SAN FRANCISCO — Drive Motors today announced that Lauren Wolfe has joined the team as senior director of consumer experience for the ecommerce solution provider.
Wolfe previously served as president of FZA Digital, the digital-advertising agency of fusionZONE Automotive LLC. She will be based in Los Angeles and will report to Rune Hauge, Drive Motors' head of growth.
“Drive Motors is the missing piece in the automotive industry,” said Wolfe. “I’m excited to deliver this integral technology to dealerships and round out my career from CarsDirect, the first place one could buy a car online, to actually assist dealerships in improving the car-buying experience.”
Wolfe brings more than 15 years of digital marketing experience, including search-engine and social media marketing, lead generation, and product development. Before FZA Digital, she held various management positions, including director of corporate marketing at Roundtree Automotive Group, regional sales director at CarGurus, and regional sales manager at Showroom Logic. While earning her bachelor’s degree in public policy and management from the University of Southern California, Wolfe worked in sales at a Studio City Volvo Saab, which is now part of the Galpin Automotive Group.
"With a proven track record for excellence in sales, territory management, and key account development, Lauren will be a tremendous asset in scaling our growth on the West Coast," said Hauge. "Her insight and instinct will provide our team with a competitive advantage for educating and delighting our dealership partners about online-checkout tools for car buyers."
Recently, Drive Motors announced a strategic relationship with Ally, an agreement that provides the finance source with the opportunity to receive consumer-financing applications submitted digitally by dealerships using Drive Motors' software. Last summer, Drive Motors announced it raised $5.2 million in seed funding. The round was led by Bullpen Capital, with participation from existing investors Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, Perkins Coie LLP, and Emagen Entertainment Group.
The startup offers an online checkout experience that integrates into dealer websites and showroom sales tools. Since completing Y Combinator's incubator program in 2016, car orders funneling through its platform have grown to 1,300 a month and $325 million in annual order volume for its dealer customers.
