DES PLAINES, IL — Wheels, Inc., recently announced the appointments of Gino Fontana to Senior Director of Purchasing Operations and Sheryl Sawyers to Director, Vehicle Acquisitions.
In his new role, Fontana will oversee purchasing operations and acquisitions as well as truck engineering, including overall responsibility for vendor relations with manufacturers, dealers and vendors supporting the trucks, maintenance assistance program and collision areas.
“This promotion and expansion of Gino’s areas of responsibility reflect the leadership he has consistently provided to help make Wheels’ factory acquisition systems and operations the best in the industry,” said Mary Ann O’Dwyer, Wheels senior vice president of finance and operations. “He is recognized throughout Wheels for his special talents in operational management and in the design and innovative utilization of automation to improve quality, productivity and client responsiveness.”
Prior to the new appointment, Fontana was Wheels’ Director of Acquisitions, a position he assumed in 1997 after stints as manager of account transitions, senior account executive in client services and maintenance advisor. Fontana, who was recently appointed chairman of an industry committee of the American Automotive Leasing Association project to define standardized protocol for vehicle specifications and rules, joined Wheels in 1984. He has a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University.
As Director of Vehicle Acquisitions, Sawyers will provide leadership for all activities involving factory acquisition. She moves into her new role from the position of manager of vehicle acquisitions where she had responsibility for every aspect of vehicle set-ups, ordering, and invoice and audit control. Prior to that, Sawyers’ planning and organizational expertise were key to major financial systems implementations in the Wheels accounting department.
Sawyers joined Wheels in 1994. She has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in business administration from Roosevelt University.
“Sheryl’s expertise and leadership have been critical to the success of multiple projects in the areas of finance and vehicle acquisition,” O’Dwyer said. “This promotion reflects her proven ability to help Wheels reach its operational business objectives.”
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