales, and self-improvement programs to corporate and dealership employees.
Dylan Doran
Division Vice President
Protective
Though he grew up in the auto industry, Dylan Doran officially began his career in 1994 and held a variety of positions at dealerships including General Sales Manager. He worked in multiple sales management positions and had numerous achievements at a service contract provider prior to joining Protective in 2009. Dylan currently serves as Division Vice President and manages the western U.S. territory. When he’s not working, Dylan enjoys spending time with his family and participating in outdoor activities including his passion of big game hunting.
Larry Dorfman
Chairman/CEO
APCO
Larry Dorfman is the Chairman/CEO of one of the most successful independent vehicle service contract companies in the country. He has led the organization he and his partners founded in 1984 and continues to be its strategic visionary.
APCO (Automobile Protection Corporation) creates markets and administers benefits and services designed to enhance the consumer’s vehicle buying and ownership experience, under the brand name EasyCare®. APCO also provides administrative and marketing support to industry leaders such as American Honda Finance Corporation, Land Rover, Volvo, Jaguar and Mazda with private label programs.
Since the company’s inception, Larry and his team have focused exclusively on creating a culture whose benefits and services provide real value to consumers. Their dedication to customer service is reflected in the over $2 billion that the company has paid in claims over the last 25 years.
In 1996, Larry and his co-founding partner, Martin Blank, received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Southeast United States. He serves as CEO of The Curran-Dorfman Family Foundation, is a D’Touqueville level contributor to The United Way and has served as a Board Member for Speedway Children’s Charities, Inner Strength and other charitable organizations over the years.
Dave Duncan
Senior Vice President
Safe-Guard Products International, LLC
Dave Duncan has three decades of F&I experience at both the dealership level and in the protection products arena. As an executive with Safe-Guard, Dave has had a front-row seat to the dramatic transitions that have taken place in F&I and has played a contributing role in the introduction of many of the products now core to F&I offices throughout our industry. His approach offers a balance of dynamic sales and marketing techniques along with responsible risk management. Instrumental in growing Safe-Guard’s OEM, general agent and national account business, Dave manages the deployment of turn-key programs for F&I business units. Prior to joining the Safe-Guard team, Dave was President & CEO of Diversified Automotive Group, a national general agency. He has received numerous accreditation focused on automotive, finance and business management, including AFIP Certification.
Marv Eleazer
Finance Director
Langdale Ford Co.
Marv Eleazer is the Finance Director of Langdale Ford Co in Valdosta, GA having been employed there since 1999. His background in the automobile business began in 1979 as a salesperson and progressed into a variety of responsibilities including all phases of front end management. He has been a Finance Manager for the last 19 years of his career with full intention of remaining in this most challenging and rewarding position. As a professional working at the dealer level he brings a real time perspective of the challenges the job demands. He and his wife LoriJo spend their spare time traveling and gardening. He can be reached by email at fordpantera@yahoo.com
David Engelman
President
Smart Payment Plan
David started SMART Payment Plan in 2003 after practicing law and starting a financial services company that helps attorneys and their clients. David's focus has always been to make people's lives better and easier. Now, through SMART Payment Plan, he is helping over 100,000 consumers match smaller, easier-to-budget payments to their paydays and pay off their loans faster. SMART is also helping over 2,000 dealers - including many leading dealer groups - offer more convenient and affordable payments to their customers - and when payments are more affordable, car buyers can afford more protection products. David brings a strong background in law and consumer finance and 7 fun years of helping dealers in the automotive industry. If he's not already helping you, David looks forward to serving you and your dealers.
James Ganther
President & CEO
Mosaic Compliance Services
James S. Ganther is the President of Mosaic Compliance Services, a lawyer-created company that provides legal compliance services on behalf of retail dealerships. He is a member of the National Association of Dealer Counsel, and has been honored as a member of F&I Management and Technology Magazine's “Who’s Who in F&I.” He is a frequent author and speaker on compliance topics, and co-authored The FTC Safeguards Rule Compliance Kit, Second Edition. He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and their seven children. His hobbies include Little League, car pools, and tuition.
Luis Garcia
Director of Training and Development
Safe-Guard Products International, LLC
Luis Garcia directs all Safe-Guard training initiatives, which focus on outreach to dealers and agents. Luis has extensive product knowledge, menu selling mastery and objection handling expertise. He is on the road about 80 percent of the time, helping individual dealerships and agencies grow their F&I business. Prior to joining Safe-Guard, Luis was a top F&I director for one of the nation’s largest dealer groups, consistently ranking among the top 2 percent of the company’s F&I managers. Luis literally grew up in the automotive business, coming from a family that has owned and operated dealerships in Florida and Georgia.
Gerry Gould
Director of Training
United Development Systems
A seasoned veteran for more than thirty years, Gerry was raised and began his retail automotive career in the greater New England area. Following nearly fifteen years of retail success in virtually all front end management positions, Gerry dedicated his knowledge and experience to training others and joined a well known national training company. This experience laid the foundation for years of professional training directed to Automotive Sales, Sales Management and a special focus on F&I Management. Relocating to Florida nearly seven years ago delivered the opportunity for Gerry to assume the position of Regional F&I Director for the nation’s largest automotive retailer. Today, Gerry directs all training programs for UDS – Ranked Six Consecutive Years as the #1 F&I Training Company in America by Dealer Vote.
Professional Accomplishments Include:
- Guest Speaker for Numerous Groups Relating to F&I Concept and Dealership Operations
- Crafted Several Audio Training Series on the Real World and
- Reality Based Operations of F&I in Today’s Business Environment
- Published Many Industry Articles Targeting F&I Sales and the
- Integration of F&I in Dealership Management Structure
- Produced Several F&I Sales Training Videos Keying on
- Performance Enhancement
Heather Haynes
Training Manager
JM&A Group’s Performance Development Center
Heather Haynes started in the car business in 1986 as Telephone Operator/Porter. While in high school and college, she held numerous positions in the car business. Heather held the roles of Greeter, Accounts Payable Administrator, Cashier and Salesperson. After graduating from Howard University in Washington DC, Heather became a Leasing Manager for Ray Wilkinson Buick Cadillac in Racine, WI. She went on to hold numerous positions including New Car Sales Manager, Used Car Sales Manager, F&I Manager and General Sales Manager.
Additionally, Heather graduated at the top of her class from the NADA Dealer Academy in 1999. Coming to JM&A Group as an F&I Specialist in 2000, Heather was soon promoted to a Corporate Trainer in the Performance Development Center PDC. Heather has held the role of Trainer, Sr. Trainer, Training Supervisor and now Training Manager. Heather is responsible for managing the PDC training team and also has completed her AFIP and FILES certification.
Andy Hilling
Regional Sales Manager
National Automotive Experts
Andy Hilling is one of the Regional Sales Managers at National Automotive Experts, a product administrator offering a complete suite of products and F&I training throughout the United States. Hilling has over 16 years of automotive experience. Before joining NAE, he worked for Easy Care as a Regional Manager specializing in agent development, customer retention, F&I products and service contract marketing. Prior to Easy Care, Hilling was the Midwest and Eastern Divisional Manager for eLead, a CRM and Virtual BDC company. Hilling started in the auto industry after graduating from college and began working for his brother at a local dealer performing every role within the dealership. Hilling currently resides in Erie, Pennsylvania with his wife Anne and their three daughters.
Michael D. Jackson
CEO/Co-Founder
Auto Search Technologies
Michael D Jackson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Auto Search Technologies, Inc. He has personally overseen, researched and help architect the flagship SEO (Search Engine Optimization) products "Auto Search Online" and “AutoBAHN” for AST, along with the national listing service “AutoHitList” and has gown to cater for over 1,750 dealerships nationwide in a 3 year period.
Kevin Jacobs
National Training Manager
Allstate Dealer Services
Kevin Jacobs, as the National Training Manager for Allstate Dealer Services, is responsible for designing, implementing and facilitating training initiatives for individual dealerships, credit unions, third-party administrators, general agents and OEMs. His more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry includes positions in retail sales, F&I and dealership management and a number of successful entrepreneurial ventures.
Kevin has been a featured speaker at events sponsored by Nissan Extended Services of North America, Hyundai Motor Finance Company, Honda Financial Services and DealerTrack. He also presided as the Master of Ceremonies at the 2008 Vehicle Service Contract Administrators Conference in Las Vegas.
Jeff Jagoe
Senior Vice President/National Sales Director
Innovative Aftermarket Systems (IAS)
Mr. Jagoe has nearly 25 years of experience in the automobile industry. He joined Innovative Aftermarket Systems in 1995 in his current role, as Senior Vice President/National Sales Director. He is responsible for planning and coordinating sales-related initiatives for IAS’ 500 sales professionals. Prior to serving as IAS’ Senior VP of Sales, Mr. Jagoe worked in automobile sales, financial and insurance management, and aftermarket product sales and advertising. He holds a B.A. in Marketing from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas .
Beth Johnson
Director, Channel Sales Management
MenuVantage, ADP
Beth Johnson is a highly motivated sales professional with extensive channel sales, retail leadership and territory management experience. She worked for 6 in the retail auto industry in sales and F&I. When promoted to F&I Director, she led a team of producers in consistently achieving the elusive thousand dollar PRU. Beth joined a General Agency as a successful agent for four years after this, where she specialized in F&I income development and oversaw the training and production of many finance departments. This unique mix of real world retail and agent experience led to the natural transition from agent to Director of Channel Sales for MenuVantage/ADP. In her current role, Beth is active in creating new partnerships and managing and enhancing the existing relationships ADP/MenuVantage has with its vertical marketing channels & channel partners. Beth highly encourages every agency and Insurance provider to contact her at the show for a demonstration of the MenuVantage advantages.
David Johnson
Social Media Strategist
Next Generation Dealer Services
David Johnson is the Social Media Strategist for Next Generation Dealer Services and the author of PersuasiveConcepts.com. He has held Social Media Seminars for auto dealers all over the country and has designed, trained on and implemented social media strategies for dozens of different. He is considered by many to be on the forefront of automotive social media for both sales and service.
Terry Keating
Managing Director
Amherst Partners
Mr. Keating provides strategic and financial advisory services, including strategic planning, ownership/management transition, merger and acquisition advisory, and turnaround and restructuring advisory services to middle market financial services and business services companies. Mr. Keating has spent more than 15 years in the financial services industry working with a diverse group of companies in a variety of roles. Specific industry expertise includes consumer and commercial finance, leasing and financial technology companies. Mr. Keating earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Valparaiso University and an MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University. Mr. Keating is a member of the American Financial Services Association (AFSA), Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), Turnaround Management Association (TMA), American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), Risk Management Association (RMA) and the Executives Club of Chicago. Mr. Keating also serves on the Board of Directors for Kaleidoscope, Inc., a child social services agency in Chicago that helps troubled, abandoned and neglected children. He served as Treasurer from 1995 through 1998, and Chairman from 1998 through 2006 and is currently the Chair of the Development Committee. Mr. Keating also serves on the Board of Directors for River North Chicago Dance Company.
Andrew D. Koblenz
Vice President/General Counsel
National Automobile Dearlers Association
Andrew D. Koblenz is the National Automobile Dealers Association's Vice President of legal and regulatory affairs. He directs the association's Legal and Regulatory Group, which represents NADA and dealer interests before federal agencies. Koblenz supervises a staff of six attorneys specializing in franchise and state law, corporate law and federal regulatory affairs. As NADA's assistant secretary, he prepares and maintains corporate records and the minutes of the board of directors meetings and supervises elections of NADA officers and directors.
Prior to his current position, Koblenz was Vice President of industry affairs from June 2001 to February 2006, directing the activities of NADA's Industry Relations and Industry Analysis departments, as well as the association’s American Truck Dealers Division.
Before joining NADA, Mr. Koblenz served for five years as a senior attorney with the American Automobile Manufacturers Association. There, he advised the association on a variety of issue areas including sales, credit, leasing, and finance law.
Mr. Koblenz attended Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. and received his B.A. in political science, summa cum laude, in 1978. In 1981, he received his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. Mr. Koblenz is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the American Law Institute.
The National Automobile Dealers Association, founded in 1917 and based in McLean, Va., represents more than 20,000 new car and truck dealers, holding over 43,000 separate franchises, both domestic and import.
Rick Kurtz
Vice President, Dealer Sales
Protective
Two decades of experience with Protective make Rick well-suited for his dual roles as leader of Dealer and RV sales, as well as head of Protective’s Customer Relations Team. A graduate of Penn State University, Rick has risen through the management ranks, serving as an Account Executive, National Trainer, Regional Vice President of Sales and Division Vice President of Sales. Rick's passion and energy continue to drive a results-oriented sales organization that is committed to delivering competitive, innovative business solutions. Rick, his wife Yvette, and his two sons enjoy school activities, sporting events, fly fishing and Penn State football. A transplanted native of Philadelphia, Rick and his family reside in St. Louis.
John Leaver
General Manager
MobiDrives
After serving in the Army’s 82ndAirborne Division John began his automotive career selling cars in Clearwater, FL. He has over 15 years experience in retail operations and as held positions of sales, Internet sales, Internet sales manager, finance manager, sales manager, finance director and GSM.
In 2004 John joined The Providence Group a general agent for Easycare service contracts to be an F&I specialist working on a national Ford ESP project. During his tenure with The Providence Group John worked his way to Regional Manager. In 2007 John was recruited by The JM&A Group to work in the newly formed consulting team for dealership variable operations. During his time with JM&A John was a key member of a team that assisted Southeast Toyota in improving the VDQ portion of the CSI scores. SET was in 12th place and the team was able to assist the low performing dealers in improving all the way to 1stplace in the nation. In 2010 John accepted a position with MobiDrives an upstart technology company specializing in mobile communication. John is responsible for the operations of MobiDrives and is not a huge fan of titles; his official title is the GEDG/GM (Get Er Dun Guy/General Manager). John lives in Tampa, FL with his wife and two children.
John P. Luckett
Vice President, Agent Distribution-West
The Warranty Group
John is Vice President, agent distribution – west, responsible for managing the sales and distribution of Resource Automotive products through the independent agent market in western Canada and western United States.
He began his career in the retail automotive business holding various sales and service positions. Mr. Luckett joined the company as a regional sales manager, later holding the positions of national sales manager and division vice president.
John has been the recipient of numerous sales awards and the Resource Automotive Regional Vice President of the Year award. He has a BA in economics and business administration from Eastern Illinois University.
Deborah Malinowski
Vice President of Sales
Santander Consumer USA
As an experienced auto finance executive, Deborah Malinowski currently oversees the sales organization for Santander Consumer USA. As Vice President of Sales, she is responsible for all functions of the business that influence and concern Santander Consumer USA’s dealer partners. She supervises, coaches and motivates more than 110 Area Sales Managers, Inside Sales Managers and Regional Sales Managers to accomplish objectives set for Santander’s Drive®, Santander Auto Finance®, RoadLoans.com, S-Guard™ and Drive ID products. Ms. Malinowski joined Santander Consumer (then Drive Financial Services) in 1999 as an Area Sales Manager, where she quickly and consistently exceeded sales goals in the Florida and Houston markets. She was promoted several times within the sales organization, eventually being named Vice President of Sales.
Prior to joining SC USA Ms. Malinowski was Assistant Manager at AmeriCredit.
Ms. Malinowski earned a bachelor’s of business administration degree in marketing from the University of North Texas.
Bob Mancuso
Executive Vice President
National Automotive Experts
Bob Mancuso is the Executive Vice President of National Automotive Experts, a product administrator offering a complete suite of products and F&I training throughout the United States. Mancuso has over 17 years of automotive marketing and retail experience. He joined the company in 2006 as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. A year later, he transitioned to Executive Vice President, overseeing the entire sales division and assisting the overall management of the company. Before joining the NAE, he worked with software and F&I training company that worked with various administrators and dealers around the country. He spent the first five years of his tenure in the automotive industry with the largest Ford dealer in the nation, overseeing an F&I department that delivered 1,000 units a month, eventually moving on to become the sales manager of the dealership, prior to it being sold to Auto Nation. Mancuso resides in Strongsville, Ohio with his wife Laura and their two kids.
Ron Martin
President
The Vision of F&I Inc.
Ron Martin is the president of The Vision of F & I, Inc., a leading provider of F&I training for the Automotive and Power sports Industries. He is also president of VisionMenu, Inc, a designer of Menu, Desking, and Report Software. Ron is the author of the book, The Vision of F & I and is a national F&I Sales and Compliance trainer brought to dealers through classroom training and an on-line certification program, Vision E-Academy.
James (Jim) Maxim Jr.
President & CEO
Maxim Track Technologies
Mr. Maxim oversees the overall operations and strategic direction of the company and is intimately involved with the lifecycle development of the MaximTrak suite of products. Prior to starting-up the MaximTrak business, he was Chief Operating Officer of the Maxim Group of Companies and was responsible for operating its real estate investment division as well as its consulting services and training programs for automotive dealers. Mr. Maxim has extensive experience in the Automotive Retail sector and has advised on multiple turnaround efforts for some of the largest dealer groups in the country.
Prior to joining Maxim Automotive and MaximTrak Technologies, Mr. Maxim served at General Electric as Director of Mergers and Acquisitions, GE Aircraft Engines, a $10.0 Billion Division. Jim focused most of his efforts in strategy planning and leading acquisitions and divestitures geared toward building GE’s position in Avionics and Aeronautical Electronics.
Mr. Maxim serves on the Board of Directors for Project Safe Haven whose mission is to aid and assist foster children in the greater Philadelphia area. Jim earned his MBA from Babson College, Olin School of Business and holds a B.S. in Finance from Ithaca College. Jim lives in Wayne, PA with his wife Alison and two sons James and Dylan.
Rick McCormick
National Account Development Manager
Reahard & Associates
Rick McCormick, National Account Development Manager of Reahard & Associates, has more than 20 years of sales experience, with over 6½ years in the retail automobile business. Rick has also served as an Ordained Minister, and attributes his success in both vocations to consistently asking one question… “What’s your story?” Rick believes the key to helping others is listening. Rick has authored articles on F&I that have appeared in F&I Management & Technology magazine and has presented at the 2008 & 2009 F&I Conference, conducting the workshop “Front End Solutions – It’s A Team Effort” at the 2009 conference. Rick is a member of the Association of Finance and Insurance Professionals.
Alan Miller
Senior Vice President of Sales
CNA National Warranty Corporation
Alan Miller has served as senior vice president of sales for CNA National Warranty Corporation since January of 2007. He is an experienced leader with nearly 30 years of automotive industry knowledge. His background includes automotive retail (initially in sales and later as director of F&I operations for a metro Chevy store) as well as general agency experience. Miller spent nine years with GE Capital/Heritage Insurance Group in a variety of positions including F&I training director, Southwest regional manager, and vice president of reinsurance management. He was with Protective Life Insurance Company for nearly 10 years prior to joining CNAN.
Cory Mosley
Principal
Moseley Training LLC
Once named the “Hardest Workin’ Man in the Automotive Training & Consulting Business” Cory is a nationally recognized authority in the areas of new school psychology, e-commerce sales & marketing strategies, and technology assisted selling. Cory has worked with some of the most recognized names in the automotive industry including mega groups and manufacturers. As a champion of the retail sales professional, Cory’s strategies and selling techniques are based on the real-world selling environment and are designed to increase profits for the dealer and the “front-line” employee. Cory is also the new monthly sales columnist for F&I and Showroom Magazine.
Tom Murray
President and Chief Operating Officer
Resource Automotive, Inc.
Tom is President and Chief Operating Officer for Resource Automotive, Inc., responsible for all North American automotive sales activity.
He joined the company with over seventeen years experience in automotive retail where he held the positions of Vice President of a Top 100 dealer group, General Manager, General Sales Management, Used Car Director, New Car Sales Management, Director of Wholesale Operations and Financial Services Director.
Since joining The Warranty Group, Mr. Murray has served as District Manager, Area Manager, Key Account Vice President, Regional Vice President, and Executive Vice President of Sales as well as Executive Vice President
David Nash
Vice President-Product Marketing
ADP Dealer Services Group
David Nash is Vice President of Product Marketing at ADP Dealer Services Group. His team defines ADP’s technology infrastructure used at its data centers, at client-premises, and for mobile access. Mr. Nash is leading ADP’s effort to offer a variety of exciting new mobile services for clients, globally. Mr. Nash’s twenty five years of technical and business experience span the Software, Personal Computing, Telephony, Networking, and Consumer Electronics markets. Prior to joining ADP, Mr. Nash spent 16 years at Intel Corp., where he led efforts in product marketing, global technology initiatives, new business investments and strategic planning. Mr. Nash holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
David Neuenschwander
Regional Sales Manager
National Automotive Experts
David Neuenschwander is one of the Regional Sales Manager at National Automotive Experts, a product administrator offering a complete suite of products and F&I training throughout the United Stated. Neuenschwander has over 17 years of automotive experience. Before joining the NAE team, he worked with Zurich for 13 years. Starting out as a Business Client Consultant, being promoted to Account Executive and ending his tenure with Zurich as a Regional Sales Manager managing a team of 16 sales professionals. Prior to Zurich, Neuenschwander was part of a family owned dealership group in central Missouri where he was born and raised. Neuenschwander currently resides in Fredericksburg, Virginia with his wife Jody and their three daughters.
Glenn Nielsen
National Sales Manager
Innovative Aftermarket Systems
Mr. Nielsen has 15 years of experience in the automobile industry. He joined Innovative Aftermarket Systems in 1999 in his current role, as a National Sales Manager. He is responsible for servicing and training general agents and dealers across the country on IAS’ aftermarket products and services. Prior to serving as a National Sales Manager for IAS, Mr. Nielsen worked in copier and insurance sales. He has a Property & Casualty and Life Insurance Licenses. He also holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from the University of New Orleans in New Orleans, LA.
Adam Pope
Vice President, Director of Business Operational Support Services
Wells Fargo Dealer Services
As Director of Business Operational Support Services, Adam Pope is responsible for aftermarket products and product sales, the dealer database and maintaining credit-lending levels, and all vendor/supplier relations for Dealer Services. He also manages business operational reporting and analysis, which involves analyzing industry and internal dealer performance data.
Mr. Pope has been with Wells Fargo Dealer Services for 6 years, and he has over 20 years of experience in the automotive business. Previously he served as the head of the marketing and pricing department at Mitsubishi Motors Credit of America. Mr. Pope also held management positions at Mitsubishi Motors North America, including National Manager for Sales Incentives and Promotions and National Manager for Commercial Fleet. Before joining Mitsubishi Motors, he spent 5 years at Maritz Performance Improvement Company as an automotive consultant developing sales incentive and objective setting programs. Prior his career in the automotive industry, Mr. Pope was a meteorologist in the U.S. Air Force.
Mr. Pope holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Southern Illinois University.
Ronald J. Reahard
President
Reahard & Associates, Inc.
Ronald J. Reahard is President of Reahard & Associates, Inc., a nationally recognized training and consulting company. Reahard & Associates provides custom tailored in-dealership training programs, consulting services, and real world solutions that dramatically increase sales, income and customer delight. Ron has created and conducted numerous training programs, seminars, and management workshops for NADA and various state and local dealer associations. Ron has authored several articles on F&I that have appeared in F&I Management & Technology magazine. Ron conducted the workshop “It’s a Menu… Not a Magic Bullet” at the 2007 F&I Conference and “F&I in an X & Y World” at the 2008 NADA Convention.
Brian Reed
CEO
Intersection Technologies, Inc.
Brian Reed is the CEO of Intersection Technologies, Inc. that has developed F&I Express which provides e-contracting for the aftermarket F&I market place. In addition, Intersection Technologies, Inc. offers Consulting and Custom IT Development Services to aftermarket administrators and auto finance companies. Brian has over 25 years experience in the auto industry holding senior executive roles at Mercedes Benz Credit, debis Financial, PeopleFirst.com, and CaptialOne. Prior to his current role, Brian was the founding CEO of Pricelock.com which provides fuel price protection to consumers and businesses. In 2006, Brian was honored as a “Pioneer of the Internet in the Automotive Industry” by J.D.Powers.
David N. Robertson
Executive Director
Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals
Co-founder of this organization created to support the in-dealership F & I process, Mr. Robertson leads the initiative to provide AFIP members with the NADA-recommended F&I Professional Certification course. He is the co-designer of the popular Safeguards Rule Compliance Kit which gives dealerships a complete and inexpensive method for compliance with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and is a partner in the CD-ROM-based best practices series, Compliance Thursday. As an advocate for F&I-related issues, Mr. Robertson works as an expert witness and industry consultant. He is widely published and frequently quoted in the trade and popular press and has appeared on 20/20 and MSNBC in addition to being a featured guest on a number of radio programs.
Charlie Robinson
Executive Vice President, National Sales
The Warranty Group
Charlie is executive Vice President, National Sales, responsible for the expansion of existing relationships and the acquisition of new business in the U.S. retail segment.
Charlie spent 24 years with the company, prior to joining a dealership group as Vice President of Finance and Insurance in 2004. While with the company he held many positions and was responsible for leadership and management of the field force as well as identifying and managing key client relationships.
Paul Rule
SVP
Chase Auto Finance
Paul Rule is the National Custom Finance Centers’ Manager for Chase Auto Finance. He is a member of Custom Finance’s senior management team responsible for the strategic direction and management of the full P&L of Chase’s subprime auto business. His responsibilities include the administration of underwriting, booking and collections for the Custom Finance product at 42 locations nationwide, as well as working with Custom’s senior team in overseeing portfolio development, policy and procedures, and overall dealer relationship enhancement.
Paul has more than 28 years experience in the banking industry and has held several significant financial and managerial roles during his 24 years with JPMorganChase and its predecessors. Prior to his current position he was the Western Region Sales Manager where he was responsible for full P&L of all 8 decentralized full service retail indirect auto offices within the western region of Bank One representing over $4 billion in outstanding receivables. Additionally he has been involved in several Treasury Structured Finance assignments where he analyzed financing options given corporate constraints. This resulted in the recommendation and execution of the $300 million Valley National Credit Card Trust 1990-A and the Valley National Grantor Trust 1989-A, a $165 million securitization of a portion of Valley National’s indirect automobile portfolio. He has also served in several Finance-related functions including CFO of the Indirect Auto business.
Paul earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Michigan State University and a master’s in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.
Alex Sarafian
Risk Director International Operations
Ally Financial
Alex M. Sarafian is currently the Risk Director for International Operations at Ally Financial (formerly GMAC). In this role he is responsible for coordinating global consumer risk and infrastructure initiatives. Alex has held a variety of finance, operating, consumer credit, and strategic positions at Ally. Prior to his current role, Alex led the Consumer Credit and Operations Support team within Ally’s North American Operations, responsible for credit policy and scoring, operations support, and acquisitions policies, programs, and systems. Prior to this position, Alex was the Director of Finance for GMAC’s North American Operations, spearheading the business unit finance team during the majority sale of GMAC to Cerberus. Previously, Alex was the Director of Business Management, responsible for strategic corporate initiatives, including the founding of RouteOne LLC. Prior to joining GMAC in 1997, Alex held a variety of positions in the mortgage services industry. Alex holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing and a Master of Business Administration in Corporate Strategy and Finance from the University of Michigan Business School (now Ross School of Business).
Jay Sharpnack
Vice President of Sales
CNA National Warranty Corporation
Jay Sharpnack has spent the past 15 years gaining valuable and varied experience in the automotive industry. Previous positions with national F&I providers have included director of agency development, division vice president and regional sales manager. He also has retail auto experience from two years spent as general manager for a Chevrolet dealership. Jay has an MBA degree, a BS in business administration, property-casualty insurance licenses and Senior AFIP certification.
Mark Singleton
CEO
Coindata, LLC
Mark Singleton has over 40 years experience in auto industry, credited as the father of computer-based F&I systems in the United States starting with WANG Laboratories in 1968. As the former CEO of F&I Systems leader COIN and KeyTrak his inventions and visionary designs have launched some of the most successful financial and auto industry technologies including Windows-based electronic parts systems, electronic loan approval systems, and now docuPAD, a revolutionary approach to solving the automotive compliance challenges of today’s finance office without sacrificing either sanity or profitability.
James B. Smith
CEO
SouthwestRe Corporation
Jim has more than twenty-five years of experience in the insurance industry. In 1985, he founded SouthwestRe and began implementing a reinsurance program offering limited capitalization, producer-owned reinsurance companies. The program has grown to include more than 3,000 producers nationwide and has resulted in the formation and management of over 600 producer-owned companies. With his extensive background in insurance accounting, taxation, and administration, Jim has been a frequent speaker for national organizations such as the Auto Dealers Services Program and is a member of the Insurance Industry Task Force on Producer-Owned Reinsurance Companies. Jim consults with insurance companies and automobile dealers on insurance alternatives available in today's regulatory climate.
Michael Southerland
Vice President of New Business Development
ProCon Protect & Connect
Mr. Michael Southerland is currently employed with VP New Business Development & Race Marketing ProCon Inc. located in Knoxville, TN. Dealing with manufacturing and sales of GPS products; Tracking of freight, monitoring refrigeration in stores, 18- wheelers and shipping. Asset management and inventory control by satellite and financial institution payment control and collateral collection.
Michael was previously employed by President of Dealer First GPS and Device Code distributor located in Franklin, North Carolina until purchased by PROCON in August of 2008. Prior to that, he was with the United Car Care Service Contract Provider located in Denver, Colorado and worked as a National Sales Manager. Michael also worked as a Sales Manager with the company Avid Insurance Services Multi product Dealership Agency located in Dunedin, Florida and also held an Executive V.P. position with APCO Easy Care Service Contracts in Atlanta, Georgia. He currently resides in the Great Smokey Mountains in a log home and has a partnership in Nitro Investments Motorsports and also sponsors nitro powered dragsters and funny cars through NHRA.
Ken Tomaro
President
OptionSoft Technologies Inc.
As an 18 year veteran of the Automotive Dealership environment, Ken held senior management positions in all areas of dealership operations for two of the largest dealer groups in the country. Ken has successfully taken that deep insight, hands on experience and knowledge to form OptionSoft Technologies, Inc. in 2003. Since inception, the company has focused on providing customized business solutions to dealers, administrators, credit unions and independent agencies nationwide as well as internationally. Ken has instilled his own personal commitment to excellence and client satisfaction in the company's products and services, requiring only monthly agreements. This commitment to excellence has allowed the company to grow to over 5,000 users and to deliver double digit growth annually to its client base over the last two challenging years.
Peter Turek
Vice President, U.S. Information Services Division
TransUnion
Peter Turek is vice president, Automotive for TransUnion’s U.S. Information Services (USIS) division. In this role, he is responsible for creating, updating and executing a comprehensive growth strategy for TransUnion’s automotive segment.
Mr. Turek is a 20-year veteran of the company and has held numerous positions throughout the organization. Most recently he was vice president, strategic accounts for TransUnion’s USIS division and prior to that he was a sales leader in the Chicago and mid-Atlantic divisions. He has played a key role in identifying companies and products that complement TransUnion’s solutions in the marketplace. Before TransUnion, Turek was a credit manager with Citibank.
Mr. Turek received a Bachelor of Science in information systems from UMBC and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Maryland. He was a board member of the Consumer Credit Counseling Services - Southeast Maryland chapter from 1996-1999 and a member of Junior Achievement and the Arthritis Foundation. Mr. Turek was previously in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1984-1992.
Gil Van Over
Principal
gvo3 & Associates
Gil Van Over is the Principal of gvo3 & Associates, a six person nationally recognized compliance audit, training and review firm. Mr. Van Over works with dealerships around the country in providing F&I and sales compliance and is a frequent speaker to industry groups. He also provides expert witness services on behalf of automotive retailers. Prior to forming gvo3 & Associates, Mr. Van Over was the chief operating officer for Premier Auto Finance, a management company that managed auto finance portfolios for dealer groups. He also held various staff and operating positions with Ford Motor Credit Company, including a stint as a branch manager in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Van Over is an Association of Finance and Insurance Professionals certified mentor, an associate member of the newly formed National Association of Dealer Counsel and a member of Dealer Track’s Compliance Advisory Council.
Mark Vazquez
Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Westlake Financial Services
Mark Vazquez has over 15 year’s experience in the automobile industry. As a teenager, he worked alongside his father in all aspects of running a dealership. He took his dealership knowledge to Westlake Financial Services in 2002 and has been the VP of Sales and Marketing for the past two and half years. In this role, he leads the execution of Westlake’s external growth strategies with a team of 150 sales reps that market to over 9,000 dealers in 48 states. “Increasing market share responsibly is our main priority,” he says. “Dealers are always looking to build relationships with lenders that will give them a consistent ‘way to go.’ Our commitment is doing business the way dealers want to do business and supplying them a full spectrum of products, as well as providing a Dealer Account Manager base that is available 24/7.” Mark earned his bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Southern California.
John Vecchioni
Director of F&I Development & National Trainer
United Car Care
John Vecchioni, Director of F&I Development and National Trainer for United Car Care, has over 25 years of business and sales experience. Also known as the fni Coach, Vecchioni is known for his series of successful F&I and Sales training webinars which are available online at www.fnicoach.com by annual subscription. In this series, John shares information he has gathered on a wealth of topics from “The Sales Process” to “How to be a Top Producer in F&I”.
Tony Volpe
National Vice President of Sales and Field Operations
Continental Warranty Inc.
Tony is Vice President of Sales for Continental Warranty Inc., and has been with the company for over 10 years. Tony specializes in marketing and training. His forte is creating programs to assist Sales Associates and Finance Departments. In return they become more profitable and are able to overcome any obstacles that may arise. Examples of products that Tony has implemented are: Lifetime Unlimited Warranties, 10 year/100,000 Mile Warranties, 5 year /150,000 Mile Warranties, Zero deductible Warranties, and the popular Ultra-Care Vehicle Service Contract.
Tony’s goal, providing dealers with opportunities to maximize overall gross profit, is done by providing the highest level of protection for a competitive cost.
Tony believes in bringing excitement to the automotive industry by enticing both retailers and customers, increasing profits and customer retention for organizations.
Prior to his tenure at Continental Warranty Inc., Tony was a Specialty Sales and Training Consultant with Johnson and Johnson for over 5 years. Prior to Johnson and Johnson, Tony was a Regional Sales Manager responsible for the entire East Coast market for Vallon Incorporated. Vallon Inc. was an Internet design company that unfortunately exceeded its market value, and was bought out by IBM.
Tony graduated from King’s College with a 4 year Pre-med and Neuroscience degree, and has attended several Sales Management and Training Seminars throughout his career.
Marguerite Watanabe
President
Connection Insights
Marguerite Watanabe, President of Connections Insights, has worked in the auto and automotive finance industry for over twenty years allowing her to truly understand its strengths, weaknesses and, most importantly, opportunities. Marguerite has devoted much of her energy and efforts in sharing her expertise and connections based on her unique mix of experience in automotive manufacturing and sales, captive and non-prime auto financing, credit reporting, lead generation and consulting – as well as her international experience with companies in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Her company provides focused insights to its clients on where innovative product and service solutions can be implemented to improve business processes and shareholder value and makes connections that build the bridges among strategic business partners.
Prior to forming Connections Insights in 2006, Marguerite worked for Nissan North America and Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation in the USA and Japan, Equifax, BarNone and BenchMark Consulting International. She serves on the American Financial Services Association (AFSA) Vehicle Finance Board and Associate Member Advisory Board, the National Auto Finance (NAF) Association Board of Directors and Executive Committee and the Center for International Retail Automotive Standards. Marguerite earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.
Larry Wiesen
Visual Designer - Mobile Applications
Kelley Blue Book
Larry Wiesen is the lead interaction and visual designer for mobile applications at Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com. Wiesen is charged with overall concept and design for Kelley Blue Book’s mobile applications, including iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone 7 and the consumer-facing kbb.com mobile website. In this role, Wiesen pushes the boundaries of mobile application design and accelerates the marketing of Kelley Blue Book’s mobile products by working closely with internal and external vendors, as well as automobile manufacturers, to generate ideas and increase consumer interest in the company’s products.
Prior to joining Kelley Blue Book, Wiesen served as a Web and Flash designer for Autobytel. He also worked as Flash designer for Capita Technologies, where he was responsible for Flash design and development on websites for companies such as Motorola, Verizon, Hampton Hotels, Oscar Mayer, Kraft, Taco Bell, M&M’s and more.
In his 10 years of professional experience, Wiesen has earned website design awards for Autobytel, Mars and Motorola. He also was an Official Honoree at the 12th Annual Webby Awards for his work on Autobytel’s MyRide.com
Melinda Zabritski
Director, Automotive Credit
Experian Automotive
Melinda Zabritski is Director of Automotive Credit for Experian Automotive where she is responsible for the strategic development and marketing of Experian’s products and services specific to the automotive credit and lending industry. Melinda brings more than10 years of experience in product management and marketing roles in the credit industry. Melinda has held product management and analyst positions overseeing the development of credit risk models, market trending and forecasting tools. She holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona, and a bachelor’s in Political Science and Urban Government from Louisiana State University.