OptiCat, a leading supplier of cataloging data services for the automotive and heavy duty aftermarket, has announced the appointments of industry veterans Don McEntee as director of sales and marketing, and Kyle Johnson as director of business development.
Don McEntee has more than 35 years experience in the aftermarket and comes to OptiCat from SKF where he was VP of marketing for its Vehicle Service Market division. Prior to that, he held several sales and marketing positions in his career, including roles with UBP, Ampere, Modine and TRW. McEntee is active in both the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) and the Auto Care Association (ACA). He was deeply involved in the AASA Know Your Parts campaign and was one of the original champions of the Heavy Duty Data Standards initiative, which is now managed by ACA. Earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Northwood University, McEntee also holds a Master Automotive Aftermarket Professional (MAAP) certificate from the University of the Aftermarket.
“I am thrilled to be part of the OptiCat team, and I look forward to helping assist our customers and channel partners sell more parts,” said McEntee.
Kyle Johnson has more than 27 years experience in the aftermarket and comes to OptiCat from SupplierGATEWAY where he was COO. Prior to that, he was VP/area managing director for Solera, Inc. and before that VP of strategic accounts for WHI Solutions. Johnson brings extensive aftermarket data experience to OptiCat. He served on the ACA Technology and Standards committee for eight years and was one of the original data architects of the ACES data standards. Johnson also created the original WHI/eBay catalog data architecture and has data integration experience with CSI/MacDonald, Epicor, Motor, AC Delco and GM OE. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Weber State University and a master’s degree from Brigham Young University.
“OptiCat represents a perfect fit for me,” Johnson said. “The culture, the mission and the toolsets are in lockstep with everything that I am passionate about. I couldn’t be happier with this new opportunity.”
“Don and Kyle are highly regarded industry veterans, and I’m excited to be bringing on these two accomplished and brilliant friends to expand the depth and breadth of our team,” said Bryan Thueson, COO of OptiCat LLC.
“In that OptiCat’s mission is ‘Helping You Sell More Parts!,’ we are elated to have these talented new Partners join our team. I’m confident they will significantly contribute to the success of our customers and to our ability to fulfill our promises to our marketplace,” said Charley Johnson, CEO of OptiCat LLC.
