IRVINE, Calif. – CarMD.com Corp. has appointed Mike Beard as chief operating officer (COO), Mike Fitzgerald as vice president of marketing and sales, and David Rich as technical director.
"True experts in their respective fields, I couldn’t be happier with these additions to the CarMD management team who have been put in place to help ensure our company is ready to meet and support our growth initiatives," said Ieon Chen, CEO of CarMD. ‘"With the CarMD handheld device as a conduit, we have already helped countless drivers diagnose car problems and repairs. Now we’re ready to expand with new products, services and a greater focus on partnerships and programs that utilize CarMD’s unmatched check engine-related repair database."
As COO, Beard is responsible for CarMD’s strategic planning, process improvement and programs to maximize productivity and efficiencies to improve the company’s bottom line. Beard comes to CarMD as the managing partner of Value Based Project Management. His career and consulting work have spanned more than 30 years of tactical, management and leadership positions for a range of companies, including Fortune 100 corporations. Previously, he served as the deputy director of the program office at McDonnell Douglas, where his tactical approach to integrated solutions resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in savings on several programs. Beard holds a bachelor of science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He also holds certifications in Lean and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
As vice president of marketing and sales, Fitzgerald has been tapped to oversee new business development, sales, marketing, design and product training for CarMD. His vision, direction and expertise serve to guide CarMD in its mission to provide the automotive industry and consumers with products and information to improve vehicle health and maintenance decisions. A 25-year veteran of the automotive aftermarket, he has held management positions at some of the industry’s leading product solutions companies, including Echlin Inc., Dana Corp. and Standard Motor Products. Fitzgerald currently serves on the board of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry (AAIA) and is chairman of AAIA’s Marketing and Member Relations Committee. Through its membership, AAIA represents more than 100,000 repair shops, parts stores and distribution outlets. He also is president of MFitzgerald Associates LLC. He has a bachelor of arts degree in political science and government from Canisius College.
As technical director, Rich will help to ensure CarMD is maximizing use of data from its robust on-board diagnostic repair database to help technicians and consumers gain access to the information that can help them quickly, accurately and cost-effectively repair today’s vehicles. This includes involvement in the design, validation and support of products and services for the consumer, retail and commercial markets. He also will consult on the CarMD Vehicle Health Index, an unbiased collection of vehicle repair and reliability data published by CarMD. Rich has more than 15 years of experience in the automotive repair and service industries, including more than a decade in technical product development and department management for Innova Electronics Corp. He also worked at Chrysler, Yamaha Motor Co. and was a diagnostics and emissions inspector at several independent repair shops. Rich sits on the board of directors and serves as technical director for the Equipment and Tool Institute. He holds five U.S. Patents and has an L1 Dual Master Certification from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE).
