“CarOffer represents an entirely new approach to acquiring and selling pre-owned inventory. The system is built to address current industry challenges head-on with no monthly subscription fees or contracts. With CarOffer, dealers will trade more, buy more and make more.”
Bruce Thompson | CarOffer Founder & CEO
Zach was appointed Chief Executive Officer of CarOffer in December 2023, bringing over 20 years of digital wholesale industry experience to the role. He joined CarGurus in October 2023 as Head of Industry Transformation before transitioning to his role with CarOffer. Prior to joining CarGurus, Zach led the development and subsequent scaling of digital solutions for some of the largest players in the wholesale space, from guiding Product Management at OPENLANE in the early 2000s, to most recently leading Manheim Auctions’ digital wholesale marketplace at Cox Automotive. He has a B.A. in Political Science from Middlebury College and is a patent holder on several solutions related to wholesale remarketing systems.
Mark Bland is an experienced sales, marketing, and growth strategist with more than a decade in the automotive industry. As Chief Sales Officer at CarOffer, Mark’s focus is to showcase how CarOffer can help dealers automate their business, so they can spend less time worrying about used inventory and more time with their customers. Mark has been instrumental in the huge growth trajectory of CarOffer, growing the company from 50 employees to nearly 400, and gaining more than 10,000 dealer customers in just over 2 years in business.
Prior to CarOffer, Mark worked at numerous start-ups beginning at RedBumper in the call center and, based on his stellar results, was promoted to manage the sales team and then became the Chief Operating Officer. At the company, the sales team continued to exceed the goals and was sold to CDK. Since then, Mark has been instrumental in helping to launch several companies in the auto industry such as Pearl Holdings, NewCarIQ, and RedBumper.
Originally from South Africa, Mark attended Southern Methodist University where he studied Advertising and Psychology. Outside of the office, Mark enjoys golf, traveling, and spending time with his family.
Connie Le is the Director of Project Management at CarOffer, with a focus on the development department. In this role, Connie is responsible for leading the projects, quality analyst, and creative teams, in addition to managing different aspects of product development and support. She has been in the automotive finance and software industry for over 18 years.
Prior to joining CarOffer, she worked with leading automotive companies such as Ford Motor Credit and Volvo Financial Services. After graduating college, an opening came up with Ford Motor Credit which led her to progress to Volvo Financial Services. The opportunities there continued to pique her interest in the automotive industry, including payment processing, titling, and lease returns.
Connie enjoys working at CarOffer as the company has continued to keep her engaged with automotive industry challenges that are being solved with innovative solutions. Managing projects that started from an idea and working with teams that strive to make that idea come to life has been particularly rewarding.
Connie earned her Computer Science and Business Administration degrees from The University of Texas at Dallas. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and crafting.
James Sa is the IT Development Director at CarOffer, responsible for overseeing a team that handles all the database infrastructure, design, and development. As thousands of vehicles move through the CarOffer platform at any given time, this is a big job.
James has worked in IT development and management for over 17 years at a variety of companies, including Brierly and Partners, an industry leader in loyalty and customer engagement, and Epsilon, a data and technology powerhouse. He has held several senior developer positions over the years, providing invaluable experience for his current position.
James has been in his position at CarOffer as IT Development Director for over eight years and particularly enjoys the employees he works with.
James has a Master's in Biomedical Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Jeff Bittancourt is an experienced senior leader with extensive experience in Customer Service, Sales Conversion execution, Team Development, Operations and Purchasing management.
Prior to this role, he was the National Performance Manager for Pearl Technology Holdings where he worked side-by-side with National Accounts to train/develop their Associates and Managers on how to effectively use the Pearl 360 and Vehicle Exchange platforms to market, engage, and service customers.
Prior to joining Pearl, Bittancourt was in auto sales where he worked at the privately-held dealership group of Maserati and Alfa Romeo of Puente Hills. There, he helped manage the grand opening for the franchise location, and was responsible for daily sales, customer service, and business development as well as vehicle presentation and finance product recommendations.
His career in automotive began at CarMax where he spent 16 years in multiple roles throughout the organization. He began his career there as a Buyer and then transitioned to Purchasing Manager followed by Operations Manager and lastly Sales/Location Manager.
Taryn Bzdick-Kowalczyk is the Creative Director at CarOffer. Working alongside the development team, she is responsible for the visual design of the CarOffer platform, internal operations platforms, and add-on products.
Taryn has worked as an in-house designer and creative consultant for several firms, producing multiple projects for startups, large brands, and Fortune 500 companies. In addition to becoming a multi-talented designer, Taryn is also adept in interactive design and user experience. She joined CarOffer just before its market release and thrives in a fast-paced, challenging environment. She loves CarOffer’s ability to quickly adapt to current market conditions which keeps her on her toes, and the dynamic nature and innovation behind the projects she gets to be a part of. But for her, the best part is the people she works with.
When not at work, Taryn is a cinephile, music lover, coffee addict, chocoholic, gamer, podcast enthusiast, emotional support human for a deaf dog, granddaughter of a farmer, and enjoyer of nature.
Taryn received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Computer Art from Syracuse University, and her MFA in Computer Graphics Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Kim Pinkney is the Director of Operations, Titles, at CarOffer, managing three different teams that get titles in and out for CarOffer’s dealer and consumer clients.
Kim began her retail automotive career in 2008, working at Minacs Marketing Solutions where she consulted with Mazda dealerships on how to increase service retention through multi-channel marketing. She stayed with Minacs for almost eight years. Then in 2016, she accepted a position as a Performance Manager with CarOffer’s sister company, Pearl Technology Holdings, an automotive technology incubator. Her duties were similar to her previous job, providing expert consultation and guidance on marketing strategies for dealership clients. She held a couple of different positions at Pearl, and then eventually decided she wanted to know more about the backend. She then worked her way into Operations at CarOffer and soon moved up to her current position as Director.
At CarOffer Kim particularly enjoys being accepted for the “full essence of who she is.” CarOffer feels like a family to her, and she is grateful to have a place where she is completely comfortable and encouraged to work towards her full potential. It has long been on her bucket list to operate at a higher level as both a woman and a minority, setting a good example as a leader.
When not at work, Kim enjoys her family and spending time with her two children Lane, 11, and Addison, 8.
Brady Townsend has worked in the automotive industry for over 16 years in a variety of positions. He is experienced in leading teams to exceed goals, managing fleet operations, and high-value business-to-business sales, a background that sets him up well for the challenge and huge responsibility that comes with his current position at CarOffer as Director of Operations, Critical Accounts. Brady leads an elite team of problem solvers tasked with improving customer experience, mitigating loss, and streamlining revenue production.
Brady had a strong interest in cars from a young age and, seeking to put his business degree to work, began his career in the automotive industry at Enterprise Holdings as a management trainee. It was an incredible growth experience as he was quickly promoted to assistant manager, and in less than two years became the branch manager. He moved on to become the Senior Account Manager, Remarketing, and ended up as Fleet Remarketing Sales Manager. The experience taught him how to be a team leader and drive profitability while delivering world-class customer service. Wholesale remarketing with Enterprise was a natural fit for Brady as he loves working with dealers to help them acquire inventory and has a passion for developing sales teams.
While searching for a new career opportunity, Brady looked into how CarOffer was solving problems for dealers; the same problems he had heard them talk about for years. He felt that CarOffer was going to change the industry and wanted to be a part of that.
Brady joined CarOffer in 2020 as a Trade Advisor and then became a National Trainer, moved on to National Sales Manager, Director of Dealer Relations, and then was promoted to his current position, Director of Operations, Critical Accounts. At CarOffer, Brady particularly likes being on the cutting edge of technology and disrupting the wholesale auto industry. He feels the company is small enough to be nimble and adapt to the market, yet it is growing at an incredible pace. He also enjoys the people he works with and knows they are what makes it an incredible working experience.
Brady has a BS degree in Marketing from Southern Nazarene University, where he graduated Cum Laude. He has been married for nearly 18 years and has three sons. When not at work, he loves mountain biking and camping with his family.
Erin Andersen, Head of Marketing at CarOffer, has extensive experience in the auto industry. Erin started her career in marketing in the automotive industry, working for Wisconsin-based Bergstrom Automotive. Erin quickly worked her way from photographing vehicles, to graphic design and marketing, all while finishing college. She remained with the dealership for a few years and then in 2014, a company named RedBumper started working with the dealership and offered her a job as a graphic designer.
Founded by CarOffer founder and CEO Bruce Thompson, RedBumper is an automotive inventory management company acquired by CDK in 2016. RedBumper chartered new territory in the auto retail industry with its inventory analytics and recommendations on a smartphone-centric platform. Erin remained with Bruce and helped in the marketing, growth, and development of several companies, including Pearl Technology Holdings, and finally CarOffer. She held positions from Art Director to Creative Director and most recently, Head of Marketing at CarOffer.
As Head of Marketing, Erin is responsible for creating and upholding CarOffer’s brand image, lead generation, event management, and dealer engagement. She loves marketing and design, particularly seeing her ideas come to life and set in motion. Erin also enjoys having control over the look and feel of the messaging. She is excited about her journey with CarOffer; the company’s successful growth, and can’t wait to see where things go in the future.
When not working, Erin enjoys spending time with her husband and dogs, a good glass of wine, biking, playing soccer, skiing, and judging competitive dance.
Veronica Maldonado Smith is the Operations Controller at CarOffer, responsible for managing day-to-day operations and accounting processes for new revenue streams. Veronica has over a decade of experience in the retail automotive industry, a field she is passionate about. She started as a Service Cashier at Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, where she worked for eight years, ultimately advancing to Senior Accountant, gaining a strong background in retail automotive and finance which set her up well for her current position with CarOffer. She joined three years ago as a Financial Data Analyst and quickly worked her way up to her current position.
Over her career, Veronica has enjoyed repeated successes spearheading the design, redesign, and launch of financial management and accounting department teams to achieve long-term growth, optimize cash flow, and drive strategic planning with financial insights and projections. In 2019 she was searching for a different career opportunity within the automotive industry and came across CarOffer, which had just launched a couple of months prior. As CarOffer was a start-up at the time, there was an element of risk to start at the bottom, but she decided to take the chance and feels it is one of the best decisions she ever made. Veronica loves working in an environment that is so innovative, and challenging, and that presents something new every month. She also enjoys working in a company that is ahead of the curve, making new strides in the industry. She particularly likes the constant collaboration to develop new processes which challenges her to be creative, and how well everyone works as a team. Employees are given many opportunities to help in the development of ideas and processes.
In her spare time, Veronica enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. She is also an avid traveler, and her favorite countries include India and Brazil. Volunteering and serving her local community is also important to her.
Veronica also passionately believes in constant improvement. She already has a bachelor’s degree in business and economics from the University of North Texas and is currently working on her MBA at Baylor University Hankamer School of Business.
