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CAL-TEX PROTECTIVE COATINGS INC. -- Tim Akard to senior director of market development. He had been a developer and administrator of self-insured insurance programs for Texas auto dealerships. He also has been a Ford dealer and a member of the Ford National Dealer Council.
Cal-Tex, of Schertz, Texas, manufactures automotive protective coatings.
DRIVINGSALES -- Kevin Root, 51, to president and COO. He had been chief strategy officer and chief product officer at Dealer.com.
Root has been on the DrivingSales advisory board since 2009.
DrivingSales of Salt Lake City provides business intelligence and performance improvement services to auto dealerships.
FEDERAL-MOGUL CORP. -- Gian Maria Olivetti to chief technology officer of the company's powertrain unit. He had been vice president of r&d for pistons, rings and liners.
In his new role, Olivetti, 57, will oversee global engineering, research and product development for Federal-Mogul's powertrain technologies and be chief technical spokesman at industry events.
Federal-Mogul, of suburban Detroit, makes pistons, rings, cylinder liners, valve seats and guides, gaskets seals and friction materials.
HYUNDAI MOTOR CO. -- Frank Ahrens, 48, to vice president of global corporate communications at the company's headquarters in Seoul. Ahrens, an American, is the only foreigner working there at that level.
Ahrens joined Hyundai as director of the global PR team in 2010. In his new role, he will oversee a global PR team of 13 people.
MANHEIM -- Bill Harbourne to general sales manager for the Northeast. He had been account manager for the Major Dealer Team, working with large dealerships across the country.
Nicole Graham-Ponce to general manager at Manheim Dallas-Fort Worth, responsible for business, employee and customer operations. She had been market general sales manager at Manheim Omaha.
Manheim, of Atlanta, provides vehicle remarketing services to dealerships and others. It is a unit of Cox Enterprises.
NAC -- Paul Leary to executive vice president. He had been national sales manager/strategic relationship manager.
Leary will oversee operations, product/risk and marketing as well as participate in product and service development.
NAC, of Westerville, Ohio, provides vehicle service contracts, products and services to auto dealerships. Its former name was National Auto Care.
SEARCH OPTICS -- Brett Lippel, 45, to senior vice president of Tier III sales. He had been vice president of sales and business development at DealerRater.com.
Lippel will lead Search Optics' national Tier III sales team as well as sales strategy development and implementation.
John Marenas, 50, to national Tier III group sales director, based in suburban Detroit. He had been vice president of sales and marketing at IntelliTouch Digital Solutions.
Marenas will be responsible for Search Optics' business development with large automotive dealership groups nationwide.
Search Optics of San Diego is a digital marketing agency that works with auto dealerships.
TI AUTOMOTIVE -- Julian Dench, 50, to global managing director, powertrain systems. He had been vice president and global account director for TRW Automotive.
TI Automotive of Auburn Hills, Mich., outside Detroit, supplies fluid storage, transfer and delivery technology to the auto industry. The powertrain systems product group produces gasoline direct-injection and diesel fuel lines and rails, as well as key fluid carrying lines for turbocharger coolant systems.
