You might want to tap into our motor skills.
We are a diverse bunch of gear-heads, hot-rodders, geeks and car nuts who conveniently
happen to know more about selling to the automotive aftermarket that anybody else in
the business. A team with deep sales, marketing, logistics and ecommerce expertise. We
build sales machines with emphasis on your website as the core driver. It only takes a
call to 877-295-4095 to put us to work.
Kim Pendergast – Chairman
Ms. Pendergast is the founder of
speed2marketing and of our parent company Pendergast Partners. The company develops and invests in performance automotive aftermarket companies, including those with NASCAR affiliations.
Her background is deeply entrenched in the processes of improving distribution and logistics to improve company bottom line. Kim has consulted with companies ranging from Fortune 500 to mid-sized corporations and start-ups, including AT&T, Alco Standard, Asea Brown Boveri, Savin, LeGroupe, Videotron and McCann-Erickson, providing business development and strategic planning services. Kim’s 20-year career includes managing asset divestitures for Savin Corporation and Random House; where she purchased assets, and rebuilt revenue streams to run rates in excess of $70 Million. Accomplishments include the sale of publicly traded company for more than twice the best prior offer.
Pendergast holds an MBA from Indiana University where she is actively involved with that institution’s International Business and Leadership centers. In her spare time she hangs around us gearheads, after which she retires to her fabulous garden to regain sanity. You can reach Kim at .
Eric Hruza - President
Mr. Hruza brings a unique mix of marketing, technical, business, financial and sales talent to
speed2marketing clients. His professional emphasis is taking a systemic approach to problem solving that can lead to effective opportunity exploitation. He is recognized as an expert at developing e-commerce solutions.
Many automotive aftermarket companies have sought his counsel including Arrington Engines, Bobby Hamilton Racing, Darryl Cox Racing, Keisler Transmissions, Standard Motors and Superchips. His web development experience also includes American Standard Building, Associates for Resolution Therapy, DeGeorge Home Alliance, and the Waters Foundation. Eric’s twenty-year career encompasses both retail and manufacturing sectors working with companies like Jiffy Lube, Pennsoil, Pit Pros, and UPS.
On weekends, Eric is passionate about getting under the hood of his 440 Hemi-powered custom Chrysler 300. He exercises his heavy foot by entering regional drag racing events, and frequents every industry car show he can. You can reach Eric at .
Bernie Trueblood – Chief Creative Officer
Award-winning creative director and marketing strategist, Bernie likes to say that he helps clients “sell more stuff.” His specialties include business analysis, brand positioning and creative selling propositions. He directs communications projects for
speed2marketing clients from concept to execution, including advertising, packaging, direct mail and e-marketing campaigns.
Trueblood is one of the few people to have held the top chair in Sales, Marketing and Creative. So he can not only help create your brand selling proposition, he also can help sell it – to both your Management and to your Customers. He has produced results for over 300 brands in virtually every category from automotive to analgesics, from hard goods to software to intangibles, and from IT to CPG.
Bernie is a sought-after guest speaker at universities and trade gatherings, and has been a contributing editor to
Mopar Enthusiast, eMarketer, Promo, and
The Hub magazines. You can reach Bernie at .
Daniel Grotjan – Chief Technology Officer
Daniel is our überguru of technology. He is a Microsoft Certified Professional with MCSE certification. Grotjan has designed and maintained web sites for a variety of companies, musical groups, and organizations. His work has encompassed the ecommerce gamut, Active Directory domain administration, web hosting administration, database administration, soft switch PBX integration, and writing custom business software.
Daniel is fluent in virtually every major technology deployed in the development of ecommerce and network solutions, from A to Z, including: Active Directory, Adobe Photoshop and Flash, ADSI, AJAX, Apache, ASP.NET, Asterisk, C#, Cisco Routers, COM+, CSS, DHTML, DNS, Exchange Server, FreeBSD, FTP, HTML, HTTP, IIS, Imail, JavaScript, LINQ, Linux, MRTG, MS SQL Server, MySQL, Postfix, RADIUS, SIP, SmarterMail, SMTP, SpamAssassin, VB.NET, VBScript, Visual Studio, QuickBooks Integration, Web Services, Windows Servers, and XML.
OK, that’s only from A to X, but you get the idea. You can reach Daniel at .
Rick Rollins - Director, Client Services
Rick has dedicated the majority of his professional career to the automotive aftermarket, and is on top of the trends that are impacting our industry. Rollins has been inducted into the SEMA
“Hall of Fame,” and is Chairman-elect of SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association. He is well known for his work with both manufacturers and WDs, along with a demonstrated personal track record of business success.
Rollins' marketing, management and sales abilities are multi-fold. His methods include a detailed, personal approach to helping companies develop, expand and manage their niche with the automotive aftermarket. He has the knowledge and experience to successfully analyze a company's financial, products, services, marketing and management practices.
Prior to joining
speed2marketing, Rollins has worked as VP Sales and Marketing at Superchips, and VP Sales and Marketing at Taylor Cable Products. He has also owned his own performance racing parts service center. His checkered past even includes owning and driving Formula Fords. You can reach Rick at .
Christian Evans – Chief Web Architect
Christian’s unique qualifications as an engineer-turned-artist brings a unique approach to
speed2marketing ecommerce design, at once visually stunning concepts coupled with seamless functionality. He understands that attracting new customers and getting repeat business means delivering an professional online experience in which every piece of a website matches perfectly with the next.
Evans has produced work ranging from government websites and business software to the entertainment industry, including the American Psychological Association, Advanced Airsystems, Silverline Solutions, shopHEMI.com and Nationwide Custom Homes. He is a Microsoft Certified Professional, and is fluent in virtually every major HTML, graphics, modeling and networking software on both PC and Macintosh platforms.
After hours Christian can be found either in the weight room, where he is a world-class lifter, on the golf course, or at the local Martinsville Speedway where he is an avid NASCAR fan. You can reach Christian at .
Thadd Christian – Director, Production
Thadd brings his exceptional qualifications not only as an artist but also a musician, a draftsman, a welder and a youth minister to broaden and round out the
speed2marketing approach to ecommerce. His concepts have enormous sensitivity to the needs and wants of the automotive aftermarket consumer.
He has been a major contributor to the Arrington Engines and ShopHemi.com web sites, including graphic design of web pages, logos and print media, involving heavy HTML, CSS, XML, ASP.net and Java encoding as well as repro production art. Thadd has written technical articles, automotive part descriptions, business presentations and developed design templates and sales standards. Mr. Christian manages our show exhibit program, including the production of materials and the management of show production. His prior experience includes production art responsibilities for American Standard Building Systems, and Bassett Furniture Industries.
Thadd’s passion about automotive stuff is especially deep when it comes to making a car put out music – he builds sound systems that give a whole new meaning to power. Which makes him wildly popular with the youth groups that he directs when he’s not tethered to a speed2marketing workstation. You can reach Thadd at .
Mark Burkhardt – Account Manager
Mark offers
speed2marketing clients an incredible wealth of experience in the performance industry and a broad knowledge of all motorsports. He is an acknowledged retail and wholesale sales expert, with over 18 years of experience owning and managing speed shops, and having sold to virtually every type of performance enthusiast.
Importantly, Mark backs up the
speed2marketing commitment to delivering the backend part of ecommerce, with over seven years of logistics experience at Walmart. He knows that attracting prospects is only half of the emarketing equation – that fulfillment is the key to keeping satisfied customers and generating repeat business.
A third-generation racer, Mark has been drag racing for over 35 years. He spent 4 years serving our country as an air force fighter crew chief. When he is not serving our clients, Mark can be found in his rear engine dragster or working on his competition 1970 nostalgia hemi-powered funny car. You can reach Mark at .
Kenny Melton – Product Designer
Kenny has a far-reaching reputation for design quality and excellence. His experience encompasses engine, drivetrain and suspension parts design. He is currently engaged with
speed2marketing client Arrington engines, and has contributed to the development of many of the “signature” parts that make their shopHEMI.com web site stand head and shoulders above the competition.
Melton’s career began at the local body shop and includes stints at American Standard Building Systems, Ashby Industries, McKinney & Company. He is adept with core computer-assisted design CAD technology, including: AutoCAD 2D and 3D; Autodesk; IntelliBuild; KeyBeam; Keybuild; Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint; MiTek Engineering eFrame and MBA; Robbins Engineering Truss design software and SQL database management;
With a lifelong affinity for anything with wheels, Kenny collects and works on his motorcycles, ATVs and cars, and after hours is a frequent competitor at local autocross events and drag races. You can reach Kenny at .