Foundation Snags Long-Time Googler As COO To Accelerate New "Go Direct" Model

HERNDON, Va., Nov. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Foundation Direct, a new technology and consulting company offering Automotive marketers an industry-leading option to take control of their digital advertising strategy by going direct to the largest digital media companies, today announced the appointment of Ashley Lepczyk as their Chief Operating Officer. Ashley joins Foundation Direct after 12 years at Google, where she worked on Automotive both in the US and globally.

"Ashley is known among her peers for having the tenacity to tackle large, complex challenges with positivity and enthusiasm, and has built deep relationships in both the automotive and tech industries along the way," says Co-Founder Andrew Diffenderfer. "Her experience consulting the largest Automotive Digital Agencies, OEMs and Auto Groups, along with thousands of dealers, has given her a unique understanding of the complex -- and sometimes systemic -- challenges Foundation is solving for. All this -- plus her ability to link a long term vision to day to day execution -- is why bringing Ashley onboard as our COO made total sense, especially as we continue to grow." 

Lepczyk brings with her extensive insight on large-scale operations from her time at Google, where she spearheaded efforts to streamline the tech giant's go-to-market strategy across multiple orgs and a $1B book of business. As a founding member of Google's Automotive Retail team, she advised OEMs on designing successful digital advertising programs for their dealers and worked closely with both Auto Groups and Agency partners to demonstrate the business impact that digital marketing delivers for dealers and the incremental opportunity that still exists. 

"I'm thrilled to be joining this uniquely disruptive company," said Lepczyk. "My time at Google provided me the privilege of collaborating with automotive agencies and demo'ing the technologies that execute a large portion of dealerships' digital marketing dollars. While there are some admirable options out there, nothing provided both the power and simplicity that I felt automotive marketers need to succeed in today's digital environment. The solution that Foundation Direct has architected delivers the most impressive performance against true business outcomes and is intuitive and easy to use. I truly believe this will be a game-changing solution and am honored to play a role in bringing it to the industry." 

Ashley led the release of Google's first ever Dealer Guidebook, which outlined a step-by-step process for maximizing Google's tools and solutions at the dealership level. During her tenure, she successfully partnered with professionals in every level of leadership across sales, marketing, product engineering, analytics and more. 

"Ashley's ability to simplify highly complex topics into easily digestible concepts are the best in the business," says Co-Founder Tim Mueller. "No automotive dealer or Auto Group needs more reports, they need better insights into what drives their business forward - Ashley can deliver just that - and that's why we hired her". 

Lepczyk is an active advocate for women, in Automotive and beyond. Before joining Foundation Direct, she helped to lead Detroit's Women@Google community and was responsible for initiating Google's support of and participation in the Women In Automotive Conference. She is also Co-Founder of Mama In The Making, an online program that prepares pregnant women for the transition to motherhood and helps organizations support and retain their top female talent.

Lepczyk will extend Foundation Direct's footprint with a location in metro Detroit.

Foundation Direct will be visiting major metro cities through the end of 2019 and early 2020. Please reach out to [email protected] for information on dates and locations. 

About Foundation Direct

Foundation Direct was created to give Automotive Groups & Dealerships the ability to take their ad dollars directly to Google, YouTube, Facebook and Microsoft, enabling them to spend less on margin, invest more in media and drive better business results.

Visit: https://foundationdirect.com/ for more information. 

SOURCE Foundation Direct

Related Links

https://foundationdirect.com