Speakers

Danielle Fagre Arlowe is Senior Vice President of State Government Affairs for the American Financial Services Association. Prior to joining AFSA, Ms. Arlowe was Director of Government Affairs and Legislative Counsel for credit card issuer Metris and an associate with two Washington, DC law firms, Venable LLP and O'Connor & Hannan, LLP, where she represented banks and major U.S. financial institutions, lobbying on their behalf in Congress on consumer privacy, bankruptcy, telemarketing, antitrust, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and other legislative initiatives. She also assisted Fortune 500 corporations in various industries with government ethics compliance.

Ms. Arlowe holds a B.A. in Politics and Government from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, and she earned her J.D, cum laude, from American University in Washington, DC. She is admitted to the bar in Maryland (inactive), Washington DC and Minnesota.

Frank Armstrong is president of World Omni Financial Corp. (World Omni) and executive vice president of parent company JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (JM Family), a $12.2 billion diversified automotive company. In this position, Armstrong is responsible for the strategic and operational management of World Omni, a diversified financial services company, providing a broad range of financial services to consumers, dealers and lenders. Armstrong also serves as a member of the Executive Management Team of JM Family, which oversees the development and implementation of the company's long-range planning and strategies for future growth.

World Omni has a significant presence in the automotive financial services arena. The company has maintained its Standard & Poor's STRONG auto servicer rating since 2004, the highest possible for a consumer finance, automobile loan and lease servicer. World Omni is headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla. and has major operations in Alpharetta, Ga.; Mobile, Ala.; St. Louis, Mo.; Solon, Ohio; Beverly, Mass.; Burnsville, Minn.; Montreal and Toronto, Canada.

Armstrong also oversees World Omni's divisions, including Southeast Toyota Finance, which offers automotive financial products and services to Southeast Toyota dealerships; CenterOne Financial Services LLC, a leader in third-party servicing for the automotive finance servicing industry; DataScan Technologies LLC, which provides best-in-class wholesale floorplan accounting and risk management systems and services to the wholesale finance industry; DataScan Field Services, the largest, full-service vehicle inspection and floorplan inventory verification business in North America; and Monetrics, a technology leader in automated risk decisioning software and services for the consumer finance industry.

Armstrong joined World Omni in 2001 as vice president, business and product development. He was promoted to group vice president in 2002, and became senior vice president in 2004. Before joining the company, Armstrong served in leadership positions at Terion, Inc., Alamo Rent-A-Car, Inc. and NationsBank Corporation.

Armstrong received his master's degree in business administration from Georgia State University and his bachelor's degree in math and business from Wake Forest University. He and his wife, Lisa, have three children and live in Melbourne, Fla.

Michael A. Benoit is a partner in the Washington DC office of Hudson Cook, LLP. He advises banks, sales finance companies, auto leasing companies, mortgage lenders, auto dealers, and other creditors and technology providers on a wide range of consumer financial services law, including the Truth In Lending Act and Regulation Z, the Consumer Leasing Act and Regulation M, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and the USA Patriot Act. In addition, his practice covers matters involving federal and state laws relating to electronic commerce and online lending, privacy, fair lending, telemarketing, personal and real property financing, and leasing and collection practices

Ann Bybee is Corporate Manager - Corporate Planning and Communications for Toyota Financial Services.

Bybee oversees the development of mid to long-term strategy for the company, including strategic research, competitive intelligence, business planning - corporate scorecards, public relations, government affairs, internal communications and corporate social responsibility. She reports to Dave Pelliccioni, Senior Vice President, and Chief Administrative Officer.

Bybee leads the company's drive towards becoming a more deliberate and focused organization. She has implemented the development of a rolling five-year plan for each line of business to better inform the five-year financial plan. She is also an executive sponsor for GALA (Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Bisexual), a business partnering group at Toyota.

Bybee currently serves on the American Financial Service Association's (AFSA) Vehicle Finance Board, along with the planning committee, as well as on AFSA's Education Foundation Endowment Committee to further financial literacy.

Bybee joined Toyota in 1990 starting with Toyota Motor Sales, USA as a member of the Long Range Market Planning group. She has since served the company in several managerial roles in both Product Planning and Corporate Planning areas. In 1999, she was selected to be part of an international management development program and moved to Tokyo, Japan to serve as the Chief Brand Strategist and oversee global ad campaigns for Toyota Motor Corporation. In 2001, Bybee returned to the U.S. as Corporate Manager for Lexus Advertising and Brand Strategy. She remained at Lexus for five years, overseeing the national and dealer advertising, media, brand renewal, managing incentives and product positioning, resulting in record sales for all five years for the luxury division.

Prior to joining Toyota Motor Sales, Bybee was employed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration as an International Economist. During that time she participated in the Uruguay Round of GATT which resulted in the expansion of NAFTA to include Mexico.

Bybee holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the American University in Washington, DC. She resides in Rancho Palos Verdes, California with her husband and two sons.

Steve Chaouki joined TransUnion in June 2008. He is charged with product development, business development and strategy within the financial services group. Before joining TransUnion, he held a variety of roles at HSBC within Card and Retail Services and Auto Finance. Most recently, he was senior vice president of alternative channels overseeing the originations of more than 1 million new card customers per year and managing a portfolio of more than 4 million customers. Before HSBC, Steve was a strategy consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton. He holds a B.S.B.A. from Boston University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

As Director of F&I Training for American Financial & Automotive Services, Inc.'s Automotive Training Academy, Tony is responsible for the content, direction and marketing for the F&I training curriculum. Tony conducts various F&I workshops throughout the year in locations nationwide.

Tony earned a Communications degree from Sam Houston State University prior to beginning his retail automotive career in 1990 as a salesperson in Houston, TX. Before joining the American Financial team in 2000, Tony held the positions of Salesperson, Business Manager, Fleet Sales Manager, Sales Manager, and General Manager.

Throughout his retail sales career, Tony was consistently a top producer as well as a multi-year recipient of numerous manufacturer awards. In 1995, Tony earned the prestigious title of Nissan National Walk-Around Champion.

As a member of the Automotive Training Academy team, Tony has presented to various 20 groups, state and national dealer associations, and was featured as a workshop presenter at the 2009 NADA Convention in New Orleans, LA.

Donald M. Ferguson is GMAC director of Corporate Relations & SmartEdge. Ferguson oversees the corporation's development and implementations of SmartEdge, GMAC's financial literacy program and coordinates relationship marketing activities with a number of national and local organizations.

Ferguson, 58, began his GMAC career in 1978 as a field representative in Richmond, Va. He was promoted to credit representative the following year. In 1980, he relocated to New York after being named credit supervisor in Hartsdale.

Ferguson served as truck and equipment manager in Westchester, N.Y., until his promotion to staff assistant at the GMAC Executive Office in Detroit in 1988. Two years later, he became assistant control branch manager in Boston. He was then named branch manager in Brockton, Mass.

In 1994, Ferguson returned to Detroit as a senior staff assistant and director of Sales. In 1996, he was promoted to area manager in Columbus, Ohio, a job he held for more than seven years before being named to his current position in January 2004.

Born Jan. 29, 1953, in Richmond, Va., Ferguson earned his bachelor of science in Mathematics from Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va., and completed the executive education program at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. He is a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 100 Black Men of America, the American Financial Services Association (AFSA), and the National Society of Pershing Rifles. He is also on the Money Smart Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Detroit branch).

Harry was named Chairman & CEO of CitiFinancial North America in July 2006. He was responsible for the operation of 2200 consumer finance branches in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. He managed 15,000 employees producing over $1.2 billion in after-tax profits while improving operating controls and compliance.

From 2004 to 2006, he served as President and CEO of CitiFinancial Mortgage Company, where he was responsible for the integration of Associates Home Equity Services and CitiFinancial Mortgage. Harry installed code of ethics requirement for all broker and correspondent lenders, resulting in the termination of more than 4,000 relationships. He improved compliance in all purchase documentation resulting in improve audit performance while increasing profitability of all relationships. Delinquency and losses were reduced ultimately increasing profit to $600 million after tax. He also maintained responsibility for Travelers Bank and Trust fsb (TB &T).

As President and CEO of (TB &T) from 1998 - 2004, Harry was responsible for mortgage lending and private label credit card operations of the newly formed federal savings bank. The bank receivables grew to over $5 billion while achieving satisfactory ratings from the Office of Thrift Supervision. The bank had operations in all 50 states with major relationships with Primerica Financial Services and 20 major retailers.

Harry served as the 2006-2007 Chairman of the American Financial Services Association (AFSA), an organization that represents more 3000 financial firms involved in vehicle finance, mortgage lending, consumer lending and credit cards. He also served on AFSA's Board of Directors from 2000 until he was elected Chairman in 2006.

Currently, Harry serves as Chairman of the American Financial Services Association Education Foundation. The foundation's primary initiative is MoneySKILL®, a free online comprehensive personal finance curriculum designed to improve high school and college students' financial literacy. The foundation also provides consumer information on mortgage loans, vehicle financing, credit, personal loans and money management to the public.

Currently, George is the Auto Finance Program Director for BenchMark Consulting International - an Associate Member of AFSA. At BenchMark, were he led the most recent Auto Finance Benchmark Studies, he continues to lead numerous individual engagements. He spearheaded the development and launch of the next-generation competitive business intelligence program, C-PuLsE and remains continually engaged in consulting and management support activities for the auto finance industry.

George holds a BS in Physics from Penn State and an MS in Management from the University of Southern California. After graduating from Penn State, he accepted a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps. From there, he went to USC, and then joined Ford Credit in Dearborn, Michigan.

At Ford Credit, George served as Vice President of Global Strategic Planning where he directed strategy and planning, business intelligence, and business development and restructuring. He spearheaded an evolution toward a new business model focused on auto loan origination and servicing supported by innovative funding structures.

George managed seven Northern European financing operations from the Regional Headquarters in Amsterdam. As Executive Director of Ford Credit Europe, George centralized European marketing activities (previously conducted at country level) and developed a project management system now used worldwide at Ford and Ford Credit. He directly managed IT, marketing, education and training, insurance, project/program management, and full-service leasing. He also matrix managed all sales operations activities for 23 national markets.

George has been involved in leadership positions within AFSA for many years. He served as a member of AFSA's Executive Committee and Board of Directors and continues to serve on the AFSA Vehicle Finance Board.

He was a key driver in the development of the 2003 AFSA strategic plan that led to the association's increased fiscal health. He was a founding committee member of Americans Well-informed on Automobile Retailing Economics (AWARE) and helped to spearhead the AFSA initiative on standards for electronic contracting that resulted in the ANSI standard for the transfer of location of electronic contracts finalized this year.

He regularly presents at industry conferences and seminars, and serves on the planning committee that develops and leads the program for the AFSA Vehicle Finance Conference. In October 2008, George was awarded AFSA's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award (DSA).

As TRU’s Vice President, Insights, Scott Hess devotes equal time to the firm’s syndicated and custom research divisions, affording him a unique vantage point on the ever-changing terrain of teen and twenty-something life.

A veteran of more than 300 presentations to audiences ranging from a dozen senior managers in a corporate boardroom to a few thousand sales reps in a convention center ballroom, Scott is considered one of the most engaging speakers in the youth research field. As a primary author of the signature annual “TRU Presentation,” Scott is uniquely able to translate qual and quant findings into actionable insights that help some of the world’s leading companies make more meaningful connections with youth. Once the prepared presentation is over, Scott is also known for being quick on his feet, embracing Q&A and brainstorming sessions alike, much to the delight of clients and conference audiences. In recent years, Scott has been a featured speaker at several MAGIC apparel conferences in Las Vegas; has wowed global audiences in Paris and Istanbul; and has been a popular panelist at several Sports Business Journal conferences, as well as a presenter at JP Morgan’s exclusive annual “Deer Valley” summit.

When he’s not traveling to spend time with TRU clients, Scott continues to lead or advise key custom research projects across categories and markets for some of the world’s leading companies and brands. Scott helped devise TRU’s leading-edge virtual ethnographic approach (known as TRUnography: Virtual), and he continues to push methodological innovation focused on taking research to teens’ and twenty-somethings’ home turf, whether real or virtual.

As a husband and the father of two young sons, Scott remains surrounded by youthful lifestyle in his Bucktown neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side.

Before joining TRU, Scott developed his interest in the youth market at online-music pioneer Tunes.com, where he led the creation of online music destinations that included RollingStone.com, TheSource.com, and DownBeatJazz.com. After serving as Vice President/Content for most of his tenure, Scott devoted his final year to bolstering the bottom line, creating innovative integrated marketing programs for Ford, Wendy's, and M&M Mars.

Scott began his career at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), where for six years he played at the fringes of the emerging Internet economy. Some of Scott’s fondest memories from that era include trash-talking about “hoops” with a hyperactive Steve Ballmer on the Microsoft campus; producing an industrial film in Tokyo, Rome, and New York in 10 days; and being pictured and quoted on the front page of USA Today’s Money section as a leading voice of Generation X.

Scott received his B.A. in Creative Writing from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Executive Vice President, Federal Government Affairs
American Financial Services Association

Bill Himpler is the American Financial Services Association's (AFSA) Executive Vice President for Federal Affairs. Bill and his team have enhanced AFSA's presence in the political debate affecting a number of issues that impact member companies' ability to offer affordable credit options to American consumers. Bill came to AFSA from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development where he headed the congressional relations office. Prior to joining HUD in 2002, Himpler was director of legislative affairs for Barbour Griffith & Rogers, Inc. and was tax counsel/legislative director for Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL). He has also served as a senior legislative assistant with Rep. Charles Canady (R-FL) and was a policy analyst and press secretary for the House Republican Study Committee.

Andreas Hinrichs was appointed Vice President, Marketing in June 2008, reporting to Dietmar Exler, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Financial. Prior to entering this role, Hinrichs gained over 12 years of experience through various roles within the Daimler organization. Most recently, he served as Vice President Operations North America for Daimler Financial Services.

As Vice President, Marketing, Hinrichs is responsible for all marketing-related activities for Mercedes-Benz Financial, including pricing, point-of-sale systems, brand partner relations, insurance services, aftermarket products and program development, credit card, dealer and customer communications, sales reporting and fraud control.

Hinrichs is a licensed CPA, holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing from Pforzheim University in Germany, and summa cum laude MBA from the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

Following is an overview of his career achievement:

• Vice President Marketing, June 2008
• Vice President Operations North America, July 2007
• Vice President -- Global Projects and Chief Compliance Officer, August 2006
• Vice President -- Compliance Services, August 2004
• Director Chief of Staff, DaimlerChrysler Services AG, Berlin, Germany, December 2001
• Chief Strategy Officer, PeopleFirst Inc., San Diego, California, October 2000
• Chief Marketing Officer, giggo.com, Inc., Dallas, Texas, April 2000
• Executive Assistant to the Board, DaimlerChrysler AG, Stuttgart, Germany, September 1998
• Global Internet Business Development Manager, Mercedes-Benz Credit Corp., March 1998
• Assistant to the President and CEO, Mercedes-Benz Credit Corporation, May 1996
• Associate Banker, Flensburg, Germany, June 1990

Karen Ideno is the Chief Marketing Officer for Toyota Financial Services (TFS).

Ideno oversees the Marketing, Market Planning, Brand and Loyalty departments. She is responsible for all Toyota and Lexus Financial Services' marketing activities, including market planning, direct marketing, interactive marketing & consumer portal, advertising, brand engagement, and incentive & recognition programs. She reports to Michael Groff, Group Vice President, Sales, Product and Marketing.

Ideno leads the company's focus on loyalty marketing initiatives, one of the largest being the October, 2008 launch of the Toyota Rewards Visa. She and her team are responsible for supporting sales by delivering targeted marketing programs that drive customer brand engagement and loyalty.

Ideno began her career with TFS in 1988 and has held various management positions including Marketing Manager and National Marketing Manager. She was instrumental in developing and growing the Marketing department through initiatives such as the launch of the TFS brand, various product launches, Scion Solutions and the Consumer Portal. In 2006, Ideno was appointed National Manager, Corporate Communications. She and her team significantly expanded and improved the company's internal communications, media relations and philanthropic endeavors. In 2007, the California State Senate recognized her role in expanding TFS' charitable activities, particularly in "Making Life Easier" for the youth of the Boys & Girls Clubs of East Los Angeles.

Ideno is a member of the American Marketing Assoc., the International Assoc. of Business Communications, the UCLA Alumni Assoc., and Toyota's business partnering group, TORQUE.

Ideno earned her Master's in Business Administration - Finance and Marketing from Pepperdine University, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, at Los Angeles. Ideno resides in Irvine, California with her husband and their two children.

As the U.S. and global economies show signs of a rebound, Ron Insana applies his journalistic perspective to how Wall Street, Main Street and Washington shape what the new normal means for all of us.

A financial journalist who stands alone among his peers in having the experience of working for and running his own hedge fund, Ron Insana offers clear, unvarnished insights on the ever-changing status of the economy. Currently host of a nationally-syndicated daily radio show and a senior analyst for CNBC, Insana has access to all of the top financial players in Washington and on Wall Street and translates the market signals and political maneuvers into information everyone understands. His hands-on experience in the financial industry-through some of the markets' most turbulent times-give an added depth of perspective that few analysts can match. He offers practical advice on what individuals and businesses can and should do now to protect what you have and to find opportunities in any type of market condition. Insana is the author ofTraders' Tales, The Message of the Markets, TrendWatching and most recently How to Make a Fortune from the Biggest Bailout in U.S. History: A Guide to the 7 Greatest Bargains from Main Street to Wall Street.

Tom Kontos is Executive Vice President, Customer Strategies and Analytics with ADESA Auctions. In this position, Mr. Kontos interfaces with key ADESA clients and dealers, Wall Street and automotive analysts, and members of the media to provide information and insight on economic trends in the vehicle remarketing industry, of which ADESA is a major player. Mr. Kontos also provides analytical services in the form of annual market reports, periodic reports on used vehicle price trends, web-based information products (www.adesa.com/KontosKorner), dealer surveys, and other strategic studies. He delivers these services and products for both ADESA's used vehicle and salvage businesses (through ADESA's sister company, Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc.), and plays an integral role in developing remarketing strategies with ADESA customers, including the large dealer groups.

Mr. Kontos is the author of Global Vehicle Remarketing (GVR) and Pulse, which provide comprehensive analysis of strategic trends and issues relating to the 40-million-unit used vehicle market and the $83 billion vehicle remarketing industry in North America. These publications have been extremely well received by the automotive industry, often cited in the trade press, and honored with the prestigious APEX and Keystone awards for excellence in investment and financial materials. Prior to joining ADESA, Mr. Kontos helped launch and was the principal author of the ADT Automotive Used Car Market Report, which he saw through five editions.

Mr. Kontos has more than 25 years of experience in market research, financial analysis, and strategic planning. In addition to his automotive industry experience, he has conducted economic analysis of the mining, agricultural, and construction sectors through his experience with W.R. Grace & Co., Vulcan Materials Company, and Rogers Group, Inc.

A native of Washington, D.C., Mr. Kontos holds a B.S. and M.S. in Mineral Resource Economics from The Pennsylvania State University. He has taught at Birmingham-Southern College and Trevecca University and participated in the Master of Liberal Arts and Science program at Vanderbilt University. He resides with his wife, Rhonda, and two children, Alyssa and Theo, in Carmel, Indiana.

Steven R. Lambert is president and chief executive officer of Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation (NMAC) where he oversees general operations and exercises complete discretionary authority over daily operations.

Previously, Lambert served as the director of financial planning and budgeting for Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA); manager of Nissan and Infiniti Division finances; manager of vehicle pricing, contests and incentives; and manager of business planning and financial systems, among other positions.

Before joining Nissan in 1992, Lambert was section head for sales, earnings, cash and tax planning at Hughes Aircraft Company in El Segundo, CA.

Lambert earned his bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering at Brigham Young University (BYU) and his M.B.A. from BYU's graduate school of management.

Lambert is a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the American Financial Services Association and served as Chairman of the Board from October 2008 - October 2009. He also serves on the AFSA Vehicle Finance Board.

Lincoln is a recognized expert in market research and analysis, specializing in automotive, petroleum, travel, and environmental. His 20 years of experience involves deriving business insight from online and offline data while in senior forecasting and business solutions positions with research powerhouses TNS, J.D. Power and Associates, Standard & Poor's and DRI/McGraw Hill. At Compete, Lincoln oversees automotive and travel professionals in delivering a comprehensive analysis of consumer behavior to help clients achieve their sales, profit and market share goals.

Most recently as SVP Automotive Segment Leader for TNS North American Custom Research, Lincoln oversaw thought leadership and brand building for 15 industries with a focus on automotive, petroleum and travel research after leading the TNS Custom automotive and petroleum verticals. Prior to joining TNS, Lincoln was Managing Director for the Automotive Practice of Compete, Inc. Lincoln also managed his own consulting practice, Stratomotive, served as Vice President of Corporate Strategy, at Automotive Information Center, and was a Director at J.D. Power and Associates.

Lincoln holds a BA from Dickinson College and a MS from Boston University.

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Forrest McConnell, III

NADA Chairman, Regulatory Committee

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Mike McConnell

Vice President, Sales,
Financial Products and Corporate Planning

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Dennis McCuistion

Host and Producer
MCCUISTION Program, PBS Television
Dennison, TX

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Bart McFadden

Service Director
Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida
Walt Disney World Branch

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John Noone

President
Ford Motor Credit Global Marketing and Sales

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Stephen E. Smith

Chairman, AFSA Vehicle Finance Division and
Senior Vice President, Financial Services
American Honda Financial Services


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Christopher Stinebert

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Paul Taylor

Chief Economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) and the American Truck Dealers (ATD).