Fixed Ops Roundtable

Kim Saylor is Senior Director of Product Marketing at CDK Global, the industry's leading dealership technology provider. With deep expertise in fixed operations and consumer behavior, Kim has spent years translating data into strategy for dealers nationwide. She's one of the most sought-after voices in automotive retail, and when CDK releases a study, the industry listens. 👉 Register fo...

Chase Southwick is the 63rd General Chair of the Northwood University International Auto Show , the largest outdoor new car auto show in the United States. A student at Northwood University, America's Automotive University, Chase oversees a team of department heads and hundreds of student volunteers to produce a three-day event that draws an estimated 50,000 attendees to Midland, Michigan eac...

Karl Murphy is the CEO of Spiffy, the leading mobile service operating system built specifically for automotive dealerships. With over 12 years of experience transforming how dealers deliver service outside the four walls of their shop, Karl has become one of the most sought-after voices in fixed operations — helping dealerships scale mobile programs from a single van into multi-asset, high-margin...

Chris Austin is the Chief Revenue Officer of StrategicSource, a Minnesota-based outsourced purchasing organization with 25 years of deep roots in automotive retail. Having grown up inside every department of the business, from sourcing and auditing to client services and executive strategy, Chris has sat inside the budget meetings, contract negotiations, and financial blind spots of dealership gro...

Matt Leone is the CEO of DriveCentric , the automotive engagement platform that has been redefining how dealerships connect with customers across every department, from sales and F&I to fixed operations. Under his leadership, DriveCentric has evolved far beyond traditional CRM, building the infrastructure for a unified customer experience that the automotive industry has never seen at this sca...

Ari Polakov is the co-founder of Flai, an AI communications platform built specifically for automotive dealerships. Before founding Flai, Ari spent years studying the operational gaps inside service departments, particularly the hidden revenue being lost at the phone level. That obsession led him to build a product now trusted by some of the largest dealer groups in the United States, including to...

Kyle Johnson is the co-founder and CMO of Redline Connect. With over 15 years embedded exclusively in the automotive parts industry, Kyle has built and acquired multiple service businesses spanning parts delivery, outside marketing, and in-store staffing solutions, all purpose-built for the OE parts world. He and his team are now behind the industry's first AI platform designed specifically f...

Bill Demaree is the Corporate Director of Fixed Operations for Tom Wood Automotive Group, one of Indiana's most respected dealer groups spanning 13 rooftops. With decades of experience in the automotive industry, Bill has built a reputation not just for running high-performing service departments, but for reimagining what fixed ops leadership actually looks like at scale. 👉 Register for the...

Every company you've seen dominate the automotive industry had help getting there. Laurie Halter is that help. Laurie Halter is the founder of Charisma Communications, a PR agency with over 20 years of experience helping automotive technology companies build brands that break through. From early stage startups to established names, Laurie knows exactly how to get vendors in front of the right...

New vehicle sales are projected to drop. ASARs are softening. And yet, the dealers who understand what's quietly happening right now are already positioning themselves to have their most profitable year yet. Dan Shine of Automotive News joins Ted Ings and Sarah Vantine on the Fixed Ops Roundtable to break down exactly why 2026 is a defining moment for fixed operations, and why the service lan...

The automotive industry is facing a generational shift that most operators aren't prepared for, and the window to act is closing faster than anyone wants to admit. Kent McDonald, President of Northwood University, sits down with Ted Ings and Sarah VanTine to talk about what's really happening to talent in this industry, why the companies moving right now will dominate the next decade, an...

Every time a car breaks down, a dealership either wins a customer for life or loses one forever. Most don't even know it's happening. Anthony Giagnacovo has run 150,000 of those moments, every single month. And in this episode he breaks down exactly what's at stake: the average repair order sitting inside every roadside rescue, why the difference between 45 minutes and 62 minutes ca...

Automotive talent development just got a serious upgrade, and Lithia & Driveway's DART program is leading the charge. Diego Rojas, the architect behind one of the most in-demand leadership development programs in automotive retail today, joins the Fixed Ops Roundtable to talk about what's happening inside Lithia & Driveway that dealership general managers across the country are l...

In this episode Sarah Vantine sits down with Luke May, dealer principal of White Family Dealerships (South Dakota & Wyoming), to unpack what it really takes to build a winning fixed operations culture in today's competitive automotive landscape. Luke brings a rare perspective, he started as a Ford-certified technician, spent 20 years in the field with General Motors, and now oversees five...

Your website says 60-minute oil changes. Your Google reviews say two and a half hours. And AI just chose your competitor. Brian Kramer, one of the most influential voices in automotive retail and VP at Cars Commerce, joins Sarah and Ted for a conversation that every dealer, service director, and fixed ops leader needs to hear RIGHT NOW — because the rules of digital visibility just changed permane...

What if the biggest thing holding your wholesale operation back… isn’t sales, but cash flow? In this episode of the Fixed Ops Roundtable, we get real about one of the most frustrating (and misunderstood) challenges in fixed ops: accounts receivable, slow pay, and the silent cash-flow killers hiding in wholesale parts and B2B service work. I’m joined by Dave Schell of Interstate Billing Service and...

If trust is the real currency of fixed ops… how are you earning it the moment a customer pulls into your drive? That’s the question that sets the tone for this episode of The Fixed Ops Roundtable, and it’s one of the most honest, practical, and human conversations I’ve had in a long time. I sat down with Spiro Morogiannis of BG Products, Inc., a true advocate for dealers and fixed ops teams, to un...

What if the last interaction your customer has with your dealership is the one that decides whether they ever come back? In this episode of the Fixed Ops Roundtable, I sit down with Travis Siebert, Senior Vice President of Sales at Dealer Pay, to talk about something that used to be an afterthought in dealerships, and is now one of the most powerful drivers of trust, convenience, and profitability...

What if the biggest opportunity in Fixed Ops right now isn’t working harder… but removing the friction that’s wearing your people down? In this episode of the Fixed Ops Roundtable, I sit down with Erik Zuniga of ALLDATA Automotive Intelligence for a real conversation about what’s actually changing inside dealership service departments, and why the dealers who win next will be the ones who obsess o...

What if the biggest competitive advantage in Fixed Ops isn’t technology… but hospitality? That’s the question at the heart of this episode of the Fixed Ops Roundtable, and once you hear this conversation, you won’t look at porters, greeters, car wash, or pickup & delivery the same way again. In this episode, I’m joined by Brandon Hall, Vice President of Alliance Dealer Solutions, alongside my...

What if the “fixed costs” you’ve accepted for years… aren’t actually fixed at all? That’s the question that kicks off this episode, and trust me, once we pulled on that thread, the whole sweater started to unravel. In this Fixed Ops Roundtable conversation, I’m joined by Steve Thompson of Integrity Cost Consulting, Shon Kingrey from Kayser Automotive Group, along with Sarah Vantine, and we go stra...

What if the last thing your customer experiences, 'the payment' became one of your biggest competitive advantages? In this episode of the Fixed Ops Roundtable, we sit down with Randy Modos, Co-Founder and President of PayJunction, for a conversation that goes way beyond credit card terminals and transaction fees. This is about friction, freedom of choice, and the future of fixed ops prof...

What if the fastest way to improve CSI, advisor productivity, and even used car acquisition… wasn’t another process, but a better experience? In this episode of the Fixed Ops Roundtable, I sit down with Joel Furno, Founder & CEO of Citrin Automotive Hospitality, alongside Ed Roberts of Bozard Ford Lincoln, and we go deep on something the industry talks about a lot, but rarely executes at a wor...

What if one simple decision in your service drive could boost customer retention by nearly a third? That’s not a theory, that’s real data. And in this episode of the Fixed Ops Roundtable, I sit down with longtime friend of the show and industry heavyweight Rob Leary from BG Products to unpack a study that honestly stopped me in my tracks. We’re talking real VIN-level data. Real dealerships. Real r...

What if one of the easiest ways to protect your dealership’s future profit is something you’re already entitled to, but probably underutilizing? In this episode, I’m joined by my co-host Sarah Vantine and industry veteran Robert Wooden for a conversation that every fixed ops leader needs to hear, especially as we look ahead to 2026. Robert has spent nearly three decades living and breathing fixed...