TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., Dec. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Hagerty, an automotive enthusiast brand and leading specialty vehicle insurance provider, has named Gary Chard as its new Senior Vice President of Marketplace Operations. Chard will join the senior leadership team of Marketplace, Hagerty’s growing business to support members and enthusiasts who are buying and selling collector cars. He will oversee all aspects of Marketplace operations, including live and digital auctions, private sales, financing and classifieds.
“Gary is an industry pro who will help us take Marketplace to the next level as a trusted, easy to use platform for buying, selling and financing collector cars,” said Kenneth Ahn, President of Marketplace. “As one of the most trusted names in the collector car world, Hagerty has an incredible opportunity to capture an even bigger slice of the $4 billion auction market and an estimated $100+ billion global collector car transaction market, and we intend to do just that.”
One of Hagerty Marketplace’s rapidly growing businesses is online auctions, which is currently featuring the cars of former heavyweight boxing champion and business legend George Foreman, including more than 50 collector cars spanning every decade of production from the 1930s through present. The auction lots will close between December 11th and December 21st, with multiple cars ending each weekday. To ensure the buying and selling process is as simple and trustworthy as possible, the Marketplace team provides extensive pre-sale and post-sale services, including facilitation of payment and transfer of ownership. Marketplace also includes collector favorite Hagerty Valuation Tools®, which includes more than 15 years of pricing for 40,000 enthusiast cars, trucks, vans and motorcycles from the post-war era to present.
Prior to joining Hagerty, Gary served as Vice President of Leasing Operations & Work Retail for The Taubman Company and the executive leasing liaison with Simon Property Group. He was responsible for the continuous evaluation of operations to improve efficiency and developing new tools and processes to maximize productivity. Additionally, Gary was the CEO and Founder of a food and beverage recruiting and staffing company, which scaled to approximately 8,000 staff and 2,000 business users in the Detroit market. Previous roles include Senior Vice President, Head of Global Compensation & Human Resources, Americas at Sotheby’s New York and London as well as Senior Vice President, Head of Global Compensation and HR Technology at Sotheby’s.
Chard holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business & Sports Studies from Southampton Solent University. Additionally, he holds a Human Resources Leadership Academy Certification from the Corporate Leadership Council and has taken multiple Human Resources Studies courses at Cornell University.
Chard said, “I’m thrilled to join such a trusted and respected company with so much potential. There is a huge opportunity ahead of this team, and I’m excited for the chance to help Hagerty take full advantage of it while providing an amazing level of service for enthusiast buyers and sellers.”
About Hagerty, Inc. (NYSE: HGTY)
Hagerty is an automotive lifestyle brand committed to saving driving and fueling car culture for future generations. The company is a leading provider of specialty vehicle insurance, expert car valuation data and insights, live and digital car auction services, immersive events and automotive entertainment custom made for the 67 million Americans who self-describe as car enthusiasts. Hagerty also operates in Canada and the U.K. and is home to Hagerty Drivers Club, a community of over 800,000 who can’t get enough of cars. As a purpose-driven organization, Hagerty Impact aims to be a catalyst for positive change across the issues that matter most to our teams, our members, the broader automotive community, our shareholders and the planet at large. For more information, please visit www.hagerty.com or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. More information can be found at newsroom.hagerty.com.