U.S. Auto Parts Network Welcomes Two
U.S. Auto Parts Network, the leading online provider of Aftermarket Performance Parts and accessories, has announced two appointments for the company’s Board of Directors. New Directors are Josh Berman and Jeffrey Schwartz, with the former being the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of MySpace.com, while the latter stands as the former Chief Executive Officer of Autobytel.
Josh Berman is the co-founder and COO of the top online lifestyle portal, MySpace. Under Berman’s business savvy and insightful management, the said online site has achieved tremendous growth since its launch in the year 2004. Indeed, even if the portal has only began its operation in 2004, it is already home to approximately 115 million current active subscribers worldwide, with a modest average of 300,000 new subscribers signing up daily. Besides said venture, Berman also co-founded and previously managed two other thriving internet companies, namely ResponseBase and Xdrive Technologies. He served as the former Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Responsebase, while he was Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President for Xdrive. Also part of Berman’s impressive credentials was his stint as management consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers, as well as the International Marketing Manager and Senior Financial Analyst for Twentieth Century Fox.
When asked for comment on his new endeavor, Berman has this to say: “As a leader in the online auto parts market, I believe U.S. Auto Parts has the technology, people, and resources to continue to drive growth in the industry as well as its market share. I look forward to working with the management team and the Board as we seek to achieve the Company’s strategic initiatives and capitalize on these opportunities.”
On the other hand, the other new appointee, Jeffrey Schwartz, also offers quite a successful and colorful professional background. Currently, Schwartz is serving as the CEO and Chairman of Vertical Passion Media, a successful marketing and media company centered on content and classified listings in the automotive category. Prior to that, he was with Autobytel from 2001 to 2006, evolving in numerous executive positions such as President, CEO, Director, and Vice Chairman. During Schwartz’ exemplary leadership, Autobytel has developed itself as a leading automotive marketing services company, even acquiring a staggering ten-fold increase in market capitalization. Before Autobytel, Schwartz also performed as CEO and Chairman for an automotive dealership group called AutoCentro, as CEO and President of Autoweb, and as Vice President of Corporate Affairs at The Walt Disney Company. Furthermore, among Schwartz’ various notable accomplishments is his prior position of director in the Internet Advertising Bureau, wherein he was duly awarded as the ‘Outstanding Public Company Executive’ by the American Electronics Association.
Schwartz, like Berman, is very pleased to be joining the team of U.S. Auto Parts: “I am excited to be joining the U.S. Auto Parts’ team at this exciting stage of the Company’s development. I believe U.S. Auto Parts is well-positioned to build upon its market leading position within the high-growth aftermarket auto parts and accessories category. I look forward to utilizing my background and experience to continue the achievements the existing management team and Board of Directors have made to date.”
For U.S. Auto Parts, the honor of having Berman and Schwartz is very apparent. Robert Majteles, Chairman of the Board, has this to say: “We are very fortunate to welcome Josh and Jeff to the Board of Directors. We are pleased with the level of talent we are attracting to our Board and believe it is indicative of the Company’s compelling business platform and significant future growth opportunities. Together with the recent addition of Barry Phelps, we believe we have completed the process of building a strong, public company Board of Directors and we look forward to serving our shareholders well.”
Shane Evangelist, newly appointed CEO, has also extended his warm welcome to the two new directors: “We believe Josh and Jeff bring to the Board several years of experience and proven track records with leading online marketing and automotive companies, making them valuable resources to the company. We look forward to having the expertise and guidance of these two senior executives benefiting U.S. Auto Parts as we prepare the Company for its next stage of growth.”