Cars.com has announced that Jenell Ross will join Jill Greenthal and Jerri Devard on its 11-person board of directors. Ross has 28 years of leadership experience in the auto industry. She has been President of Bob Ross Auto Group, a family-owned, Ohio-based Buick-GMC and Mercedes-Benz dealership.
Bob Ross Auto Group was the first African American-owned Mercedes-Benz dealer in the U.S. and today Ross is the only second-generation African American female auto dealer in the country.
Jenell Ross was recently named one of North America’s 100 leading women in the auto industry, with Bob Ross Auto Group ranking as a sales and customer service leader while under her leadership.
Ross said she is happy to “join CARS in support of their quest for category leadership …as I work with the board and management team to help the CARS platform generate meaningful sales and efficiencies for our industry through innovation.” Her experience with dealers can add needed perspective for the Cars.com leadership group as dealers are looking for ways to navigate the COVID-related economic, service, and marketing changes.
Perspective Outside of the Auto Industry
Since Ross is a member of the board of directors at Hub Group, a North American supply chain solutions company, and served on the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Cincinnati branch board of directors, she has more than just automotive dealership experience. Her fiscal planning and supply chain strategy knowledge can help CARS increase efficiency in its present organizational planning.
Supporting that, Forbes also said, “Jenell brings valuable insights to the board through her years of leadership in the automotive industry and the public, civic, and charity boards on which she is involved.”
Bringing Outside Experience
This public, civic, and charity experience will help CARS look past its automotive space and possibly bring in new strategies to encourage dealers in better relations with their customer’s needs.
Understanding that leadership brings responsibilities for assisting other businesses, Ross is a board member for the Minority Business Partnership through the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. She is also an active member of the Dayton Area Automobile Dealers Association and the Ohio Auto Dealers Association.
The Importance of Giving Back
To honor her late mother, Jenell Ross started a charity that supports youth in education and the arts and raises funds to advance the fight against breast cancer. With consumers looking to buy from corporations more deeply involved in causes, Ross’s experience can help CARS and dealers see the long-term value in giving.
CARS desires to help dealers
When asked about Ross, CARS president and chief executive officer Alex Vetter commented, “Jenell is a 28-year auto industry veteran and accomplished leader. She will bring incredible perspective and valuable insights to the CARS Board as a successful second-generation dealer owner-operator of the Bob Ross Auto Group – the first African American-owned Mercedes-Benz dealer in the U.S.”
Vetter said, “Keeping local dealers at the center of our industry remains a guiding principle, and the addition of Jenell will help strengthen CARS commitment to enabling local operators to leverage technology to their competitive advantage. The CARS Board and management team is excited to work with her.”
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