From the editor: Women continue to fill prominent automotive executive roles, which is awesome

Probably not several persons would dispute the issue that Cox Automotive has broad of amount of sources. Any one who walked via the expo corridor at NADA Show 2022 could literally see that with their have eyes.

As a final result of individuals methods, we listed here at Cherokee Media Group acquire various messages frequently from the Cox Automotive loved ones irrespective of whether it is the most current figures involving qualified pre-owned profits, wholesale selling prices or credit availability.

When yet another of individuals messages arrived late this 7 days, a component of it right away caught my awareness. The news launch declared that Cox Automotive Retail Answers made a number of important adjustments to its management team.

And all five executives outlined in the announcement were being ladies.

To mimic longtime sporting activities broadcaster Tim Brando, “How about that?!”

According to that information launch, Cox Automotive Retail Answers president Lori Wittman stated amongst the alterations, Mandi Fang became the new senior vice president of customer functions and Tracy Noonan Fred became the new senior vice president of dealer alternatives. Both will now report right to Wittman.

Signing up for Wittman’s crew is Cheryl Miller, who will carry on in her position as vice president of lender remedies. Jessica Stafford continues to report to Wittman in her job as SVP of client solutions but will now guide the put together customer advertising ability of Dealer.com, Autotrader, and Kelley Blue Ebook inside Cox Automotive’s Retail group.

“With these promotions and alignments, Cox Automotive Retail Answers is poised to direct our purchasers confidently into this new period of automotive retailing,” Wittman claimed in the news release. “This management team’s expertise, willpower, and passion will gasoline the transformation of the automotive business and travel increased accomplishment for our consumers and associates.”

Definitely, this new period of automotive retailing features the technological know-how these 5 women oversee for Cox Automotive. But it is also a new era for what it’s like at least at dealerships. In a lot of suppliers, prolonged long gone are the stereotypes in the spotlight of these dealer commercials from a decade ago wherever the advertisement hook was “Tired of finding badgered?”

In just one of the places, the badger — characterized to be a chauvinistic male salesperson down to the plaid activity coat — quips to the prospective purchaser who was feminine, “there’s the rearview mirror exactly where you can put on your make-up!”

Ahead-imagining dealerships and large companies these kinds of as Cox Automotive unquestionably are not the only industry retailers lifting females to their well-deserved location in management. Celebrating that progress is aspect of the purpose why we Cherokee Media Team developed some of the awards programs we have orchestrated for numerous years now. They contain Girls in Remarketing, Gals in Retail, Females in Auto Finance and new this calendar year, Women of all ages in Collections and Recoveries.

All the newest honorees will be celebrated in the course of Utilised Car 7 days, which begins Nov. 14 in San Diego. Possibly you can make the trip to lovely southern California through the week prior to Thanksgiving to fulfill them in man or woman and listen to their tales about how they flourished to their respective positions.

In that most recent news release from Cox Automotive, what Wittman explained about her govt crew rings accurate about a host of gals in automotive leadership now.

“These women of all ages were purposefully chosen for their impressive thoughts and inclusive methods of motivating their groups to achieve goals, streamline processes and leverage technologies to build a regular, seamless consumer practical experience,” Wittman claimed.

Nick Zulovich is senior editor with Cherokee Media Team and can be arrived at at [email protected].