The International Automotive Remarketers Alliance (IARA) held its 2015 Summer Roundtable event August 18-19 At the Hilton Fort Worth in Texas. There were more than 200 registrations for this year’s conference. 

Highlights of this year’s event included the naming of a new Alliance president, Special Recognition award presentation, lively and educational roundtables, and a rodeo-themed event held at “Billy Bob’s Texas,” located in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards.

According to Scott Kolb, Education Committee Chair, “This year’s Roundtable featured a strong gathering of world-class remarketing, auction, and allied service professionals, sponsors, speakers, and guests sharing best practices, networking, and delivering solutions to drive our industry forward. We had another record attendance with engaging content and widespread participation.”

Mike Pitcher, president and CEO of LeasePlan USA, was the Roundtable’s opening day keynote speaker discussing driver distraction. His keynote was met with rave reviews by attendees.

Jeannie Chiaromonte, VP and national remarketing manager for Bank of America, was named president of the International Automotive Remarketers Alliance (IARA). She is the first woman president of the Alliance, and has been involved with the group for several years. Chiaromonte succeeds Levi McCoy, director of remarketing at LeasePlan USA, who was named President of the Alliance in 2013.

Dave Langley, one of the founders and first president of the IARA, and VP of Operations at the Auto Financial Group in Dallas, was awarded the Special Recognition Award. The Special Recognition Award recognizes an individual’s one-time outstanding contributions to the remarketing industry, or to his or her community.

During his time as President, Langley served as the national remarketing manager at Honda Financial Services (from 1993 to 2007), and earlier was national sales operations manager at Volkswagen of America (from 1974 to 1992).

In 2001, while at Honda Financial Services, Langley pulled together a core group of remarketers after the ADT Automotive Auction Client Advisory Board meetings were set to be cancelled. After meeting with colleagues and helping organize the fledgling organization, Langley became the first president of the Alliance. 

Langley once stated, “I consider taking the IARA from idea to reality among one of my greatest accomplishments.”

Additionally, the Central Data Repository project announced its recent developments. This was announced in the Standards Committee meeting, which was chaired by Dan Heinrich, SVP, remarketing solutions at GM Financial, and Tim Meta, national remarketing manager at Fifth Third Bank.

"The IARA Standards Committee had earlier issued a white paper that supports a new 'technology tool' that has since been developed in the private sector, and it is very close to completion," said Tony Long, executive director for the IARA.

The August 18, Tuesday night evening event was held at Billy Bob’s Texas, which featured a barbecue dinner, mechanical bull riding (including new-installed IARA President Chiaromonte and Education Committee chair Scott Kolb), and a rodeo. The building now known as Billy Bob’s Texas was built in 1910 and was once an open-air barn used to house prize cattle for the Fort Worth Stock Show. Today, it features 100,000 square-feet of interior space for its live entertainment and events. 

The next IARA event will be held March 16, co-located with the Conference of Automotive Remarketing (CAR) at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. For more information, visit www.carconference.com.

Additionally, the 2016 IARA Summer Roundtable will be held in Toronto, celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Alliance. The IARA advises prospective attendees that a valid passport will be required to travel to the Summer Roundtable in Toronto.

About the IARA

It is the mission of the IARA to assist, educate, and share knowledge with one another and our industry partners, so that each member may be empowered to achieve the fullest efficiency and most continued improvement attainable in the commerce of selling vehicles through the marketplace. For more information, visit www.iaraonline.org.