Founders

Robert Pradzinski, Co Founder & CEO

Bob is intimately familiar with the growing pains of guiding the introduction and maturation of an automotive brand in the world’s most competitive and mature marketplace.  He’s untangled many of them in a career distinguished by his commitment to making Hyundai Motors America one of the most successful business stories in a generation, and more recently in the launch of the Genesis brand.

 

In his 26 years at Hyundai, his contributions were felt across a wide range of sales and operational roles.  He departed Hyundai as Vice-President, National Sales reporting to the CEO and sitting on the Executive Committee, preceded by Sales and Operations leadership roles.
 

 

He achieves challenging sales and profit goals by cultivating employee, dealer, vendor, and Korean HQ relationships.  His team was responsible for 53% growth in sales and 58% growth in revenues over a five-year period that enabled the company to successfully reinvest in products and marketing.

 

Bob believes in Ductus Exemplo, hands-on leadership by example, gaining him unusually deep subject-matter-expertise and fluency in every key input to sales success, from distribution/logistics and deploying a $1.9B incentive spend, to developing sales systems and tactical marketing.

Garrett Bailey, Co- Founder & COO/CCO

Garrett spent his early years on the move, living in four states and five countries by the time he finished high school.  He credits his global multicultural experience for a knack for dropping into the unknown and figuring things out.

 

 
Garrett held seven positions supporting the creation of Land Rover’s visionary Land Rover Centre strategy to transform the customer brand experience, increase sales tenfold and build a highly profitable dealer network.  As General Manager of Operations at Aston Martin, reporting to the President, he was vested with re-engineering the operational capacity in the Americas region in preparation for a series of transformational product launches.

 

 
In dynamic, rapid-growth environments, Garrett is adept at learning unfamiliar subjects to take on diverse business challenges.
 

 

Experience in hands-on operational and sales management, marketing and business strategy enables Garrett to deploy a deep functional understanding in areas such as Digital Selling, Systems. Network Development, Sales, Marketing, Consumer Finance, Technical & Customer Support, Tactical Programs and Training.

Don Southerton, Advisor

Don has devoted his professional career to South Korean and Asia-facing international business. He has been covered in The Economist, Bloomberg TV, The BBC World News, The Wall Street Journal, Korea Times, Yonhap, Forbes, CNN Fortune.

He is a C-Suite advisor for Korean and global companies within the mobility sector and Tier 1 tech providers. Key clients have included the KIA America and Hyundai Motor Group worldwide.

 
He has worked with a stable of Western and Korean global companies including Universal Studios. Starbucks, Taco Bell, Mohegan Sun, Golfsmith and Bristol Myers Squibb.

His most recent book Korea 2020: A Workplace in Transition shares current South Korean corporate workplace trends and the impact of change, specifically among the major Chaebol.

Don is accomplished master instructor and Official Taekwondo Hall of Fame inductee.  He has served as an instructor and coach at the United States Military Academy at West Point. In his free time, Don is also a climbing enthusiast.