Michael Benoit

Chairman
Hudson Cook LLP

Michael Benoit is the Chairman of Hudson Cook, LLP and a partner in the firm’s Washington DC office. He advises banks, sales finance companies, auto dealers, leasing companies, mortgage lenders, and other creditors and technology providers on a wide range of consumer financial services law, and provides federal legislative and regulatory advice and support to financial services trade associations.  His practice includes consumer credit, electronic commerce, privacy, telemarketing, personal property financing and leasing, as well as creditor-based collection practices.  He assists CFPB-regulated clients in preparing for supervisory exams, and represents clients in investigation and enforcement matters involving the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

Mike Buckingham

Managing Director of PIN auto finance
JD Power

Mike joined JD Power in 2013 and provides the oversight and strategic direction for JD Power’s Power Information Network (PIN) Automotive Finance Practice in the US and Canada. The PIN “Navigator” product provides real-time automotive lending information and decision-support tools based on the collection and analysis of daily new- and used-vehicle retail transaction data from thousands of automotive franchises. Details from these transactions are evaluated to create products that focus on key measures, including price, cost, advance, LTV, credit scores for both loans and leases in the US and Canada.

Mike has been in the indirect auto financing industry for over 30 years. Prior to JD Power he was the President-CEO of Hyundai Capital America, the financing arm for Hyundai and Kia motors. He has also held senior positions at Bank One, Chrysler Financial and Citicorp Acceptance.

Daniel Chu

Chief Executive
Tricolor Auto Acceptance

Daniel Chu is a successful serial entrepreneur, having founded six companies over the past twenty-eight years, including two which became public. Chu currently serves as the Founder and CEO of Tricolor Holdings, the nation’s largest used vehicle retailer focusing on the integrated sale and financing of vehicles to Hispanic consumers. The company has been recognized for two consecutive years as one of the “Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America” by Entrepreneur Magazine and was named the 2019 Auto Finance News Excellence Award for Technology.  It has been recognized by Inc. Magazine for five consecutive years as one of the fastest growing companies in America, while also receiving distinction as one of the ten fastest growing privately-held companies in the greater Dallas-Ft. Worth area.

Mark Edelman

Member
McGlinchey

Mark S. Edelman has provided guidance to banks, finance companies, and online lenders throughout the United States on regulatory compliance matters in the arena of consumer financial services for more than 25 years. He counsels clients on a full range of issues including consumer loan documentation, e-commerce, underwriting, licensing, state and federal regulatory examinations and investigations, acquisitions and divestitures, warehouse and other commercial financing, insurance, and structured finance.

Eric Ibara

Director, Residual Values and Cost to Own
Kelly Blue Book

Eric Ibara is the director of residual value consulting for Kelley Blue Book.  He brings more than 25 years of automotive industry experience to this role, which includes overseeing the company’s residual value forecasts.  Additionally, Ibara regularly meets with vehicle manufacturers, finance companies and automotive fleet companies to provide consulting services.   

The residual value information Ibara develops is offered as a syndicated data product and is utilized on Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com as a component of Kelley Blue Book’s 5-Year Cost to Own information.  Ibara analyzes historical auction data and works with in-house statisticians to build and refine forecast models that are used in developing residual values.  He also is active in test-driving vehicles as additional inputs into the forecasting process. 

Amy Martin

Director of Structured Finance
S&P Global Ratings

Amy Martin is a Senior Director and Sector Lead in S&P’s New York Structured Finance Ratings Group.  As a senior member of the SF group, Amy is responsible for the consistent application and development of on-going auto ABS criteria, publishing auto ABS-related commentary, conducting investor/issuer outreach, coordinating and conducting auto ABS analytical training programs, and participating in auto loan/lease ABS credit committees. 

Amy has been involved in a wide range of rating assignments (including auto loans, auto leases and student loans), has published numerous articles and criteria publications on the auto sector of the asset-backed securities market, and is a frequent speaker at ABS and auto finance conferences. 

Chris Mitcham

SVP Business Development, Servicing for Others
Santander Consumer USA

Chris Mitcham serves as the SVP of Service for Others at Santander Consumer USA. In this role he manages over $10B of Santander’s client serviced relationships and leads strategic efforts to source and provide a full suite of loan servicing solutions for portfolio owners, other banks and credit unions. Santander aims to provide best in class loan servicing by leveraging its large-scale operations and rigorous compliance processes. Mitcham has over 20 years of industry experience and has directly managed the acquisition, origination, and servicing of large scale automotive & consumer receivables. Mitcham is an active auto industry participant and a graduate from the University of Georgia.

Satyan Merchant

SVP and Automotive Business Leader
Transunion

Satyan Merchant leads the Automotive finance business and oversees the formation and execution of TransUnion’s auto market strategy and development plan. Satyan has been with TransUnion for 5 years, previously leading the strategy and product development function for the Mortgage line of business. He brings over 20 years of business strategy, planning and technology experience to TransUnion from Lenovo, McKinsey & Company, Akamai and Accenture. Satyan received his bachelor’s degree from University of Virginia and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. 

Tanya Sanders

EVP, Head of Transformation
Wells Fargo Auto

Tanya Sanders is the Head of Transformation for Wells Fargo Auto. Wells Fargo Auto is a leading indirect auto lender offering consumers vehicle financing through a network of over 10,000 dealers nationwide. With a loan portfolio of over $48 billion, we serve more than 3 million consumers with their auto financing needs.

In this role, Tanya and her team are responsible for leading the work to identify innovative ways the Auto business can transform its go-forward business model and identify and build the capabilities needed to get there. Her team works to develop product strategy, Agile transformation, digital capabilities, strategic partnerships and customer experience and insights.

Jonathan Smoke

Chief Economist
Cox Automotive

Smoke leads Cox Automotive’s economic industry insights team, which tracks the economy, new and used vehicle sales, supply, prices, retail and fleet demand, consumer credit and auto financing, and dealer sentiment to understand the key trends impacting both the wholesale and retail markets for vehicles informed by the proprietary data from all of the company’s businesses and platforms including Manheim, Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, and Dealertrack. 

For more than 26 years, Smoke has focused on translating data and trends into relevant, actionable insights for the industries that represent the biggest purchases that consumers make in their lifetimes: real estate and automotive. 

Rusty West

Co-Founder and President
Market Scan Information Systems

Rusty West has served as President of Market Scan since co-founding the company with his father, Russell, in 1988. The company’s first product, Lease Prophet, became an overnight success when it was launched in 1989 and set a new standard in automotive leasing using electronic calculation technologies.  

From its initial focus on aggregating data and providing retailing solutions for automotive retailers, Rusty has led Market Scan to become a leading SaaS Enterprise Solutions authority in the automotive industry. 

Todd Wolf

Chair
International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators

Todd Wolf is a nationally recognized Vehicle Theft Fraud Investigator who spent 23 years with the California Highway Patrol and close to 10 years of that investigating vehicle theft and vehicle financial fraud schemes in one of the highest risk fraud regions in the world – Los Angeles.  He is currently a Sr. Fraud Investigator for a major bank and also the Chair of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators, Auto Finance Committee and the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, Auto Finance Coalition.  Todd is a leading advocate for vehicle financial fraud schemes awareness and prevention and has shared his expertise to thousands from law enforcement, the vehicle finance community and to dealerships across the United States.    

Melinda Zabritsky

Senior Director of Automotive Financial Solutions
Experian

Melinda Zabritski is Senior Director for Experian’s automotive financial solutions team, where she is responsible for implementing products and services specific to the automotive credit and lending industry. She also serves as Experian’s primary analyst and spokesperson regarding key automotive finance trends. 

Throughout her career with Experian, Zabritski has overseen the product management for Experian Automotive’s lending channel, as well as the marketing strategy for the development of Experian’s automotive credit vertical sales channel. Additionally, she serves as Experian’s primary analyst and spokesperson regarding key automotive finance trends.