Leading Auto Industry Executive Joins Applied Concepts' Leadership Team
ORLANDO, FL — Applied Concepts is pleased to announce that Brett Kelly is joining the company as Executive Vice President of Dealer Performance. In this position, Brett will leverage his 20 years of experience as a leading automotive industry executive to drive exceptional customer success, usher in the next generation of Applied Concepts' performance solutions, and optimize the company's go-to-market strategy.
Brett spent 15 years with Cox Automotive, during which time he held a number of roles, including strategic growth, product management, marketing, M&A integration, sales strategy, sales training, and customer success. Over his career with Cox, he led several of their brands through key growth initiatives, including AutoTrader, Kelly Blue Book, VAuto, Vin Solutions, AIS, Haystak Digital Marketing, Next Gear Capital, Mannheim Auctions, Motors UK and Dealer.com.
More recently, Brett consulted for small companies specializing in emerging digital retailing technologies. He has been a featured presenter at NADA, NIADA, Digital Dealer, NABD and state independent dealer conventions across the country.
"Brett brings a tremendous amount of experience at the intersection of product, marketing, customer success, sales, and technology—all of it from the automotive perspective," said Jason Jones, CEO of Applied Concepts. "He's a results-oriented, technology-facing executive with a proven track record of growing companies by being laser-focused on world-class customer experience. The automotive industry is changing before our eyes, and Brett's experience and leadership is going to ensure that Applied Concepts provides market-leading solutions that stay ahead of the change curve."
“I’m very excited to be joining the team at Applied Concepts. With the continued growth of digital retailing along with the emergence of new technologies, quality interactions between dealers and their customers has never been more important than it is now. Just one phone call, email, text or chat can make or break a deal. Front-end profit margins are razor thin for dealers these days and competition is fierce. I’m thrilled to be part of a company that will help them put their best foot forward each and every time they communicate with a customer.”
About Applied Concepts
Since 1983, Applied Concepts has been empowering dealerships and their staff to more effectively use the phones as a sales channel by providing training, data, accountability, and expert insights to drive lead conversion and sales. In 2019, Applied Concepts was acquired by long-term, growth-oriented private equity investors.
