CARY, N.C. -
Bill Zadeits has been named president of Cherokee Automotive Group and Ron Smith has assumed the position of chairman/CEO of the company, it was announced today. The new responsibilities take effect today, said Smith.

Cherokee Automotive Group (CAG) produces such industry-leading publications as Auto Remarketing and SubPrime Auto Finance News; conferences such as the National Remarketing Conference, CPO Forum and Auto Remarketing Canada; and numerous industry email newsletters including AutoRemarketing Today. Zadeits also will continue in his role as managing director of the Pre-Owned Automobile Dealers Alliance. CAG is affiliated with its sister company S&A Cherokee, which is a full-service media company that has been on the Inc. 5000 list for the past two years. 

“I’m very excited and humbled by this new opportunity,” Zadeits said. “The staff and leadership at CAG is the best I’ve ever worked with, and my 15 years here have flown by. I’m extremely optimistic about our people, our business and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.           

“Thanks to Ron Smith, we’ve always been known as a company with great vision and entrepreneurial spirit. My goal will be to build on that strong foundation and help guide the company to even higher levels of customer satisfaction and profitability as we move aggressively forward.”

Smith said the leadership changes reflect the growing national presence of CAG in the late model, pre-owned marketplace. “We have become the national, and in some cases the international, leader in being the information conduit for this dynamic industry,” he said. “In his 15 years with our company, Bill has established himself as one of the industry’s most knowledgeable and competent professionals. We are proud to have him as our new president.”

Zadeits joined CAG in 1996 as director of advertising for the Auto Remarketing publication, which at that time was printed monthly. He has played, Smith said, an integral role in growing the company’s national presence over the years as the publication moved to semi-monthly, other publications were introduced, national business newsletters were started and the company expanded into producing business conferences in the United States and Canada. He was instrumental in launching POADA and its national CPO program CarMark Certified.
CAG was founded in 1990 by Smith to start producing a magazine for the late-model used-vehicle industry, primarily focused on the needs of franchise dealers. Auto Remarketing first started as a bimonthly publication, became monthly and then started semi-monthly in 2000. Today, Auto Remarketing has a circulation of nearly 50,000 twice a month that includes all of the nation’s franchise and top independent dealers.
In his role as chairman, Smith will be involved in development of long-range opportunities for the company.