Drake Automotive Group LLC has announced the addition of three new members of the organization as Drake looks to rapidly grow the late-model/modern muscle and off road segments alongside its leadership in the classic Mustang category.
Gary Schechner, vice president of sales and marketing, will streamline and operationalize the go-to-market channel efforts. He brings more than 25 years of experience in a variety of marketing and sales leadership roles with B2B and B2C categories. He most recently ran sales and marketing for Shelby American.
Keith Criswell, brand manager for modern muscle and off road, returns to Drake after leading product development for Shelby Performance Parts at Shelby American. He brings a wealth of technical car knowledge, new product development success and channel experience.
Kris Horton, industrial designer, will work to speed up Drake’s time-to-market and new product introduction process in R&D. He is best known for his SEMA-concept car designs on the Ford platform and brings a wealth of creative and digital ideation best practices.
“Each of these three new team members brings a track record with a high level of performance attached to them,” said Barry Ryan, operating partner, Huron Capital.
“Having worked directly with both Gary Schechner and Keith Criswell in the past, as well as adding Kris Horton’s industrial design capabilities, I am confident that we’ve elevated our bench strength to aggressively pursue the Modern Muscle and Off Road categories through new product development and a strategic sales strategy,” added Keith Belair, president and CEO.
