Longtime Auction Operator Joins Leading Management Firm

Dr. John Poteet has joined TPC Management Company as an industry associate and management advisor, where he will draw on his 30 years of experience as an auction operator to help auction clients improve their operations, and teach at Auction Academy.

Poteet’s efforts at TPC will focus on the firm’s advisory work with independent auction owners who are evaluating whether to sell their businesses and assisting them in preparing for sale. He also has served as a contributing presenter for many years at Auction Academy, a structured continuing education program for auction professionals.

“As an auction owner/operator himself having gone through the sale of his business, John has a keen understanding of and empathy for this critical process,” said Pierre Pons, TPC Management president, in a May 13 news release. 

Poteet's move to TPC is his second major accomplishment in less than year, following the National Auto Auction Association naming him as an Industry Pioneer on Sept. 26, 2023 for his inclusive and innovative leadership and outstanding service to the wholesale auto auction industry, his community, and the NAAA.

Remarketing Career Highlights

• 1989: Poteet began his auction career as the manager of finance and office operations at Newburgh Auto Auction.
• 1994-1996: He served as general manager at the Greater Group’s New Orleans Auto Auction, where, coincidentally, he reported to Pierre Pons who held an executive management position with the Greater Group.
• 2002: Poteet founded Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction, a greenfield operation that he owned and managed for 20 years.
• 2022: Poteet sold the auction to E-Block in 2022.
• 2023: Named NAAA Industry Pioneer at the NAAA World Remarketing Convention in Chicago.

Poteet holds a BSBA degree in finance from the University of Alabama at Huntsville, an EMBA from Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, and a PhD in organization and management from Capella University. He is an adjunct professor at Southeastern Louisiana University where he teaches in the EMBA program.

“TPC Management holds a unique position in the remarketing industry, and I am thrilled to be working with Pierre and his team,” Poteet said. “No other organization in the industry can do what TPC does, offering services that anyone, in any segment of the industry can benefit from: management training, management analysis, business development, strategic consulting, and planning for mergers, acquisitions or divestitures.”

He said he also looks forward to his expanded role at Auction Academy in training students and helping them advance in their careers by connecting them with remarketing industry experts. "I believe Auction Academy is one of the most valuable tools we have in the industry."

Since 1996, TPC Management Company has provided consulting and management recruiting services to a wide variety of companies within the automotive industry.

Originally posted on Automotive Fleet