What’s In Store for our 2024 Wholesale Auto Supply Co. Annual Meeting!
We're thrilled to announce an afternoon of insightful discussions and unparalleled networking at our Annual Meeting, set against the elegant backdrop of the Upper Montclair Country Club on November 19, 2024. This year, we’re gathering some of the brightest minds in the automotive industry to delve into today’s most critical issues and future trends.
Join us for an afternoon of engaging conversations led by industry leaders, where you'll gain valuable perspectives on the evolving automotive landscape. And of course, enjoy a gourmet lunch designed to delight your palate while you connect with fellow professionals in a relaxed, upscale setting.
Steve Greenfield, moderator, is the CEO/Founder of Automotive Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund investing in the automotive technology and mobility space, and will be introducing three companies that are revolutionary for the car industry and invites you to explore the future of the car industry with 3 revolutionary companies.
Hear from visionary leaders, gain exclusive insights, and be inspired by the innovators driving change.
Secure your spot and RSVP today!
SparkServ - www.sparkserv.com
SparkServ is a Fixed Ops solution that works to empower dealers to win back market share from quick lube stations and turn their BDCs into scalable, reliable profit centers. Spark helps BDCs create a strong outbound engine, increase demand, save time, and schedule more appointments, all while optimizing for repeat customer experiences.
McKenna Valley, the CEO and Founder of SparkServ will be in attendance.. Born into a family of automotive professionals, McKenna uses her background in B2B SaaS to bring innovative and integrated software solutions to auto dealerships. She has extensive experience in sales, go-to-market strategy, revenue operations, and venture capital, and is eager to bring her agile and data-driven approach into a historically underserved industry.
WarrCloud - warrcloud.com
“WarrCloud is the automotive industry’s first and only technology platform that uses AI to automate OEM warranty claims. Dealers can now smart-source their warranty processing to drive better performance, including an average 12% increase in warranty revenue, reduce the cost of claims processing by 50%, get claims submitted within 24 hours and improve OEM warranty key metrics.”
On behalf of WarrCloud, Jim Roche will be in attendance to provide an informative discussion. Jim Roche brings over 30 years of automotive fixed operations experience. Over the course of his career, Jim has visited over 2,000 dealerships, offering his expertise to create modern experiences that generate growth and profitability. Jim has published 2 acclaimed books on automotive fixed ops, Fast Lane (2018) and Fast Break (2020) which delve into how to improve customer loyalty and improve fixed ops profits by delivering a technology enhanced customer experience. Jim is currently Founder & Executive CEO of WarrCloud, the automotive industry’s first and only AI-based warranty automation platform.
Prior to WarrCloud, Jim was SVP of Marketing and Managed Services at Cox Auto’s Xtime where he created Xtime Spectrum, a cloud-based solution that integrates all customer service touch points across service marketing, scheduling, service lane and the service bay into an exceptional user experience. Spectrum is in use at over 7,500 dealerships and is endorsed by 29 automotive OEM’s. While at Xtime Jim also acted as the Cox Automotive Fixed Ops SME and published 2 books, numerous articles and performed public speaking on a range of fixed ops topics.
Previously, Jim was founder and Chief Executive Officer of AutoPoint, where he was the visionary and driving force behind the development of the industry’s first multichannel marketing platform, its adoption by hundreds of dealers and its subsequent acquisition by SRS; Solera acquired SRS in 2013.
Prior to AutoPoint, Jim was Senior Vice President of Operations at Newgen during the company’s rapid growth to over 5,000 dealerships and its 1999 IPO. While at Newgen, Jim oversaw the creation of the automotive industry’s first web-based on-demand marketing tool, Carabunga.com.
AutoTrainer AI - www.autotrainer.com
AutoTrainer is an AI co-pilot that guides managers through the F&I process, ensuring compliance and the highest PVR possible on every deal. Since launching six months ago, the company has been working with dozens of dealers and seeing an average PVR increase across its portfolio of $210.
The founder, Marty Hu, studied CS at Stanford and previously founded Predictive Edge, an AI company sold to Dropbox. He then founded Prodigy, an Automotive Digital Retail bought by Upstart for ~$100M in 2021. Upstart Auto Retail is now being used by thousands of rooftops today.
Customer Quote:
"AutoTrainer has been a game-changer for us, delivering lasting improvements in our F&I performance. The real-time coaching and roleplay training system have been instrumental in helping our team fine-tune their approach, improve efficiency, and ensure compliance. The sales training aspect has also been phenomenal, benefiting our entire team and driving consistent results. We've successfully increased our PVR by $529, pushing our average to $2,352." — Justin Miller, Finance Director, Billion Auto Group
In conclusion, Kevin Tynan, former senior automotive analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence who is now with Presidio, will give a little closing and his spin on the industry. Kevin joined Presidio in 2024. As director of research, he is responsible for market insights, content creation and client engagement focused on the U.S. franchised dealer network and automotive technologies segments.
With 25 years of investment research experience, Kevin began his career as an equity analyst at Argus Research, covering the global automotive, auto parts and auto retail industries. As a senior analyst, the “Financial Times/StarMine” ranked him the top stock picker for the automobile parts segment in 2007.
In 2009, Kevin became the Global Director of Automotive Research for Bloomberg Intelligence. During his tenure at Bloomberg, Kevin designed, built and maintained global automotive coverage for North America, Europe and Asia-based automakers. The unit became Bloomberg Intelligence as the coverage team expanded to put analyst teams on the ground in each region.
Kevin is a regular presenter on automotive and financial television, radio and podcasts. He is recurring public speaker at industry events and company teach-ins, as well as at many dealership state association conventions. He has provided keynote addresses for NADA state dealer associations and for many other automotive industry events.
Kevin graduated from Saint Anselm College with a BS in business economics and is a member of the college’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He received an MBA in finance from St. John’s University.
Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation shaping the future of our industry. We look forward to seeing you there!
