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Jeffrey Coats, President and CEO
Jeffrey Coats joined Autobytel as President and CEO on December 2008. Mr. Coats has served on Autobytel's Board since August 1996. He is a partner of Southgate Alternative Investments, a diversified investment firm, since November 2007. Mr. Coats has also been an Executive Chairman of Mikronite Technologies Group Inc., an industrial technology company, since April 2007, having previously served as the company's Chief Executive Officer, President and a director since February 2002. Prior to that, he was a Founder and Managing Director of TH Lee Global Internet Managers, L.P., a fund focused on making equity investments in eCommerce and Internet-related companies globally, where he remains a limited partner. Coats served as Managing Director of GE Equity, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric Capital Corporation, from April 1996 to July 1999. He was a Founder and Managing Director of GE Capital's Corporate Finance Restructuring Group from 1990 to 1993 and Region Manager and Managing Director of GE Capital's Western United States Corporate Finance Group from 1989 to 1993. Coats serves on the Board of Directors of Congoleum Corporation, a resilient sheet and tile flooring company, and is a member of its Audit Committee and Restructuring Oversight Committee. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Georgia and an M.B.A. in International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management.
Curtis DeWalt, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Curtis E. DeWalt was named Autobytel's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer on March 1, 2009. He assumed the duties of Chief Financial Officer after joining the company as its Controller in October 2007. DeWalt provides the company with significant experience and expertise in all aspects of finance, corporate governance, investor relations, operations management and business development.
Prior to joining Autobytel, DeWalt held several senior financial roles at several companies including Roth Staffing Companies, Inc., RemedyTemp, Inc. and at a division of Saint-Gobain Ceramics & Plastics Inc. He also served as Director, Finance and Information Systems at Saint Gobain's - Corhart Refractories Inc. Prior to that, DeWalt held various financial positions with The Pittston Company's Brink's Inc. and Burlington Air Express (BAX Global) subsidiaries.
DeWalt received a Masters of Business Administration, Finance from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, from Bryant University in Rhode Island.
Glenn Fuller, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer and Secretary
Glenn Fuller joined Autobytel Inc. as Vice President of Legal Affairs in 2006 and was promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer and Secretary in December 2008. Fuller brings to Autobytel extensive corporate legal experience for publicly-held and start-up companies, as well as specific expertise in both media and technology. As Chief Legal Officer, Fuller is responsible for Autobytel Inc.'s overall legal operations, including securities matters, intellectual property and the structuring and implementation of strategic acquisitions and alliances.
Prior to joining Autobytel, Fuller served as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for Freedom Communications, Inc., a diversified, multi-jurisdiction media business, where he created that company’s first in-house legal department. Previously, he was associated with and was of counsel to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where he started his legal career and was a member of the firm’s Corporate Securities and Transactions Group. Fuller joined a group of 13 Gibson, Dunn lawyers who left the firm to form the law firm of Pettis, Tester, Kruse & Krinsky, where Fuller was a partner in the firm’s Corporate and Securities Group. Fuller has also served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for startup technology company, Airline Computerized Ticketing, and maintained a private corporate and securities practice representing a diverse group of clients in various industries, including ticketing, marketing and fundraising software technology for venues and events and settlement services for residential real estate transactions.
Fuller received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from California State University, Long Beach and went on to earn a law degree from the University of Southern California, where he served as Executive Managing Editor of the USC Law Review.
Mark Garms, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer
Mark Garms was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Autobytel Inc. in December 2008. Prior to assuming this role, Garms was Senior Vice President of Dealer Operations and Strategy. In this role Garms was responsible for the ongoing development of Autobytel’s nationwide dealer network, as well as initiatives that optimized Autobytel’s service to dealers, including training, technology support, and innovative programs, tools and services designed to help dealers capitalize on a rapidly changing marketplace.
Garms originally joined Autobytel in 2002 as director of consumer experience, in which capacity he created Autobytel’s successful Dealer Management Report program, providing cost-free customer feedback to member dealerships to improve sales performance. He was also responsible for a range of pro-consumer programs on Autobytel’s web sites, including the advent of Personal Vehicle Reports (cost-free downloadable PDF reports on popular makes/models that resulted in an average of 3,000 high quality dealer sales leads) as well as Autobytel’s proprietary Estimated Market Price (EMP) data, streamlining the transaction process for dealers and consumers by providing the national average selling prices for new models.
Based on these and other successes, Garms was promoted to director of consumer and dealer services in 2003, where he helped to significantly increase dealer satisfaction. Among his early accomplishments as vice president of dealer operations and strategy, he has implemented a cross-company sales referral system, tripling sales from intra-company referrals.
Prior to joining Autobytel, Garms served as vice president of services for T. Rowe Price for 12 years, where he oversaw investor services, including mutual fund sales and service, retirement and brokerage operations and institutional servicing in Los Angeles. He also launched and managed offices in Tampa Bay and Colorado Springs, which provided similar services.
Garms received a BA from Ambassador College.
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