New chief adviser at Vroom, UACC takes on management challenges

Online used-car dealer Vroom is looking to increase synergies between its retail arm and its captive financier United Auto Credit — which Vroom acquired last February — with a newly created chief adviser role, helmed by former UACC Chief Operating Officer Bruce Newmark. [caption id="attachment_57334001" align="alignright" width="200"] Bruce Newmark, Chief Adviser, Vroom and UACC [/caption] In his role, Newmark will leverage more than 40 years’ experience in automotive retail and auto finance to streamline Vroom’s operations and assist in its integration of UACC as the company shifts its strategy from growth to profitability. He reports to Vroom Chief Executive Tom Shortt and UACC Chief Executive Jim Vagim. Lyndon Elam, former vice president of operations at UACC, succeeded Newmark as chief operating officer on Jan. 2, Newmark told Auto Finance News , noting Elam was part of the intended succession plan. “Everybody’s got to have the next person up, like a depth chart in football. He was on the depth chart,” Newmark said. The new chief adviser role is the latest move in a yearlong effort to button up operations and cut costs. Notably, former Chief Executive Paul Hennessey stepped down in May and Shortt, the former COO of Vroom, took over in his stead. Then, in October, Vroom added Timothy Crow, chief executive and managing director of venture capital investment firm Fernwood Holdings to its board of directors to serve as a member of the compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee. Staff cuts followed early this year, with Vroom reducing its headcount by 275 employees, representing a 20% reduction in staff that is expected to save the company $27 million in cash, according to the company. Newmark spoke with Auto Finance News about the responsibilities of chief adviser, personal challenges ahead and similarities between brick-and-mortar and digital automotive retailing. What follows is an edited version of the conversation. Auto Finance News : What does the role of chief adviser entail and how is it structured between Vroom and United Auto Credit? Bruce Newmark: The role of chief adviser is to work across the enterprise and advise the management teams to achieve both UACC and Vroom’s goal of being profitable and best in class. I don’t have — or need — operational authority. I’m here as a resource for the management teams of both companies to provide them with the industry experience to make decisions to achieve the goals of the company. They’re welcome to use as much of it or as little of it as they want. But when they do, and when it works, they tend to come back for more. AFN: While there’s a difference between digital automotive retailing and the traditional brick-and-mortar avenue, there are similarities, too. How are you leveraging your experience on the retail side of the business as chief adviser? BN: Certainly, making it easier to buy a car is one similarity. Treating the customer well so that they not only want to purchase from us and then finance with us but buy their next car and the next car from us — those are all things that are critical. Every good dealership depends on repeat business, so we want to make sure that the customer journey is one that makes them want to come back. We want to make sure that we do all the things we have to do as a good dealer to not frustrate the customer. AFN: What is your main focus as you settle into the role now that you’re not servicing in an operational capacity? BN: My main focus is to help the teams smooth friction, not only in the customer journey but in the UACC-Vroom integration, in order so we maximize the benefit of having UACC as a captive, as well as delivering on Vroom’s goal of being best in class, delivering a great customer experience and, ultimately, sell more cars and be more profitable. AFN: What is the biggest struggle for you as you transition to your new role? BN: Personally, it’s obviously a big change to go from being an operation COO to an advisory role. But the excitement of it is to share knowledge with a whole lot of really good managers who are committed to doing what this company needs to do. I think one of the challenges is always to make sure that my advice is sound and that it’s operationally effective, so I don’t lead them astray. It’s one thing when you do something yourself and you’re wrong — you can retrench and come back and do it over again. When you’re giving somebody else advice, you’ve got to really try to be right because you don’t want to lead them astray. The role comes with that extra responsibility of making sure that when somebody asks for your advice or opinion, that it’s really sound and well thought out and it’s actionable and operational. I think some people might think it’s easier to do one than the other, but it’s almost tougher to be in only an advisory role and have people ask for your advice and then for you to give it to them and it doesn’t work. That’s how I look at the role. It makes me more responsible, even if I was just doing it for myself. AFN: What are you most excited about in the new role? BN: I am super-excited about the progress we made last year in watching Vroom become a better company, watching UACC integrate with Vroom to be a better partner. The leadership today is focused and committed; there’s a lot of really smart people coming up with good ideas. I think the agility of the decision-making is better than a year ago, not because of me but because of the leadership of the company. So, operating in this environment and having access to decision-makers, seeing them build cross-functional meetings that connect everyone and offer the ability to communicate openly is exciting. If someone has an idea or something’s not working, everybody is there; they work together, give advice, try different approaches. Things happen quickly and you can watch the needle move. One thing about Tom [Shortt] is he’s 100% data driven. Virtually everything that happens at Vroom has a component of data tracking, so when things are done, you’re able to watch the impact of it directly in how the data moves. It’s exciting to watch how they do this. Auto Finance Summit East, Auto Finance News’ new spring event, kicks off May 10-12 at the JW Marriott Nashville featuring a fireside chat with Peter Muriungi, CEO of Chase Auto. Visit autofinance.live.

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