Press

San Francisco, CA, December 14, 2011 — Jumpstart Automotive Group, a Hearst Media Services Company and expert automotive marketing organization, today announced leadership changes across various departments, including Product Development, Strategic Insights and West Coast Sales.

The company says this restructuring is a critical component of recent internal enhancements it's made to help digital automotive marketers and publishers achieve maximum reach and performance, while providing its clients with optimum delivery and service.

• Kass Dawson has been promoted to VP of Product Development for Jumpstart.

In his new role, Kass will oversee the creation and implementation of new digital advertising products — including mobile initiatives — for automotive marketers and the publishers that comprise the company's network of 15 automotive shopping and enthusiast websites, with an audience of more than 15 million monthly car shoppers*. Additionally, he will now be responsible for oversight of the Strategic Insights department.

Kass began his marketing career at Mercedes-Benz, where he served as Supervisor of Brand Communications and Marketing Communications.

Kass joined Jumpstart in June 2009 as Director of Marketing, managing the strategic development and execution of the company's internal and external marketing initiatives. Most recently, he was Jumpstart's Senior Director of Brand Communications.

• Elizabeth Murad-Patel is now Senior Director of Strategic Insights at Jumpstart.

In her new role, Libby will manage the company's research and analytics team in synthesizing automotive shopper and influencer data, including customized reporting such as Jumpstart's True Market Impact (TMI), to help automotive marketers better gauge the overall effectiveness of their advertising campaigns and the health of their brands.

Prior to Jumpstart, Libby worked as Digital Coordinator and later as Digital Media Planner at GM Planworks (now known as Starcom Mediavest Group). She joined Jumpstart in 2007 as Product Manager of contextual display advertisements and since that time has transitioned into analytics.

• Dave Latham was promoted to Jumpstart's VP of Digital Sales, West Coast earlier this year.

Dave joined Jumpstart early in its development in 2004, playing an instrumental part in creating much of the company's current framework. Initially working in Tier 3 account sales, he contributed significantly to the expansion of Jumpstart's client roster and the growth of its overall business.

Over the last seven years, Dave has gained invaluable digital automotive marketing knowledge having served in various roles at the company, including web development, creative development and as publisher group director before his most recent promotion to VP of Product.

Several months ago Dave stepped into his new position as VP of Digital Sales, West Coast. This role brings him to a full circle by dovetailing his creative and technical expertise with business development to manage Jumpstart's sales efforts for the west coast region — one of the most influential digital marketing regions in the U.S.

• David Trinh has been promoted to Senior Director of Revenue Operations at Jumpstart.

David joined Jumpstart in 2007 as an Inventory Analyst for Revenue Operations, a role in which he successfully helped the company optimize and manage ad inventory and revenue generation initiatives.

Over the last four years, Dave fine tuned his digital marketing, sales and ad operations expertise and most recently served as Associate Director, Sales Operations before being promoted to his current role.

As Senior Director of Revenue Operations, David is responsible for managing all Jumpstart revenue operations and traffic teams on a national scale.

"This is an exciting time for Jumpstart and our clients," said Nick Matarazzo, Jumpstart's CEO. "We have a new team of experienced and enthusiastic leaders who are well-respected not only within our organization but among the nation's leading automotive marketers and publishers. And we're gearing up to launch some of the most innovative digital advertising products offered to date. I'm confident we've chosen the right team to push the envelope, to take our efforts to the next level in 2012 and beyond."

About Jumpstart Automotive Group
Jumpstart Automotive Group, a Hearst Media Services company, is an expert digital automotive marketing organization. It represents the broadest and most diverse audience of in-market car shoppers and influencers across 15 automotive websites that include Vehix, Consumer Guide Automotive, JD Power Autos, Shopping.com Autos, Car and Driver, Road & Track, CarSoup, U.S.News Autos, HybridCars, CarGurus, TrueCar, PlugInCars, O.coCars, Leftlane and EveryCarListed.com. Fueled by a passion for performance, Jumpstart is committed to the development of quality content and services for consumers and to maximizing publisher revenue and advertiser results through innovative products and services. Additionally, Jumpstart has been on the forefront of behavioral targeting and is now developing leading research and strategic insights products. For more information, visit JumpstartAuto.com.

Media Contact:

Jennifer Lange
Jumpstart Automotive Group
(949) 916-4820
jlange@getsplashmedia.com