WOMEN IN AUTOMOTIVE LLC
CASSELBERRY, FLORIDA

An entrepreneur with a background in advertising sales, management and a few online start-ups, Christy Roman has a unique perspective on advertising as it pertains to automotive and the Internet. Her claim to fame was developing and monetizing the Partnership Program (now the Premium Program) dealer initiative at AutoTrader.com, which turned them into a classified advertising powerhouse – and now generates hundreds of millions of dollars. She is also the founder of Women in Automotive, which provides events and training designed to empower women in the industry and help dealers hire and retain women as employees. Past roles include ad agency owner and business development; sales and management for newspaper and cable advertising; piloting the one-time AOL Time-Warner multi-media cross-selling initiative; Regional Sales Manager for Who’s Calling, and consulting for television stations to help them develop online revenue streams. She sold the automotive division of Now Marketplace, Inc. in 2014 to form a new company with JKR Advertising called Now Digital, Inc. The digital agency continues to be a one-stop shop for dealers and local businesses wanting to maximize the Internet as an effective form of advertising. Subi Ghosh spent her first 6 years in Automotive working her way up from Internet Sales Assistant to Sales and E-Commerce Director of Dealer Groups. Her passion for the industry and drive to be an advocate for dealers serves as a perfect match as Executive Vice President of Dealer Authority and Founding Board Member of Women In Automotive. Subi has become a respected speaker at the major Automotive Events including NADA, Driving Sales, Digital Dealer, and more. Subi keeps actively involved in the automotive community as a conference speaker and blogger on many automotive forums to be an advocate for dealers, share her knowledge, grow within her profession, and improve the way the industry sells and markets cars. With nearly 30 years of industry experience, Joni is recognized as one of the most trusted and relied-upon experts in the automotive business. As the President and Founder of Owner Connect, her team has revolutionized the role and impact Business Development Centers now play among dealerships throughout North America and Europe. In addition to her years as the face of Owner Connect, Joni has gained a wonderful reputation for her corporate speaking experience and workshop series. Focusing on delivering results and improving efficiency, Joni has built an organization and strategy to ensure every client realizes its full potential. Jody DeVere is a internationally recognized speaker, trainer, often quoted industry pundit and spokesperson for the automotive industry on the women’s market. She has been featured by the New York Times, NPR, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox Business, Forbes Women, Oprah Magazine and Parenting Magazine to name a few. As CEO of AskPatty.com, she provides automotive education to women consumers and an interactive online Certified Female Friendly® certification training program for automotive retailers on how to attract, sell, retain and market to women. Jody DeVere is a champion for women in the automotive industry, and her company AskPatty.com, Inc. serves as the first point of contact for many women who are seeking the very best experience to buy a car and service by visiting Certified Female Friendly® automotive retail locations across the United States and Canada. Kathy has been in the automotive industry for over 20 years in various roles of increased significance at CDK Global, Inc. For the last 3 years as Director of Sales and Business Development, she has national responsibility for the minority dealer business, representing over 1,600 customers across the US, generating over $90M in revenues. Kathy is also responsible for building customer advocates and growing CDK’s brand and market share within the women retail business segment, representing over 1,000 customers across the US, generating over $57M in revenues. CDK Global is the only DMS provider with a program focused solely on our minority and women dealers. This position has given Kathy a very unique view of diversity in our industry and in our company. For the past 20 years, Kathy has been passionate about growing representation of minority and women dealers in the automotive industry. She has grown the minority dealer business from $60M to $90M over the last 5 years. In addition to her relationships with dealers, she has developed strong relationships with automotive manufacturers and dealer associations. She strives to strengthen CDK’s relationship with minority and women dealers and key segment influencers by being an advocate and liaison for the minority and women dealers. Kathy was recently awarded the 2016 National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) Woman of the Year Award which recognizes the woman whose heroism, longevity and advancement in the automotive industry serves as a shining example of the contributions women make at the highest levels of business leadership. Kathy is currently a Founding Board member of the Women in Automotive organization, focused on accelerating the role of women in the automotive industry. She has been associated with WAAI for nearly 10 years. As an early member, she started a WAAI Chapter in Chicago, which she grew to over 100 members before accepting a position that relocated her to the Northeast. During her Presidency, she conducted the 1st Women’s Day Awards Program at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show honoring women in automotive. Currently recognized as a leader in training and development Katy holds a Bachelors and Master’s Degrees in Special Education from the University of Nebraska. With her strong educational background, her expertise in people development, her keen understanding of the automotive industry, her energy, compassion and drive, she is proud to serve on the Board of Women in Automotive. Austin Business Journal in 2012. She and her team were the first FIAT retailer to break NAFTA sales record by selling more than 100 new FIAT 500s in one month. That impressive record earned them a personal visit by FCA Chairman Sergio Marchionne.