CARY,
N.C. (Oct. 29, 2010) – Bill Zadeits has
been named president of Cherokee Automotive Group (CAG) and Ron Smith has
assumed the position of chairman/CEO of the company, it was announced today.
The new responsibilities take effect Nov. 1, 2010, said Smith.
CAG produces such industry-leading publications as Auto Remarketing and SubPrime Auto Finance News; conferences
such as the National Remarketing Conference, CPO Forum and Auto Remarketing
Canada; and numerous industry e-mail newsletters including AutoRemarketing
Today. Zadeits also will continue in his role as managing director of the
Pre-Owned Automobile Dealers Alliance (POADA). CAG is affiliated with its
sister company, S&A Cherokee, which is a full-service media company that
has been on the Inc. 5000 list for
the past two years.
“I’m very excited and humbled by this new opportunity,”
Zadeits said. “The staff and leadership at CAG is the best I’ve ever worked
with and my 15 years here have flown by. I’m extremely optimistic about our
people, our business, and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.
“Thanks to Ron Smith, we’ve always been known as a company
with great vision and entrepreneurial spirit. My goal will be to build on that
strong foundation and help guide the company to even higher levels of customer
satisfaction and profitability as we move aggressively forward.”
Smith said the leadership changes reflect the growing
national presence of CAG in the late-model, pre-owned marketplace. “We have
become the national, and in some cases the international, leader in being the
information conduit for this dynamic industry,” he said. “In his 15 years with
our company, Bill has established himself as one of the industry’s most
knowledgeable and competent professionals. We are proud to have him as our new
president.”
Zadeits joined CAG in 1996 as director of advertising for
the Auto Remarketing publication,
which at that time was printed monthly. He has played, Smith said, an integral
role in growing the company’s national presence over the years as the
publication moved to semi-monthly, other publications were introduced, national
business newsletters were started and the company expanded into producing
business conferences in the United States
and Canada. He
was instrumental in launching POADA and its national certified pre-owned (CPO)
program, CarMark Certified.
CAG was founded in 1990 by Smith to start producing a
magazine for the late-model used-vehicle industry, primarily focused on the
needs of franchise dealers. Auto
Remarketing first started as a bi-monthly publication, became monthly and
then started semi-monthly in 2000. Today, Auto
Remarketing has a circulation of nearly 50,000 twice a month that includes
all of the nation’s franchise and top independent dealers.
In his role as chairman, Smith will be involved in
development of long-range opportunities for the company.
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