TrueCar Expands Dealer Council

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — TrueCar Inc. has named four new members to its National Dealer Council, a 20-member advisory panel of automotive retailing experts who collaborate with TrueCar executives to improve the car-buying and trade-in experience for consumers and dealers.

New to the council are Todd Berkowitz, owner of Manchester and Ocean Subaru in New Hampshire; Herm Brocksmith, president and general manager of Kuni Honda in the Denver area; Brian McMaster, director of ecommerce for Hendrick Automotive Group; and Jessica Germain, director of Customer Experience and Employee Engagement for the Germain Motor Co., which operates dealerships in Ohio, Michigan and Florida.

Berkowitz and his wife bought one dealership in 2003 and the other in 2007. He has been in the automobile business for more than 27 years, specializing in fixed operations.

Brocksmith has worked with Kuni Automotive dealerships since 2006. Previously, he served as the director of sales and marketing for Lexus of St. Louis and St. Louis Acura. He is also a graduate of the NADA’s Dealer Academy.

Before moving to Hendrick Automotive Group, the nation’s sixth-largest dealer group with dealerships in 13 states, McMaster worked at Sonic Automotive Inc. in ecommerce and digital marketing roles.

Germain is a fourth-generation dealer and was named to the 2013 Automotive News “40 Under 40.". She previously served as the general manager of Germain Honda of Dublin, Ohio.

“This council has already helped reshape the car-buying experience for our network of 8,000-plus TrueCar Certified Dealers,” said TrueCar President John Krafcik. “We look forward to working with this expanded council, now representing all major automakers, as we work together to transform the trade-in process in a way that delivers empowered and delighted consumers and dealers."

Representing 17 states, 37 unique automotive makes, 248 new-car franchises and three independent dealerships, the TrueCar National Dealer Council meets approximately six times per year with TrueCar executives to discuss how to improve the TrueCar service. The council is chaired by Gary Marcotte, a 30-year industry veteran who served as senior vice president of marketing and ecommerce at AutoNation Inc., the largest automotive retailer in the U.S.

“What makes this council unique from the others I have been on is that it truly partners with TrueCar,” Marcotte said. “The level of respect and access that TrueCar affords the dealers and their views is unprecedented.”