DealerKnows Summer Camp 2023

DEALERKNOWS 2023 SUMMER CAMP

Check Out These Incredible Speakers

Hand-picked and trusted to train your team.

SPEAKERS

Keynote Speakers

Charlie Wollborg | Chief Troublemaker and Founding Partner | Curve Detroit

Charlie is a purveyor of attention. He helps growing brands stand out from the clutter. He opened the doors at Curve, a Marketing Strategy & Creative Design firm, after being thrown out of several well-respected ad agencies. He is the Curator of TEDx Detroit, and a former punk rock singer. 



Bo Pyskir | Chief Executive Officer | R-MOR

Bo Pyskir is CEO of R-MOR, a cybersecurity platform utilizing AI to discover holes in an enterprise’s security defenses. Bo has been awarded several mobile patents, and is a pioneer in today’s network infrastructure. He served ten years in the US Army, commanded a tank company in Germany, and is Airborne Ranger qualified.


Max Joseph | Senior Manager, Marketing Operations and DEI | Google

Max Joseph is a senior leader working on Google’s Inclusive Marketing efforts. He spent over 15 years in the advertising and tech industry, working with large brands in across Auto, CPG, Entertainment and more. Max holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor from Boston College.

April Holmes | Co-Founder & CEO | HeroHangout

April Holmes is a Paralympic Gold Medalist, world record holder, motivational speaker, best-selling author, and life coach. April has electrified audiences with messages of motivation, diversity, leadership, and marketing. Some of her clients include Deloitte, Disney, the Jordan Brand, Hartford Insurance, and BMW. 

SPEAKERS

Camp Lead Management and CRM

Bryan Armstrong | Camp Counselor | e-Commerce Director | Feel Good Auto Group

Bryan oversees four of the top-ranked volume VW dealerships across the US. His "Lateral Thinking" approach has led to him serving on several dealer advisory boards, and has made him a fixture at industry conferences and 20 Groups. As a true "car guy,” he constantly brings the focus to people and processes that ensure success.



Bill Playford | Camp Director | Vice President and Partner | DealerKnows

Bill is a fourth-generation auto worker, and is an early pioneer in both the digital retailing and big data space, with retail experience that spans the globe. Having worked at the dealership, manufacturer, and supplier level, Bill brings a unique perspective to help DealerKnows clients steadily improve results.



Joe Webb | Camp Director | President | DealerKnows

Joe Webb believes in the power of words. From retail to today, his focus is improving how dealers communicate and market to their consumers. While he spends most of his time blending the lines between entertainment and automotive education, he dedicates the rest to his love of movies and family. Hopefully not in that order.


What's a Camp Counselor?

SPEAKERS

Camp SEO

Eric Miltsch | Camp Counselor | Co-founder & Vice President of SEO | Dealer Teamwork 

Eric Miltsch is a successful automotive professional specializing in search, social, & mobile marketing strategies. As one of Dealer Teamwork’s Co-founders & VP of SEO, he supports the leadership efforts and leads the search engine optimization team.



Dane Saville | Trailblazer | Director of SEO | SearchLab

Dane Saville has built a career in the most nonlinear fashion one could. From the DoD to a 33-store automotive group to a national advertising agency, he finally established himself in automotive when he co-founded his first digital marketing agency. Now, he leads a team of 30 as the Director of SEO at SearchLab Digital.



Dave Spannhake | Trailmaster | Chief Executive Officer | Reunion Marketing

Dave Spannhake is the Founder and CEO of Reunion Marketing. Reunion works with hundreds of dealerships across the country, specializing in digital marketing technologies. Before founding Reunion in 2015, Dave was the Director of Marketing for a 33 store automotive group in Raleigh, North Carolina. 



SPEAKERS

Camp Social Media

Andrew Street | Camp Counselor | Chief Executive Officer | Dealer OMG

Andrew worked as a previous Facebook employee, founding Dealer OMG for the purpose of offering dealerships an opportunity to work with an advertiser that understands their goals and values, and offers solutions to any problem they may face in a dealership setting. 



Robin Wilson | Trailblazer and Trailmaster | Founder | SCP Agency

Robin Wilson is a successful entrepreneur, CEO & Founder of SCP Agency & Epic BDC. She has been serving the automotive community since 2013, offering Social Media and Call Center solutions. With a passion for Automotive and a drive to succeed, Robin has established herself as a leader and an ally.



Register today for DealerKnows Summer Camp 2023!

SPEAKERS

Camp Strategic Marketing

Beth Mach | Camp Counselor | President | Sage Properties

Beth brings over 20 years of brand-building solutions across categories including FinServ, Retail, CPG, Technology, Entertainment, QSR, and Automotive. Beth has worked with some of the biggest names in business including AmEx, LVMH, P&G, Applebee’s, JLR, Ford, Stellantis, General Motors, and TrueCar.



Micah Birkholz | Trailblazer | Director of Sales | VistaDash

Micah brings over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, and management to his role at VistaDash. With a strategic marketing focus, Micah helps business owners optimize their teams and technology using proven tactics. A lifelong learner, Micah approaches discussions with an open mind, eager to learn and educate others.

Ron Morrison | Trailmaster | Chief Executive Officer | PureInfluencer

CEO and founder of both technology, marketing, and ad-tech companies. Ron’s 29 years of leadership experience have continuously delivered profitable sales results, sustained incremental and recurring revenue, and long-term productive business development relationships in the automotive industry.

SPEAKERS

Camp Sales Management and Leadership

Tim Kintz | Camp Counselor | President | The Kintz Group

Tim is the author of Amazon bestsellers Frictionless and Fearless, and president of the Kintz Group, one of the automotive industry’s premier training companies. A graduate of the NADA Dealer Academy, Tim delivers hands-on training, coaching, and presentations across the world, teaching practical sales and leadership techniques.



Justin Parish | Trailblazer | Sales Manager | Jimmy Britt Chevrolet Buick GMC

Since 2008, Justin has held a variety of roles inside car dealerships. Having spent 20,000 hours in sales and 10,000 hours as a GSM, he’s made every mistake you can, and he’s still found a way to grow sales volume and profitability.


Steve Fucile | Trailmaster | General Sales Manager | Auto Source of Texas

Steve is a 30-year veteran of the automotive sales industry, with experience as a top sales producer, sales manager, general sales manager, and national sales trainer. He witnessed industry changes, adapted, and succeeded. Steve hosts the Steve Fucile show on YouTube, and is known for his coaching and mentoring skills.



Register today for DealerKnows Summer Camp 2023!

SPEAKERS

Camp Used Vehicle Acquisition

Jasen Rice | Camp Counselor | President | LotPop

Jasen began his career in retail in 1997, selling cars online, running award-winning internet departments, then being a GSM of an independent used car dealer. He founded LotPop in 2013, after 8 years of visiting thousands of dealers across the nation, while training used car inventory management with vAuto.

Tom Gregg Trailblazer | Founder and Chief Executive Officer | Vehicle Acquisition Network

At 16, Tom left Ohio for the Chicago suburbs and discovered his passion for the auto industry. Over two decades of experience in various roles such as porter, salesman, and every variable ops manager position, except GM. Tom's focus on used cars and technology has remained a constant passion.



Danny Zaslavsky | Trailmaster | Dealer Principal/Managing Partner | Country Hill Motors/VinCue

Danny Zaslavsky is General Manager of Country Hill Motors in Kansas City. Under this leadership, Country Hill Motors has grown and expanded averages over 200 units per month. Danny put his knowledge, passion, and entrepreneurial spirit to the test by investing in VinCue, where he now splits his time.



SPEAKERS

Camp Culture

Subi Ghosh | Camp Counselor | EVP of Strategic Partnerships | Stream Companies

Subi has spent the last 15+ years as an advocate for consumer experience and culture within dealerships. Her passion for the industry and drive to be a voice of change for dealers, aligns perfectly with her roles as EVP of Strategic Partnerships and Marketing at Stream Companies 

Ty Bullard | Trailblazer | Dealer Principal | Joe Bullard Automotive

After graduating from Ole Miss, Ty returned to his family’s dealership in Mobile, Alabama. As the 3rd generation dealer principal, Ty has successfully created a nurturing environment for his team to thrive. As Ty has continued to expand from luxury to domestic dealerships, the exceptional experience is driven by his entire team.  



Stephen Moore | Trailmaster | Chief Executive Officer | Culture Booster

Stephen is the CEO of the employee experience software company Culture Booster, which he claims is the best job on the planet. He is an entrepreneur who spent 17+ years in retail automotive doing everything from sales management to consultancy work focused on leadership development and employee engagement.




SPEAKERS

Camp Customer Retention

Megan Barto | Camp Counselor and Trailblazer | Performance Manager | VinSolutions

Megan Barto spent 10+ years in a dealership as an award-winning BDC Manager and Finance Director. During her career, she has spoken at multiple conferences across the country. For the past 6 years, she has been a Performance Manager for VinSolutions advising dealers on strategy and best practices.


Randell Horn | Trailmaster | Director of Sales - CXM | AutoAlert

Over the past 21 years, Randell has helped dealerships leverage technology to identify and act upon the right customer with the right message, at the right time. Randell helped build teams for companies like VinSolutions, Conversica, AutoFi, AutoAlert, and more, developing and utilizing data to power the retention process.  



SPEAKERS

Camp Operational Strategy

Michael Speigl | Camp Counselor | Dealer Principal | Toyota & Subaru of Ann Arbor

Over the last 20 years, Michael went from the sales floor to owning two dealerships near his beloved alma mater. When Michael is not inspiring his team, he's leading in the classroom as an adjunct professor at Michigan's Ross School of Business, supporting educational causes, and spending quality time with his family.

Jim Nelson | Trailblazer | Director - IT Dealer Operations | Camping World

Jim went from 14 years in retail automotive to joining VinSolutions while it was just a startup company. Jim led the operations team as it scaled from 100 dealerships to over 2,200 dealerships before being acquired by AutoTrader. Jim took those lessons learned to a former client, Camping World, to modernize its efforts.


Tim Hommer | Trailmaster | Senior Consultant | Tim Hommer Automotive Consulting Group

Tim has spent over 30 years in automotive, holding multiple roles throughout, including IT, HR, GM, CFO, and CEO. Tim’s experiences have prepared him for multiple and diverse challenges, culminating as a dealership consultant for NADA. Tim now runs a successful dealership operations consulting company. 



SPEAKERS

Camp Digital Retailing

Kerri Wise | Counselor | Chief Marketing Officer | AutoFi

Kerri Wise is the Chief Marketing Officer for AutoFi, a leading digital commerce platform. Her career spans 24 years in automotive and in 2020 she was recognized among the Automotive News Top 100 Leading Women in North America. Prior to AutoFi, she worked at TrueCar, Edmunds, and J.D. Power.

Bill Playford | Trailblazer | Vice President and Partner | DealerKnows

Long before speaking at a summer camp, Bill was part of the dot.com boom that started it all. From offering national delivery from a tiny dealership to building the e-commerce prototype for a publicly-traded auto group, to the first international OEM direct-to-consumer purchase, Bill used process to replace technology. You can too. 


Pete MacInnis | Trailmaster | Founder and Chief Executive Officer | eLEND Solutions

Pete brings over 40 years of experience in automotive finance and technology to his role as Founder and CEO of eLEND Solutions. Founded in 2003 as DealerCentric, eLEND Solutions is a privately held automotive FinTech company focused on deal generation solutions for the retail automotive industry.



SPEAKERS

Camp Video

Dave Hudson | Counselor | Executive Producer D. Hudson Productions

After growing up in an automotive family, Dave opened D. Hudson Productions 25 years ago, and has since spent a good portion of his career in the automotive. Dave's range includes producing commercials, speaking at events, training teams on smartphone video-making, and even being a spokesman for several dealerships. 



Tim Bartz | Trailblazer | Internet Manager | Long McArthur Ford

Tim has been the Internet Manager at Long McArthur Ford in Salina, Kansas for 22 years. Tim creates video content that generates 20+ sales a month strictly from YouTube and 30% of their monthly sales are shipped to states outside of Kansas. 

Jason Harris | Trailmaster | Chief Executive Officer | Digital Dealership Solutions

Drawing on almost two decades of experience in the automotive industry, Jason Harris has established himself as a determined marketing and operations strategist. With experience across every facet of the automotive industry, he offers a positive common-sense approach to stimulating dealership potential and profit.  



SPEAKERS

Camp Merchandising

Timmy James | Counselor | Chief Operating Officer | Flick Fusion

Over the past 20 years, Timmy has led the sales, marketing, and product strategies of some of the automotive industry's fastest-growing companies. An author over 500+ articles for industry publications, Timmy has been featured on several webinar training panels, and is a popular speaker at the top automotive conferences.




Steve Southin | Trailblazer | Founder and Co-CEO | PAVE.AI

Steve brings 25+ years of automotive retail and wholesale experience, offering in-depth expertise on vehicle valuation and technology. Steve is a serial entrepreneur, having launched and sold two retail-focused tech companies over the past 15 years. He wants to inspire that thinking in the next generation of automotive.



Ryan Leslie | Trailmaster | Director Major Dealer Groups | Impel

With nearly 20 years of experience in digital merchandising and customer solutions for companies including Vroom, CarStory, automotiveMastermind, DealerRater, cars.com, and more, Ryan is a skilled industry veteran. Ryan embodies a zest for the automotive industry, dedication to family, and a love for motorcycles.




SPEAKERS

Camp Reputation Management

Eliana Raggio | Counselor | Chief Marketing Officer | Dealer eProcess

Eliana Raggio is a 15-year automotive industry veteran nicknamed the “Webinar Goddess” and “The Voice of Automotive” and is widely known for her expert moderation on thought leadership and educational broadcasts. Eliana is a board member of Women in Automotive, a US Navy Veteran, and a carb and sugar enthusiast.



Jamie Oldershaw | Trailblazer | Vice President and GM | DealerRater, a Cars.com Company

Jamie been involved with DealerRater since 2002, the it was founded. He moved from a career in finance into a full-time role at DealerRater in 2010, to help its growth strategy. Jamie became GM of DealerRater and Vice President of Reputation Strategy after DealerRater was acquired by Cars.com in 2016.



Lori Berkson | Trailmaster | Strategic Director of Sales - Automotive | Reputation.com

Lori brings more than 30 years of automotive experience with dealerships and dealer groups. She has sold everything from CRM, data mining, websites, to reputation management. She has been director-level in her last three positions. She has been managing successful teams for the last 10+ years. 



John Barth | Trailmaster | Sr Account Executive, Automotive | Reputation.com

John is a Camarican (Canadian + American citizen) with 29 years in Auto Industry. After spending 14 years in dealership sales as A "lot lizard," F&I manager, Internet director, and general sales manager, John moved on to the vendor world. He's been with Reputation.com for the last 6.5 years. 



SPEAKERS

Camp SHOT 

(Selection, Hiring, Orientation, and Training)

Katie Mares | Counselor | Chief Inspiration Officer | Katie Mares Consulting

Katie has inspired audiences around the world to think differently about the female consumer and customer.  When she is not traveling around the world consulting and speaking, she can be found on a yoga mat, in a shoe store, or snuggled on the couch eating homemade popcorn and watching a movie with her three little ones




Joe Webb | Trailblazer | President | DealerKnows

As President of DealerKnows, Joe transforms companies’ communication with their customers through training, CRM refreshes, and the TaskTeacher accountability software. Joe has been called "the funniest guy in the car business" and passionately speaks, mentors, and consults internationally across multiple industries.


Sandy Zannino | Trailmaster | Founder | Innovative Auto HR

With 25 years in the automotive, Sandy is passionate about compliance, training, and people processes. Sandy holds SPHR & SHRM-SCP certifications, ADCO’s Dealership Compliance Officer certification, and is a certified Diversity, Equity & Inclusion practitioner through the People Company’s Inclusion Institute.  




SPEAKERS

Camp DORK

(Data Organization, Research, and Knowledge)

Jonathan Thompson | Counselor | Founder and CEO | Automotive Marketing Gurus

Jonathan brings over 20 years of experience in the industry, and is known for his results-driven and streamlined approach to automotive marketing. Jonathan is passionate about helping individuals and businesses succeed in achieving goals through technology, experienced professionals, and proven processes.



Eric Schlesinger | Trailblazer | Chief Revenue Officer | ActivEngage

Eric serves as Chief Revenue Officer at ActivEngage. For over 12 years, he has helped to cultivate successful business relationships with 27 of the 36 North American manufacturers, 6 of the top 10 auto dealer groups, and partnerships with many leading automotive technology companies.



Dr. Motoi Namihira | Trailmaster | Vice President, Executive Insights | US Bank

Motoi began his career pursuing the noblest of goals, to understand how the world worked at a fundamental level as a physicist. However, that dream quickly died. He now works for a bank doing very “important” things, and definitely not just for the money. He holds several advanced degrees, including a PhD in mathematics. 


ADDITIONAL GUESTS

Specials

Linda Webb | Mindfulness Coach | Board Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner | Amani Mind

Linda was a healthcare executive with 19 years experience in chronic disease detection/prevention in health systems. After being inspired from resolving her own health issues, Linda became practitioner of Ayurvedic medicine. Here goal is to bring awareness and balance to empower others, as well as improve their wellbeing. 




Why Camp Counselors?

Everyone at camp needs someone to look up to. Some have participated in more than one rodeo, know the shortcuts, have walked the path a thousand times, and understand how it all fits together. That person is the camp counselor.


At the DealerKnows Summer Camp, we wanted to provide each participant with a guide that can help them navigate the learning material while offering sage advice in their area of expertise. These leaders, many of who have decades of cross-functional experience in automotive, are conference speakers in their own right. Most of them are founders and executives with the pedigree and bonafides to help cut through any potential noise. Simply put, they are trusted resources that Joe and Bill have counted on for years. They will work in lockstep with the speakers to ensure that every camper can fully understand the material. They will also serve as your team captain.


Yes,
Team Captain

The DealerKnows Summer Camp isn’t just about learning. It’s about comradery, having fun with your peers, and building a network to last your whole career. Your team captain may lead you in archery, tug of war, canoeing, kickball, and more. If sports isn’t your gig, there will be other fun activities. Camp is about getting dirty, and they’ll be right in the mud with you. Your team captains will have your back during camp and for many years to come (just be nice to them).


During the last learning sessions of camp, your counselor will give their own presentation incorporating the material that was shared by the speakers. More importantly, they will help you create an action plan to bring back to your dealership that puts your time learning in camp into motion. While DealerKnows want you to have a lot of fun, we want to ensure every camper gets a payoff from the time, energy, and financial resources they dedicate to camp. We hope this plants the seed of learning for many years to come.    


The camp counselor is one of the many ways DealerKnows wants to turn learning on its ear. Mentors are extremely hard to come by in retail automotive, so it’s yet another problem that DealerKnows is trying to solve. We want to do our part to minimize the culture of dictatorship, selfishness, and ego that has prevented many good people from flourishing in one of the most generous businesses still around. We want to continue fostering a spirit of teamwork with a leader who has participated in all the rodeos knows all the shortcuts, has walked the path a thousand times, and understands how it all fits together. That person will be your counselor. 


Reason #4 To Buy Your Tickets

I mean... did you NOT see the insane list of professionals above? 

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