OEConnection LLC (OEC) announced that Patrick C. Brown has been named their new president and CEO. Brown succeeds Chuck Rotuno, who was named executive chairman. These changes are effective immediately.
Brown brings extensive experience running high-growth companies in the FinTech, InsurTech and automotive industries. Most recently, Brown served as president and CEO at Innovative Aftermarket Systems (IAS), a leading provider of technology and finance and insurance (F&I) solutions to the automotive industry. IAS is one of the largest F&I providers in the U.S., serving more than 6,000 dealerships across the country. Prior to IAS, Brown was general manager for commercial prepaid business for Netspend, a Global Payments company, and he also co-founded Continental Transfer, which was acquired by Euronet Worldwide.
“Having spent a great deal of time with Patrick throughout the process, I am convinced he is the right person to lead the next chapter of growth for OEC,” said Chuck Rotuno, executive chairman at OEC. “He is a seasoned executive with a proven track record of successfully managing high-growth companies. I am incredibly proud of my tenure at OEC and all the team has accomplished, and this is the right time to pass the torch to Patrick.”
Added Brown, “I am very excited to become part of the OEC family. Chuck and the team have done a tremendous job taking OEC from a joint venture start-up to a leading technology provider in the global automotive space. I look forward to partnering with Genstar and the management team to drive continued growth for OEC.
“We want to thank Chuck for his leadership and look forward to our continued collaboration in his role as executive chairman,” said Geoff Miller, director, and Eli Weiss, managing director, of Genstar Capital, the majority investor in OEC. “Over the past 20 years, Chuck and team have successfully established OEC as the leading provider of technology and data solutions to the automotive replacement parts marketplace. As OEC continues its growth trajectory, we are very pleased to welcome Patrick to the team. He is a highly strategic leader who is very well positioned to build on this momentum.”
Brown holds a master of business administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and bachelor’s degrees in economics and finance from Wingate University. He also serves on the board of All Web Leads, Inc.