Since Day 1 we have built our company to help dealer partners win (and keep winning) by focusing our team on product development and support. That’s why, to this day, we only have 20 salespeople compared to over 600 developers, performance managers, digital marketing specialists, and support staff serving our partners every day. Our Leadership Team takes the most pride in setting a new standard for dealer satisfaction, and we continue to raise that bar every month.
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*DI Support Satisfaction Surveys (July 2020)
Yep, this is them. Not the most photogenic group, but their experience, skills, and leadership qualities are what drives our team to disrupt the norm every day.
CEO, Co-Founder
Joe Chura began his career on the Ford assembly line at age 20, reading his college textbooks seconds at a time in between building cars. Over the next decade Joe gained experience at many different levels in the automotive industry — including Ford Marketing and Sales, dealership General Manager, and BDC Manager. With a passion for both computer programming and selling cars, Joe co-founded Dealer Inspire (DI) to build new solutions to help dealers win. In a few short years, Dealer Inspire has grown to 600 employees serving over 3,000 clients and 27 OEM brands with game-changing innovation. Joe is also committed to community service by serving on the board of local Naperville, IL charities, including Turning Pointe Autism Foundation, One for the Kids, and Loaves and Fishes. He has three children, a very understanding wife, and a crazy dog named Harley.
Chief Operating Officer
Greg joined our team from Cars.com, where he served as the VP of Strategy and Business Development. Greg earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 1998, and continuously developed his expertise in creating online advertising, marketing, and targeted business strategies designed to strengthen partnerships and success. A passionate leader who thrives on building teams and developing talent, Greg has proven to be a manager that inspires those around him.
Chief Technology Officer
Derrick brings deep experience in building best-in-class engineering organizations and scaling technology businesses. He joins DI with 20+ years of success in leading start-ups and top-tier, fast-growing, real-time and highly scalable environments — ranging from Microsoft, Travelport, McAfee, Reuters, IBM, and Varolii. Derrick has led many digital transformations as well as an organization of 250+ staff globally distributed.
Derrick attained his BS in Computer Science from the University of Washington as well as his MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. In addition to work, Derrick enjoys tennis, hiking, and traveling with his wife and their two teenager sons.
Chief Revenue Officer
Darren joins DI from Cars.com, bringing 20+ years of automotive experience from vendor, OEM, and dealer levels. His time spent working with the Chrysler Corporation, numerous auto groups, and Dealer.com shaped him into an industry leader, pushing for continuous progress in the digital marketplace. An avid speaker at automotive events across North America, Darren passionately advocates for innovation and real-world solutions in the automotive industry, aiming to enhance experiences for dealers and customers alike. Outside of the office he loves to run, golf, and spend time with his four children.
Chief Product Officer
Dan began working at Launch Digital Marketing in 2011 and oversaw the creation of the Graphic Design department. Bringing with him a passion for art and design, Dan bettered his craft by delving into the latest theories on conversion rate optimization and design for the web. His skill set has continued to grow since Dealer Inspire was created, as he has been instrumental in the intuitive UI/UX design of the platform. Dan now leads the Front End Development team, stressing innovation, reliability, and flexibility to his team while meeting the rapidly increasing demand for their product.
VP, OEM Operations
Jill leads a team dedicated to Dealer Inspire’s OEM accounts, ensuring reliability, compliance, responsiveness, and innovative results. With an MBA from DePaul, a computer science degree from North Central College, and 13 years of experience providing custom eCommerce solutions in the trucking segment of the automotive industry, Jill has quickly helped to establish a high standard of excellence for our OEM websites.
VP, Client Services
Bob brings extensive client service and account management knowledge to Dealer Inspire. With leadership experience ranging from automotive digital marketing to healthcare software, Bob has led service teams as small as regional start-ups to publicly held multinational institutions. After 10 years at GE Healthcare working with some of the largest hospitals in eastern USA, Bob took his skill of leading high performing teams to Dealer.com. There, he coupled service excellence and innovation to exceed the digital marketing needs of the nation’s largest automotive groups. Outside of the office, Bob likes to ski, golf, and spend time with his wife and two sons.
VP, Product Engineering
Kerry leads a dynamic team of passionate directors and developers focused on delivering the most innovative solutions for our customers’ needs. She graduated from Florida State University with a BS in Information Technology, and brings over 10 years of development experience to the DI Team. Database turned software developer, she is able to blend her passion for data integrity and development together. Outside of work, she enjoys restoring her 100+ year historic home and spending time with her husband, 2 kids, and lazy pit bull.
VP, Production
Wes began his digital marketing career 15 years ago launching multiple e-commerce initiatives within bootstrapping startups and Fortune 500 environments. As a former all-american baseball catcher, he has a burning competitive spirit to help our dealers win and a unique ability to coach our teams. Wes is able to drive operational excellence and tremendous growth by removing obstacles and creating spaces that allow our team to thrive. Starting at Dealer Inspire as an OEM Program Director, Wes now uses that expertise to identify strategic efficiencies for dealers and OEM partners alike. In his free time he enjoys all things competitive and relaxing with family and friends — but chances are he is at a softball field watching his daughter play.
Sr. Director, Website Development
Jenae’s passion for development started at North Central College where she majored in Interactive Media Studies and minored in Computer Science. Starting out with basic HTML emails, her development skills have progressed into beautiful responsive websites. She strives every day to be innovative and up-to-date with new web trends. Jenae’s goal is to continue helping Dealer Inspire create an unprecedented platform for its clients while also working to grow a team of knowledgeable developers that continues to exceed goals.
Sr. Director, Website Fulfillment
DeAnna began working at Dealer Inspire in 2011, assisting in the ongoing maintenance of dealer websites throughout our humbling beginnings. As the company grew, so did her passion for developing a team of dedicated, talented individuals who are eager to learn and grow their skills. What began as a team of one grew to 35+ team members that provide our partners with beautiful, user-friendly websites and dedicated support that continue to meet and exceed their needs. Outside of work, DeAnna loves devouring books, walking the dog, and spending time with her family.
Sr. Sales Director, Major Accounts
Ron leads Enterprise Partnerships and Client Strategy at Dealer Inspire with some of the largest auto groups in the US. He has spent his entire career in automotive, bringing a millennials perspective to both the marketing and retail side of dealership operations. What started as an opportunity to help a Ford dealership manage their website and digital footprint, grew into overseeing all Marketing and eCommerce operations for multiple dealer groups in the midwest. Ron joined Dealer Inspire in 2016 to share his hands-on industry expertise and passion for helping automotive retailers future proof operations and enhance their digital marketing efforts. Outside of work, Ron manages a wine blog with his wife and enjoys golfing, traveling, and chasing around their dog, Rogue, who lives up to her name.
Sr. Director, Managed Services
Elizabeth Hern heads our Managed Services business, providing strategic marketing services to help grow our clients’ businesses. She joined Dealer Inspire with broad experience in digital marketing, strategy, communications and leadership across the automotive, travel and payments industries. Elizabeth has a track record of leading service teams through tremendous growth and evolution to become both top performing and industry leading, both at American Express and at Dealer.com. She lives with her husband in Vermont (which they love), and spends a lot of time in NYC, mostly going to the theatre and visiting their daughters (which they love even more).
Director of Client Services, West
A former Pit Master and Runway Model, Val joined Dealer Inspire in 2016 with a wide range of skills after helping to turn a local BBQ joint into a successful franchise. With a passion for growing businesses through people and process, she now brings that marketing and business development expertise to dealers at scale by leading a dedicated team of Performance Managers. Val focuses her energy on maintaining Dealer Inspire’s best-in-class dealer satisfaction by accelerating the speed and continuously improving the quality of the work our team delivers day-to-day. In her free time, she enjoys photography, rock climbing, and running.
Director of Client Services, East
Eric founded a marketing and sales company in Cincinnati, Ohio where he found his passion for both digital marketing and helping others reach their goals. After joining Dealer Inspire in 2014 as an Account Manager, Eric not only continued to excel at partnering with clients to win, but he also became an invaluable mentor and leader by example for our team. Today he helps lead and train our Performance Managers to continue providing industry-best service on the way to helping our clients win.
Director of Client Services, Major Accounts
Brian joins the Dealer Inspire team with an extensive history of servicing many of the largest automotive groups in the nation. He played a significant role in the growth and expansion of client services for both Major Accounts and Enterprise partnerships during his 13 years at Dealer.com. After a brief hiatus from the auto industry with a Machine Learning/AI startup, Brian joined the DI team in 2020 to help with the growth and expansion necessary to provide the best service possible to our Major Account Relationships. When not focused on the growth and development of his team, Brian spends his days outdoors as much as possible in Richmond, VT with his wife and two young daughters.
Director, Digital Advertising
Cara brings in-depth technical paid search knowledge to her team and our dealer partners, innovating every day with new paid search strategies and FUEL℠ features. Her passion for digital marketing began at Roosevelt University, where she ran successful fundraising campaigns for Relay For Life. Cara began at DI as a Paid Search Specialist and quickly grew into a leader, managing the entire team and all client paid search accounts. Outside of work, she loves dogs and spending time with her fiancé. She combines those passions by taking him to a dog park on Saturday mornings, even though they don’t have a dog, which has caused several awkward interactions when people ask “which is yours?”
SEO Director
Mary-Grace Wilson is Dealer Inspire’s SEO Director, leading a team of 60+ SEO Specialists and Copywriters to execute wholistic, tailored strategies that put dealers in front of buyers online. Mary-Grace started in the automotive advertising space directly after college, and quickly developed a passion for the incredible value that organic optimization can bring to businesses.
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