ORLANDO, Fla. — US Equity Advantage (USEA), a provider of biweekly and custom loan payment services, announced today that veteran automotive retail expert Rick Christopher has joined the company as regional account manager for the Southeast. Christopher’s primary responsibility will be to develop and grow USEA’s business with new and existing automotive dealership accounts and automotive agencies in that region. He will report directly to William Lathrop, the company’s CMO.

Christopher brings more than 20 years of retail automotive experience, working 13 years as a finance manager, three years as a sales manager and six years as a dealer owner. Christopher also has a deep understanding of the agency side of the business, as he spent more than a decade providing performance and compliance training, income development plans and F&I products to dealerships. 

As an agent, Christopher partnered with major dealer groups in Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania, where he helped to dramatically improve their per vehicle retail average (PVR) and product index by as much as 100 percent. He attributes this success, in part, to the AutoPayPlus service, which these dealerships embraced.

“Rick is an accomplished professional with a strong background and has significant experience in automotive retail and finance,” said Lathrop. “His commitment and passion for the business fuels his desire to help our partners reach their full potential. Our partners and dealerships in the Southeast will benefit greatly from his experience and I look forward to the resulting future expansion.”

Christopher added: “I am excited to join this dynamic company. Biweekly and custom loan payment services are growing fast in the automotive industry, and it is an area with huge opportunity for our company, partners and auto dealer clients. I also am thrilled to be in a position where I can put my skill set to the best use to help drive new revenues by training, challenging, and motivating dealership finance managers.”