Auto Finance News honored several next-generation leaders with an inaugural Auto Finance Rising Stars award at the recent Auto Finance Summit.
In total, 10 industry executives received the 2026 Rising Stars designation.
The Rising Stars awards were presented to encourage and recognize emerging leaders in the auto finance sector, according to Auto Finance News.
The 2026 recipients were:
- Alice Cao, multistore general manager at Lithia and Driveway;
- Robert Christini, senior vice president of sales at CRIF Select;
- Zeke Cuddy, senior director and segment leader of automotive USA & Canada at FICO;
- Robert DeJarnette, VP of risk management at Consumer Portfolio Services;
- Mike Duncan, VP of business development at Consumer Portfolio Services;
- Matthew Etzweiler, VP of sales of auto finance at Odessa;
- Jonathan Gandolfo, dealer principal at Byrider South Carolina;
- Victoria Julian, financial accounting and controls implementation senior manager at Alfa;
- Andres Klaric, co-founder and co-CEO at Fuse; and
- Ali Raza, business systems analyst at Netsol Technologies.
Auto Finance News plans to present Rising Stars awards annually at the Auto Finance Summit, as part of the annual Auto Finance Excellence Awards.
