General

Ronald A. Heider is the President of HMA – an automotive ad and marketing agency serving both retail & BHPH dealerships. Since selling his first ad to a car dealer for the college radio station back in 1985, Heider has worked to develop marketing campaigns that will drive traffic, leads and selling opportunities. What motivates Heider the most is crafting campaigns that are simultaneously effective, cost-efficient and affordable. Anybody can make the phone ring if you spend enough money. Delivering customers when budgets are tight (and maybe even non-existent) is a challenge he thoroughly enjoys.

Heider’s mission is simple – help dealers sell more cars while spending less on their ads. While the industry at-large continues to tout the “build your brand and they will come” message, Heider believes in a strategy that focuses on generating qualified leads, traffic and selling opportunities first.

With 30 years of experience in automotive marketing, Heider believes that best route to success is a comprehensive & integrated campaign that utilizes digital & social marketing mediums allowing dealers to reach potential customers where they’re at and when they’re ready to buy.

Heider grew up in Buffalo, NY and has pledged lifelong support for the Buffalo Bills & Sabres, regardless of their records. While attending Liberty University, Heider helped start the men’s ice hockey program. Soon after moving to Virginia Beach, he traded in his snowblower for a surfboard. Without question, the surfboard is far more enjoyable. Ron and his wife are actively engaged with their church and enjoy volunteering and supporting local Christian charities. Ron also has the privilege of being on the leadership team for Christian Surfers of Virginia Beach. When not developing campaigns for clients, you’ll find Ron with his family; enjoying anything near, on, or in the water; or somewhere on the Atlantic coast searching for the perfect wave.

Sean Peoples is Vice President of Sales at SureSale, the award-winning company that, through its SureSale vehicle quality report offers used vehicle buyers peace of mind, while enabling franchise and independent dealers to validate, and merchandise, the quality of their used vehicle inventory.   

Peoples has a deep and successful footprint in the auto industry, working with some of its most cutting-edge, and established, service-providers. Prior to joining SureSale, Peoples served as Chief Revenue Officer at LotLinx, where he built, managed, and led their sales and customer support organization, doubling customer initial contract value and reducing revenue churn by 75%. Previously, he served as Vice President of Sales for CarGurus, Executive Director of Business Development and Dealer Initiatives for Edmunds, and as Director of Product Management for Chrome Systems Corporation.

Travis Bickham is currently the VP of Marketing at Birdeye. He’s  led go-to-market at companies ranging from hyper-growth startups to mature global businesses. He’s experienced in engineering new market categories, building brands to dominate said categories, and executing operationally to build pipeline.

Travis Bickham is currently the VP of Marketing at Birdeye. He’s  led go-to-market at companies ranging from hyper-growth startups to mature global businesses. He’s experienced in engineering new market categories, building brands to dominate said categories, and executing operationally to build pipeline.

Doug is a four-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a graduate of St. Thomas College.  He professional experience includes sixteen years with Northwest Airlines as Director of Purchasing and System Stores.   He also served as Director Purchasing, and Logistics for Wilsons Leather Experts and Vice President of Operations for Ergotron.  In 1992, Doug started StrategicSource, a consulting practice in spend management and purchasing.  Doug is currently the President of StrategicSource, the industry leading expense management consulting company for many vertical markets.

Doug Hadden is Vice President of Field Operations for ACV Auctions, the leading dealer to dealer, online, wholesale automotive marketplace. In his current role, Hadden manages field operations initiatives, training, strategic dealer group development, and dealer association partnerships. Hadden began his career in the industry as a lot porter gradually making his way through every dealership department. He has worked as a line mechanic, service writer, new and used car salesman, finance manager, sales manager, and general manager. Hadden is excited to assist his dealer partners in the growth of their businesses. As an auto industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience and veteran auto conference speaker, Hadden understands what it takes to make dealers successful and passionate about sharing best practices.

Brad Burns has spent the majority of his nearly two-decade-long career working closely with clients across several Manheim operating locations. He first served in various client-facing roles throughout Florida, ultimately being tapped to lead Manheim St. Pete as general manager in 2017. Now as AVP of Vehicle Information at Manheim, Burns will be instrumental in leading the transformation of Manheim’s vehicle information, helping to drive client confidence across the Manheim Marketplace.

Richard Hudson is a Managing Partner of Ignite Consulting Partners. He is a well-known technology and business process expert in the BHPH industry and is a former Director of iDMS and Inventory Support at DealerSocket, and Former Manager of Tech Support at AutoStar Solutions. He combines compliance knowledge with operations expertise and guides his clients on technology implementation, policies and procedures, audit, and credit reporting issues and considerations.

As Chief Legal and Compliance Officer of Ignite, Levine helps independent car dealers and finance companies develop compliance and training initiatives, as well as provide guidance on best practices and a wide range of other matters. He has a diverse auto finance background of over 30 years, having served as General Counsel of Regional Acceptance, a subsidiary of BB&T Bank, and AutoStar Solutions, a national Dealer Management System (DMS) and technology provider for independent auto dealers. He also served similar roles with Sigma Payments and SecureClose. He is a frequent contributor to industry publications and provides compliance and legal insight through his Twitter account @LawyerLevine.

Scot joined APCO in 2020 as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Planning to grow the company in an increasingly digital and competitive auto retail environment—bringing a rich background in the automotive industry and deep expertise in selling products and services to the retail market. Prior to joining APCO, Scot held leadership positions at Affinitiv Inc., AutoNation, JM Solutions, Reynolds & Reynolds, JD Power, and Accenture. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Princeton and an MBA from Wharton Business School.

James Virgoe, Senior Vice President, GWC Sales, has over 20 years of experience in the automotive industry. With a strong track record of managing top-performing territories, developing new channels of business, and building revenue-producing relationships, James leads GWC’s high-performance sales organization with a focus on creating stronger market penetration. His deep understanding of the competitive landscape helps drive organizational innovation and growth as the industry continues to evolve.

Tracy Myers is an award-winning small business marketing & branding solutions specialist, car dealership owner, best-selling author, Emmy-winning movie producer, speaker, business coach, wrestling promoter and entrepreneur. He is commonly referred to as The Nation’s Premier Automotive Solutions Provider while Best-Selling author and legendary speaker Brian Tracy called him “a visionary… a Walt Disney for a new generation.” Tracy has been the co-moderator of the Unfair Advantage Automotive Mastermind Group since 2013.

Troy Spring is the CEO of Dealer World, an in-house full service Advertising Agency devoted to helping dealers SELL MORE NOW. He is also a best-selling author and has been the co-moderator of the Unfair Advantage Automotive Mastermind Group since 2013.