NEW YORK -

The 2021 Auto Finance Innovators Award: Top 100, which recognizes auto finance professionals who have made significant technological contributions to their company and the industry, were announced on Tuesday, as six category award winners were chosen by a panel of industry executives, influencers and media leaders.

The awards, sponsored by Lightico and Auto Fin Journal, come on the heels of significant innovation in the auto finance industry during the last 18 months.

The six award winners include:

• Innovator of the Year (Captive): Bob Beatty, executive vice president and chief experience officer at GM Financial

• Innovator of the Year (Subprime): Andy Clements, chief servicing officer at Global Lending Services

• Innovator of the Year (Service Provider): Ken Kertz, vice president of transportation segment at FICO

• Digital Transformation Leader of the Year: Tanya Sanders, head of auto at Wells Fargo

• Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year: Brian Reed, founder and chief executive officer at Digital Auto Advisors

• Innovative Initiative of the Year: Stefan Christman, GM sales operations at BMW Group Financial Services

“It is an honor to be recognized with other fantastic auto finance leaders that have done so much to help innovate within our industry,” said Sanders, who also was the 2020 Auto Finance Executive of the Year. “Congratulations to everyone honored for finding ways to innovate in support of dealers and car buyers."

The category winners as well as the complete list of the top 100 can be found on the awards website.

“This is a great group of leaders who are doing some wonderful things in auto finance innovation,” Reed said. “I’ve worked with hundreds of executives in the field and without a doubt, the push for technology is the biggest game-changer of our time leading to better business and better customer service.”

 Lightico chief executive officer and co-founder Zviki Ben Ishay shared these perspectives.

“We work with a number of industries to help them digitalize their processes but auto finance is quite unique because of the inherently hungry and competitive nature of the industry,” Ben Ishay said. “This makes working with auto finance professionals who are looking to innovate that much more exciting and impactful.

“It takes significant know-how, a desire to learn, a thirst for change and even courage to innovate in turbulent times — and these leaders have shown they have all of that, in spades,” he added.

The judging panel included:

• Grene Baranco, VP, eCommerce, Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead

• Don Gottwald, recently retired from KAR GIobal as chief operating officer

• Glenn Munro, president at Lender Compliance Technologies

• Ian Smith, recently retired CEO of BMW Financial Services USA and Region Americas

• Marguerite Watanabe, president at Connections Insight

• Rich Zellner, president at Automotive Resource Group, Inc.

• Nick Zulovich, senior editor of SubPrime Auto Finance News and Auto Fin Journal, part of Cherokee Media Group

“Out of all of the fantastic leaders we considered, these are really the best of the best when it comes to having a significant impact on both their company and the industry,” Zulovich said. “With the business challenges we continue to face, technological innovation has never been more important.”