Representatives from the
following car buying referral services will be present for a panel discussion:
| AutoConnect |
Chip
Perry, CEO |
| Autoweb.com |
Payam
Zamani, CEO |
| cars.com |
Greg
Stuart, Vice-President of Marketing |
| dealernet.com,
The Cobalt Group |
John
Holt, co-CEO and co-Founder |
| Microsoft
CarPoint |
Alex
Simons, Product Manager, CarPoint, Microsoft Corp. |
| Trader Online |
Peter
Ill, Vice President and General Manager |
| Stoneage |
Andy
Wolfe, Co-Founder |
GREG STUART
Vice President, Director of Marketing
cars. com
Greg Stuart is vice president, director of
marketing for cars.com where he is responsible for overall brand strategies, and programs
for the cars.com national brand and its services.
He joined the business after nearly a decade of experience in the developing
interactive media industry. Previously, he was the principal of @webrite, inc., a New
York-based marketing management consulting firm for web businesses. @webrite's client list
boasts AOL's Greenhouse Networks, American Express, Dentsu Advertising (Tokyo), Infoseek,
Impulse Buy Network, Interactive Imaginations, Sears and Sony Online Ventures, among
others.
Greg started his interactive career as senior vice president, director of the
interactive marketing division at Young & Rubicam's Wunderman Cato Johnson Agency in
New York, the world's largest direct marketing advertising agency. The clients he guided
into the interactive age included Apple Computer, AT&T, American Express, The United
States Postal Service, Kraft General Foods, Viacom's Showtime, Lucent Technologies
(formerly Bell Labs) and others.
Greg is a long-standing industry leader, having served as chairman of the Agency &
Marketers Relations Committee from 1996 to 1998 for the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB),
an industry coalition promoting advertising on the Internet and as chairman of the
Interactive Television Council for the Interactive Services Association, the oldest of all
interactive associations. Greg was a Charter Member of the New York New Media Association
(NYNMA), which has since become New York's most influential new media association.
He also has served leading industry associations in every facet of marketing and
interactive business, including the AAAA's (American Association of Advertising Agencies)
New Technologies Committee, the Internet Society, the Direct Marketing Association and the
Chicago Interactive Marketing Association.
Greg teaches graduate studies at New York University (NYU) in the emerging area of
direct marketing on the Internet. He is quoted frequently in national trade media
regarding advertising and marketing issues in the interactive marketplace, and has been a
featured speaker in the U.S. and internationally at dozens of Internet and interactive
marketing conferences.
Prior to his interactive experience, Greg spent almost a decade with various New York
advertising agencies; developing both general advertising and direct marketing campaigns
for major marketers, including Procter & Gamble, AT&T, Quaker Oats, Frito-Lay,
Panasonic and Dun & Bradstreet.
Greg received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Washington,
Seattle in 1983.
Cars.com's mission is to become the premier resource for automotive information and the
destination consumers turn to when making one of life' s biggest decisions - buying a car.
Located on the Internet at www.cars.com. cars.com provides consumers with trusted auto
information and an extensive inventory of new and used vehicles from more than 140 major
daily U.S. newspapers.
Peter Ill
General Manager of Trader Online
Trader Publishing Company
After graduating with a BA from Princeton
University, Peter served seven years in the US Navy as an F-14 pilot. His tours of duty
included cruises to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean and instructing in the F-14
Replacement Air Group. Peter spent his first year at Landmark Communications in the New
Venture's division before moving on to The Weather Channel. There, Peter oversaw local
weather software and hardware development projects before becoming its Director of
Electronic Services. In that role he was responsible for the development, launch and
marketing of audiotext, online, Internet and video-ondemand weather applications. Peter
next served as Vice President of Affiliate services for Infinet, and equal equity
partnership of Gannett, Knight-Ridder, and Landmark Communications. Infinet puts
newspapers on the Internet, providing content, classified and database solutions. It now
counts over 130 newspapers among its base, including many major metro papers. Peter joined
Trader Publishing Company in February of this year as Vice President and General Manager
of Trader Online.
John Holt
Automotive Sales & co-CEO and co-Founder
The Cobalt Group
John Holt is both co-CEO and co-founder of The
Cobalt Group, an Internet marketing company providing online solutions for automotive
retailers. Under his guidance, Cobalt has experienced dynamic growth since its inception
in 1995 - from six employees and $250,000 in revenue to more than ! 50 employees and $6
million in revenue in just four years. Mr. Holt speaks regularly at industry events on how
the Internet is reshaping the automotive retail market.
Prior to founding Cobalt, Mr. Holt developed an affiliate label publishing program for
IVI Publishing, a multi-media publishing company and served as Vice President, Growth and
Development at Oceantrawl, Inc., one of the world's largest seafood processing companies.
He also served as Associate Director of The Campaign For Bowdoin, a successful
multi-million dollar capital campaign for Bowdoin College in Maine.
Mr. Holt has a Master's Degree from The Yale School of Organization and Management, and
a B.A. from Bowdoin College.
CHIP PERRY
President and CEO
autoconnect.com
In August 1997, Chip Perry was named president and chief executive officer and is
responsible for overseeing the joint venture between Manheim and ADP. Prior to joining
AutoConnect, Perry was vice president of corporate development for the Times Mirror
Company and vice president of new business development at The Los Angeles Times. At the
latter, he was responsible for the initial planning, launch and ongoing operations of a
family of electronic information services, including TimesLink, one of the first major
newspaper online services. Earlier in his career, Perry was director of strategic planning
for the Times Mirror Company and a consultant at McKinsey & Company.
ALEX SIMONS
Product Manager, CarPoint
Microsoft Corp.
Alex Simons is the Group Product Manager of Microsoft CarPoint, the most visited
auto-buying Web site and ranked among the top 30 Internet shopping sites according to
Media Metrix. As product manager, he is responsible for setting product and business
strategy and managing CarPoint's product planning and business development team.
Prior to joining the CarPoint business unit, Simons played a key role in launching
Microsoft's leading consumer software programs including Microsoft Encarta, Microsoft Golf
and Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Simons joined Microsoft in 1993 after working as a software design engineer for the
federal government at Los Alamos National Laboratories. Simons graduated from the Wharton
School at the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Marketing and Strategic Management.
Andy Wolfe
Stoneage Corporation
Graduated from Michigan State University
Business School in June of 1985. Upon leaving college, Andy went to work in his family
business as Vice President of Harvey Wolfe Co, Inc. Harvey Wolfe Co became one of the
largest Advertising Agencies in Michigan specializing in the placement of billboards
throughout the Mid-West for the automotive industry. Revenues grew from $700,000 in 1985
to $3.4 million in 1996.
In 1996 Andy Co-founded Stoneage Corporation. Stoneage was established to make the car
buying process easier and more efficient for both the consumer and dealerships. With
Stoneage and the Internet, car dealers have seen their marketing and per sale cost drop
dramatically compared to traditional advertising. With over 200,000 cars online and a
network of 750 dealers and growing, Stoneage is poised to lead consumers and the auto
industry into the 21st Century!
Payam Zamani
Co-Founder and Executive Vice President
Autoweb.com
An energetic speaker who typifies the Digital
Age American success story, Mr. Zamani is a favorite among conference attendees for his
discussions on e-commerce and strategies for building a strong leadership position on the
World Wide Web. Zamani is often cited in leading publications such as Business Week,
Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily and many others for his strategic
insight into the world of online automotive retailing.
As co-founder and executive vice president of Autoweb.com, Payam Zamani is responsible
for day-to-day operations and overall strategic planning and direction for the company.
Additionally, Mr. Zamani directs promotional and advertising programs designed to acquire
new customers and dealers, and strengthen Autoweb.com's website traffic.
Founded in November 1994, Autoweb.com is the leading online brand for new and used
cars, where informed, motivated buyers are put in touch with an exclusive network of the
highest ranking dealers in the U.S. and Canada. Mr. Zamani's contributions have helped the
company to establish a strong leadership position in online automotive retailing and
electronic commerce. Autoweb.com's site now has more than 15 million visits and processes
more than 100,000 purchase requests per month. |