South East Asia  |  Australia

Management Team

Ken Fife - Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director

Ken Fife has been the CEO of Auto-IT since the company was formed by merger in January 2000. Prior to that, in 1987, he founded automotive system specialist company KGM Management. Under his leadership the initial operation comprising four people and 14 dealer management system (DMS) clients has grown to 80 staff with more than 20,089 software licensees in 1,200 dealer locations.

Ken is a leader in the dealer management system market and has formed strong relationships with most of the major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in all the markets in which Auto-IT is actively engaged.

He was a major force behind the formation of the Australian Dealer Software Suppliers Association (ADSSA) and, apart from leading Auto-IT as its CEO, he has been the principal architect of Auto-IT’s strong offshore expansion.

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Michael Damianos - Non-Executive Director

Michael Damianos is a partner and CPA in a long established accounting practice with over 25 years experience in the automotive industry. His association with dealer management systems dates back to the early 80's when, through his accounting practice he developed an industry-specific automotive accounting system.

This led to the creation of one of the foundation companies that eventually became Auto-IT.

His accounting background is preceded by 10 years working in Sales and Marketing within the computer industry. This unique blend of experiences brings a valuable range of skills and knowledge to the business and in particular, the company's board.

Wayne Rushworth - Chief Operating Officer, Executive Director

Wayne Joined Auto-IT in 2005 following involvement in a consulting capacity. Prior to joining the company, Wayne had an extensive career in banking and finance spanning more than 25 years.

He has worked in institutional, corporate and commercial banking markets and in the finance company segment providing finance to the automotive and trucking industry.

Wayne has also worked on numerous projects including technology implementations and major change initiatives. He has a Bachelor of Economics, a Masters degree in Professional Accounting, is a CPA and is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia.

Aaran Newman - National Sales & Marketing Manager, Executive Director

A veteran of the motor industry, Aaran is the fourth generation of his family in the industry and has over 20 years experience. Son of Martin Newman, Managing Director of Newmans Motor Group and Newmans Information Services (NIS) Aaran filled a number of roles in both organisations gaining a strong insight into the workings of a dealership and a computer software company.

Since joining NIS (now Auto-IT) and prior to becoming National Sales and Marketing Manager, Aaran performed the roles of Support Consultant, Account Manager, Support Manager, Technical Services Manager, Accountant and Product Manager. Aaran has been instrumental in leading and driving the success of both our PMDS™ product and our Sales and Marketing teams.

Aaran holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment from the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA). He is a fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and is a fellow of the Corporate Directors Association of Australia.
 

Roger Peffers - Managing Director - New Zealand

Roger is the Managing Director of Auto-IT NZ Ltd. He has worked in the automotive and IT related industries for 20 years, holding a number of key positions within franchise automotive dealerships. His last position before joining Auto-IT was Group Service Manager for a major Toyota dealership in Wellington.

With Mechanical qualifications and a Business Diploma from Victoria University, Roger has brought a systematic and logical approach to managing and developing Auto-IT’s profitable New Zealand operations. His wealth of hands-on experience within the dealership community and his extensive skill sets within the IT industry have ensured that under Roger’s leadership, the Auto-IT NZ team achieves some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings within the Auto-IT community. 
 

John O'Halloran - Regional Manager, South East Asia

John O’Halloran is the Regional Manager for South East Asia, based in Kuala Lumpur. He has both an Automotive and IT background with over 20 years of worldwide experience in retail, distribution, fleet management and financial services.

John holds a Masters Degree in Information Technology and Management and is an experienced delivery and operations manager. In previous roles he has worked for two OEM’s, Volkswagen and Renault, in addition to several major Automotive software vendors worldwide.

Prior to his appointment, John had spent a total of eight years living in Asia, six of those in Japan as Country Manager and most recently two years in Thailand and Japan as a General Manager, managing a global OEM relationship. In addition, John has also managed large-scale software deliveries in Russia, The Netherlands, The UK, Puerto Rico and Portugal.
  

Geoff Miller - Business Development Manager

Geoff has been in the DMS and Automotive Industries for over 20 years. Born in Melbourne, Australia, his parents moved to the UK when he was 14. He originally started his career as an IBM programmer developing DMS solutions for DCS in the UK and then progressed through customer support and project management positions over the next 10 years.

Geoff lived in Japan for eight years and established a local operation selling and supporting DMS solutions to Automotive Importers for the likes of Ford, Chrysler, Peugeot and Fiat Japan. Geoff moved to Kerridge Automotive in the UK in 2000 as a Regional Director and setup local operations in Puerto Rico, USA to support Kerridge’s Caribbean customers.

Recently, Geoff moved back to Australia and worked for a large multi-location Toyota dealer group to create a centralised department of 10 people consisting of IT, Marketing and Contact Centre.

Geoff looks after new business development for Auto-IT in WA, SA, NT and SE Asia and resides in Perth, WA. He is married and has two boys. He believes that Auto-IT has a rare mix of passionate friendly people and the most innovative DMS solutions in the Asian Pacific region.

Khairul Faizi M. Zin - Principal Consultant

Faizi has over 10 years of business experience predominantly in Business Finance and IT. He has worked extensively in the retail environment within the Automotive and the Oil & Gas industries. His unique skills are in the development of business models for planning, budgeting and internal controls.

He is process-minded and an advocate of business efficiency, with direct and indirect participation in business improvements throughout his career. Having successfully applied strategic concepts in real businesses, he is able to relate to client's needs easily. With a strong combination of business and IT skills, his experience is valued by Auto-IT clients who are seeking improvements and new ideas to advance their business.

Faizi's previous roles include the Dealer Principal of Federal Auto Cars Sdn Bhd, the head of I.S. and Business Process at Federal Auto Holdings Sdn Bhd, a Business Analyst for ProJET Malaysia, Territorial Retail Manager for Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd and a Retail Information Management Executive for Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn. Bhd. He has also attained his BA (Hons) for Accounting and Finance from Lancaster University, England.
 

Frank Maiolo - Manager Strategic Projects

Frank started his professional life in business administration holding financial and management accountant positions and ultimately a Company Secretary position for a large Australian public company. His Computer Science qualification eventually led him to the IT industry where he designed systems for management of aeronautic components, freight management, retail and other industries.

His involvement with dealerships began 26 years ago. During this period he led the design, development and delivery of three retail dealer management system evolutions. His most satisfying achievement has been to deliver many technical firsts; under Frank’s direction Auto-IT’s dealer management system products have achieved world's best practice status.

Frank’s and his team’s efforts have led to the delivery of Auto-IT’s current Windows®-based retail dealer management systems, now with international deployment capabilities across a wide range of currencies, languages and statutory requirements.

Frank now heads up management of Auto-IT's Strategic Projects.
 

Management - eBusiness
 

Peter Fritz – eBusiness Manager

Peter has worked for Auto-IT since 1997, bringing with him a unique combination of experience and skills across a range of technical and creative fields. Peter has worked professionally in publishing, advertising, motor vehicle sales and graphic/multimedia/Web design and has always been at the forefront of his trade.

Peter developed a passion for cars at an early age and spent 15 years building a career in the media with some of Australia’s premier motoring publications including Car Australia (now MOTOR), Australian Motorcycle News and 4x4 Australia - driving and photographing everything from Ladas to Lamborghinis alongside industry greats like Alan Jones, Jim Richards, Peter Brock and many others.

Along the way he developed freelance relationships with a number of marquee clients, including Mazda, SAAB and HSV. He went on to spend four years at a Honda dealership (and later, Mercedes Benz), where he set a series of records in new Honda sales, subsequently being promoted to manage the premium NSX brand.

Peter is an integral part of the marketing team and is involved in our online and offline marketing initiatives, such as this website.
 

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