ATLANTA, Ga. (September 1, 2015) – Celebrating the unique talents, perspectives and ideas of its diverse workforce, Cox Automotive announced today that six leaders from across the organization have been named to the inaugural Auto Remarketing “Remarketing & Used-Car Industry’s 40 Under 40.” With more representatives than any other organization on the list, this distinction not only honors some of the company’s best and brightest young professionals, it also is a testament to their leadership and contributions across the digital, retail and wholesale automotive spectrum.
“We are tremendously proud of these great Cox Automotive leaders and the variety of important roles they play across our company,” said Sandy Schwartz, president of Cox Automotive. “They bring insight, perspective, talent and drive to our operations and help us serve customers better and better every day. Already they have had a positive impact on the industry, regardless of their age, and we know there’s more yet to come.”
The honorees from Cox Automotive include:
Jessica Stafford – Cox Automotive
Vice President of Consumer Marketing & Creative Services
Jessica Stafford leads the consumer marketing and creative services organization for Cox Automotive. Several years south of 40, she leads a team of over 55 individuals that execute all B2C marketing and advertising initiatives, as well as creative strategy and design, across the Cox Automotive portfolio, which includes Kelley Blue Book, vAuto, VinSolutions, Autotrader and Manheim.
Through innovative campaigns combined with her strong leadership skills, Jessica’s team sends 17 million consumers monthly to view and engage with over 2.6 million new cars, 1.9 million used cars and 255,000 Certified Pre-Owned vehicles from over 20,000 Autotrader dealers. She has also become a spokesperson for the brand, appearing on CBS’s daytime show “The Talk” and quoted in numerous automotive, advertising and marketing publications.
Alec Gutierrez, Kelley Blue Book
Manager, Vehicle Valuation Portfolio
As a key member of the Kelley Blue Book team, Alec Gutierrez manages the company’s vehicle values from a product perspective, ensuring the integrity of Kelley Blue Book values as presented to consumers, dealers, lenders and other constituents. Additionally, he is responsible for optimizing the current valuation product portfolio and bringing new valuation products to market.
Since joining Kelley Blue Book, Alec has helped improve the integrity of Kelley Blue Book® Values by creating and maintaining a host of tools and validation reports. He was a key member of the team that implemented Kelley Blue Book’s state-of-the-art Vehicle Information Management System (VIMS), which provides analysts with the ability to visualize sophisticated forecast model data and then use those insights to establish vehicle values. Additionally, Alec played an integral role with the initial VIMS implementation and also spearheaded the enhancement for Kelley Blue Book’s New Car Fair Purchase Price, which reports what others are paying for new vehicles this week.
Spencer Henney – Manheim
Senior Director of Major Dealer
Spencer has played a key part in Manheim’s Major Dealer initiative. Joining this division in 2014 to head up the Regional Account team, he brought diverse background of industry knowledge, advertising management and financial services to the table. This mix of experience resonated well in helping this customer segment, which includes franchise groups, wholesalers and independents, understand the value Cox Automotive brings to their business.
Spencer’s team helped dealers acquire desired retail inventory while making informed educated decisions on wholesale using Cox Automotive data and analytics. The success in this program resulted in Manheim adding these key dealers to the larger Major Dealer Account portfolio and Spencer being selected as Senior Director to head up this newly-formed area. His drive and commitment to expand the company’s partnerships with valued customers and show them how they can take advantage of Cox Automotive services is a win-win for Manheim and its customers.
Jennifer Eggert, Manheim
Vice President of Digital Services
Jenifer joined Manheim in 2014 after 12 years with Autotrader. As vice president of digital services for Manheim, she leads all of the company’s digital efforts, including OVE.com and Simulcast, and is also responsible for setting the company’s long-term plan in the ever-evolving digital space. Additionally, Jenifer works closely with teams from Manheim, Autotrader, RMS Automotive and vAuto to create a customer-focused digital strategy that takes advantage of the deep expertise of these companies.
The success Jenifer has seen at Manheim so far can be attributed to her experience at Autotrader. During her time with the company, she gained invaluable industry knowledge through a variety of roles, including Regional Sales Director, Regional Director, Regional Sales Manager, District Sales Manager and Internet Consultant.
Adam Galema – NextGear Capital
Vice President of Finance
Adam serves as the Vice President of Finance for NextGear Capital, the largest independent inventory finance company in North America. In this role, he leads the company’s Treasury, Accounting and Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) teams while helping ensure NextGear Capital is positioned properly for future growth.
Joining NextGear Capital as an Accounting Manager within the first month of its inception in 2005, Adam has been instrumental in helping grow the company’s treasury and accounting systems. While Controller, he played a key role in securing the company’s first major financing deal, which helped launch the company into a long-lasting growth phase.
David Rice, vAuto
Director of Research & Development
Since joining vAuto in 2006, David has played an instrumental role in developing vAuto’s industry-leading Live Market and Appraising technologies, guiding the integration of third-party data and systems into the vAuto Provision Suite of tools.
Managing a team of 25 developers and programmers in the company’s Austin, TX-based product development center, he implements and oversees “mobile-first” product development processes while coordinating development activities across the different Cox Automotive business units.
The September 1 issue of Auto Remarketing highlights these six individuals as well as the rest of the inaugural 40 Under 40 class. Additionally, the publication will honor these young professionals at an awards ceremony on November 19 during Used Car Week in Scottsdale, Ariz.