Automotive Marketing Technology Provider Outsell Promotes Bryan Harwood to President, Adds Two to Senior Management Team

MINNEAPOLIS, MN--(Marketwired - May 22, 2017) - Outsell, which drives more revenue for auto dealers by transforming how they engage customers and prospects throughout their lifecycle, announced today that CTO Bryan Harwood has been elevated to President of the company, in recognition for the important role he has played in driving Outsell's growth and success in recent years.

In addition, Outsell has rounded out its senior management team with the addition of two new executives: Litded Davis has been promoted to Vice President, Product and Program Management, and Chris Johnson has been promoted to Vice President, Development. Both have made significant contributions to the organization during their tenure with Outsell.

Outsell achieved record-breaking sales in Q1, after closing out a very strong 2016. Direct sales now comprise a significant percentage of revenue, and the company maintains strong channel sales as well from agency partners such as Agency 720 and Saatchi & Saatchi. 

Mike Wethington, CEO and Founder of Outsell, said, "While serving as CTO, Bryan frequently contributed to operational discussions and decisions that demonstrated to me and the Board that he was capable of taking on more responsibility. He's played an important part in not only helping to expand Outsell's capabilities over the past six years, but also in working with our internal team, customers and partners to make sure our new products were widely adopted by auto dealers. I'm very pleased to see him take a more active role in managing the company's strategy and growth."

"Analytics are essential in auto sales, and Outsell helps dealers leverage technology to forge closer relationships with consumers," said Harwood, now President. "There is so much opportunity in this market, and Outsell has built a fantastic marketing platform that can grow in many ways. I'm looking forward to working closely with Mike and the rest of the Outsell team to make it happen."

About Harwood, Johnson and Davis

Bryan Harwood joined Outsell in 2011 as CTO. He is an innovative technology leader with a depth of experience building out data and transaction processing systems on a massive scale for global enterprises. Harwood began his career as an IT Architect at IBM Global Services working with clients on large implementation projects. Following IBM, he was Lead Architect at Sun Microsystems, architecting a global e-commerce and content management solution for a top e-learning company. He then moved to the role of Fellow & Chief Architect at Galileo/Travelport, building out the first web services platform for the travel industry, which allowed travel sites like Orbitz, Cheaptickets and Expedia to integrate their systems seamlessly. This next-generation Global Distribution System (GDS) was a revolutionary project in the travel industry. He holds a BS in Information and Computer Science from UC Irvine.

Litded Davis is a results-driven individual with more than 15 years of product and project management experience leading strategic initiatives and delivering innovative products in the healthcare, insurance, banking, incentive and automotive industries. As Vice President, Product and Program Management, Davis implements PMO and product management practices. She leads a talented group of product strategists, product managers, project managers and business systems analysts driving the next generation of the Outsell platform. Previously, Davis was director of the project management organization at Outsell. She has also held program and product development positions at Hallmark Business Connections, United Healthcare, TCF Bank, Baker Hill (acquired by Experian) and One America (formerly American United Life Insurance). Davis holds a BS in Finance from Indiana University Kelly School of Business and Certificate of Programming from the University of Minnesota.

Chris Johnson brings more than two decades of leadership experience to Outsell, with the majority focused on scaling smaller development shops up to enable high growth through the professionalization of software delivery practices. At Outsell, Johnson has managed the Development and Infrastructure teams, helping guide the technology practices through the transitions to Amazon Web Services (AWS), .NET development platforms and ecosystems, and Agile development methodologies. Prior to joining Outsell, Johnson managed the development and delivery of the first Web-enabled Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application suite at Lawson Software, and served as the Director of the Development organization for the Governance, Risk, and Compliance business of Thomson Reuters. He holds BS degrees from the University of Minnesota in both Astrophysics and Physical Science Education, as well as a Master's degree from the University of Saint Thomas.

"Bryan, Litded and Chris have all contributed to Outsell's past success in measurable ways," said Wethington. "These promotions are well deserved and help position Outsell for future success and growth."

About Outsell
Outsell drives more revenue for auto dealers by transforming how they engage consumers throughout their individual lifecycles. Outsell makes dealers' lives easier by keeping them in front of customers and prospects using automated marketing communications across channels -- helping them retain more customers and attract new ones. Dealers using Outsell's proprietary technology are tipped off when consumers are most ready to engage, buy, or service. The Outsell marketing platform manages millions of interactions every month for dealers representing all major automotive brands.