IARA Executive Director Resigns Longtime Post

International Automotive Remarketers Alliance executive director Tony Long will resign his position on May 5 after about 10 years in the role, IARA President Jeff Bescher announced May 1 in a news release.

The IARA leadership is working on a strategic plan to fill the vacated executive director role, the IARA said. Long was only the third director in the history of the IARA, which was formed in 2001 to represent the business interests of vehicle consignors that includes many of the major fleet management companies, OEMs, rental car companies, vehicle leasing companies, and an array of credit, captive finance, and banking institutions that handle remarketed vehicles.

Neither the IARA or Long could publicly offer further details or comments on the executive changes. During Long's tenure, the IARA saw substantial increases in membership, revenue, educational and professional offerings, and overal prestige as the IARA has grown among consignors and many related remarketing industry sectors, including auctions, dealers, auto transport providers, technology vendors, and many related industry services.

“We thank Tony for his many contributions to the organization and his overall commitment to the automotive industry,” Bescher said in the news release.  “Since becoming the third executive director of IARA nearly 10 years ago, Tony has helped drive the IARA’s growth and membership, overseen the implementation of our industry-leading CAR (Certified Auto Remarketer) and ACT (Audit and Compliance Training)  training programs, and has been a significant part of making our annual Summer Roundtable meetings an industry standard.

“We are grateful for Tony’s dedication to the mission of IARA and his many contributions to our success, and we wish him well as he navigates his next opportunities in a long and successful remarketing career.” Bescher added.

Bescher noted that in addition to being the executive director of IARA for nearly 10 years, Tony is a past president of the National Auto Auction Association (NAAA), former president and fellow of the NAAA Warren Young Scholastic Foundation, and he received the highest award given to non-dealers when he was inducted into the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association (NIADA) “Ring of Honor” in 2021.

As the IARA Executive Committee seeks a successor to Long to run the the day-to-day operations of the IARA, IARA administrator Nikki Jones-Wenger will continue to be a point of contact for members and others during the transition.