ADESA Realigns Dealer Services Division

ADESA, a business unit of KAR Auction Services, has realigned its dealer services division. Keith Crerar will lead this division as vice president of dealer services. Crerar will report directly to Jason Ferreri, ADESA senior vice president of commercial sales.

“ADESA is committed to investing in the people and resources necessary to best support our dealer customers,” said Stéphane St-Hilaire, ADESA CEO and president. “This includes having the right people on board, people with proven track records in retail automotive. Keith has the experience, the perspective and the relationships to direct our dealer services division. In addition, aligning all of our company’s sales and service teams enables us to deliver more personalized solutions for the unique needs of our diverse customer base.”

Crerar will direct the company’s dealer sales and services division, totaling more than 300 employees. Key areas of focus include supporting dealers’ wholesale auction needs, providing business support, analytics and training, which includes ADESA’s entire suite of online products: at-auction, online sales as well as mobile applications.

“Keith was a natural fit for this position with his diverse industry knowledge and expertise in the dealer space,” said Ferreri. “I look forward to working with him as we further enhance the customer service experience—both in the auction lanes and online.”

Crerar brings an impressive track record in sales management to this new role. In 2009, he joined ADESA’s newly formed dealer sales and services corporate sales team as the central region dealer sales manager. When ADESA acquired OPENLANE, an online auction provider, in 2011, he assumed responsibility for the online field sales team and was then promoted to regional dealer sales director for both ADESA and OPENLANE.

Crerar was named executive director of dealer sales and auction e-business before being promoted to his current role. Prior to joining ADESA, Crerar spent nine years with high volume dealership groups in Ontario. He was recognized through Nissan’s Club Excellence as one of the top three sales managers in the country for five straight years.

New members of the dealer services team include regional dealer sales managers and regional online sales managers. Three familiar faces will remain part of dealer services: Steve Dudash will continue to serve as executive director of major dealer accounts, and Wendy Kirkwood will continue as director of dealer sales operations. Doug Hadden will continue as director of training. All will report directly to Crerar.

Eastern Region:

Kathy Hopkins, regional dealer sales manager—Hopkins is a proven sales leader, ranking among ADESA’s top-producing sales managers for the last six years. A 17-year ADESA employee, Hopkins is well-liked and respected in the industry. She is adept at identifying and solving customers’ business needs.

Joe Caruso, regional online sales manager—Caruso joins the dealer sales team from ADESA Concord, where he has served for more than five years as commercial account representative, operations, dealer sales and, currently, online sales.

Western Region:

Shayne Ridley, regional dealer sales manager—Ridley has been with ADESA and OPENLANE for nearly 10 years, both at the auctions and at the headquarters office. He brings vast experience in relationship-building, online sales, commercial sales and dealer sales to this new role.