Customer Centric Automotive Veteran Joins Foundation Direct Team to Disrupt Conventional Agency Model

HERNDON, Va., Oct. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Foundation Direct, a new technology and consulting company offering automotive marketers an industry-leading option to "Go Direct" with their digital advertising, is pleased to announce Ashlyn Stewart as their new VP of Client Experience. Ashlyn joins Foundation Direct from AutoLeadStar, where she led the Dealer Experience and Technical Support Team. 

"It was crucial that our VP of Client Experience was to bring a deep understanding of our customers, their business priorities, and their many options for succeeding in today's ever-changing digital landscape," says co-founder Andrew Diffenderfer. "Ashlyn's experience combines an impressive depth of knowledge on dealership operations, breadth of diverse experience across automotive partners, and an unwavering focus on the clients' best interests. Ashlyn's role will help us keep the customer at the heart of everything we do at Foundation Direct today, and everything we're building towards in the years to come."

"Dealerships today are realizing that the right technology can replace the old high-margin, limited-transparency agency model... and can drive better business results. Foundation Direct's solution offers just that -- a new way forward that's focused on improving the bottom line across all profit centers," says Stewart. "As customers expect more, dealers are pushed to provide more. Steve Jobs once said, 'You have to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology,' and here at Foundation Direct we strive to do just that, empowering dealerships to deliver highly relevant, reimagined customer experiences at exactly the right moments."

Ashlyn has spent her career working for two of the fastest-growing automotive startups in the industry, where transparency and automation were not only focal points of their business but the foundation to their success. During Stewart's tenure at TrueCar, she partnered closely with several of the top Dealer Groups in the US. Ashlyn was also part of the crucial team that helped build and scale TrueCar's first Customer Success field team. A forward-thinking team that consulted with dealerships across the country to share best practices and provide valuable insights to capture missed opportunities to convert more customers to sales. 

Ashlyn is from South Bend, Indiana, home of the Studebaker. She currently resides on the West Coast in Portland, Oregon with her family. Stewart is a graduate of Purdue University, with degrees in both Biology and Psychology. She is an advocate for empowering students through her partnership with Elevate Students. Elevate Students empowers communities to elevate character, self-esteem, academic success, and leadership abilities through curriculum and coaches.

Stewart's experience, attitude and dedication will only strengthen Foundation Direct's nationwide footprint. 

About Foundation Direct
Foundation Direct was created to give OEMs, regional associations, automotive groups, and dealerships the ability to take their ad dollars directly to Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Microsoft, enabling them to spend less on margin, invest more in media, and drive better business results.
Visit https://foundationdirect.com/ for more information.

SOURCE Foundation Direct