 |
|
George Ayres -
President and Chief Operating Officer
George is responsible for all operations of the company including the core
Driving School, Racing School, Corporate Events, Skip Barber Race Series,
Sponsorship, and OEM Events.
Prior to his appointment at Skip Barber, George was Sales and Marketing
Director - Ford Special Vehicle Team (SVT). He worked closely with Ford's SVT
Performance Engineering group in Dearborn, MI, developing all automotive
performance products such as the Ford GT, Mustang Cobra, and F-150 Lightning.
His responsibilities included performance product planning, enthusiast press
relations, customer support, dealer certification and training, and performance
vehicle marketing. Mr. Ayres' main focus was to help create high-impact
performance cars and trucks that lend street credibility to the Ford brand and
that help connect Ford with enthusiast buyers. He last worked on the upcoming
2007 Shelby Cobra GT-500, working with Carroll Shelby to ensure the car met
customer performance expectations.
Prior to joining Ford SVT, George held the position of Vice President of
Marketing for Jaguar North America. He led the launch of the all-aluminum 2004
XJ sedan, the S-TYPE R, and other class-leading Jaguar products, and helped
raise Jaguar's Initial Vehicle Quality to among the top three brands sold in
the US market. He led Jaguar's successful participation in and return to the
Trans-Am sports car racing series, winning back-to-back Manufacturer's
Championship's in 2003 and 2004 with the Jaguar AJ-V8 powered Rocketsports XKR.
While at Jaguar, Mr. Ayres implemented a marketing information system to help
measure return on marketing investment (ROMI), a pioneering application within
Ford Motor Company. Mr. Ayres also has international marketing experience and
serving in a variety of sales and marketing roles at Jaguar in the U.K.,
including Brand Manager for the XJ Sedan and XK Sports Car. In addition, he has
held various positions in the Marketing & Sales, Product Development and
Customer Service Divisions within Ford Motor Company.
Mr. Ayres is a frequent conference speaker, communicating his strong
brand-building and metrics-based approach at events hosted by the Kellogg
School of Management at Northwestern University, the Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania, the Conference Board, and others.
Mr. Ayres holds an MBA from Duke University, and a bachelor's degree in
marketing from Iowa State University in Ames, IA. He is married and has two
sons.
|
Stu Upson - Senior Vice
President, Sales & Marketing
Stu Upson joined Skip Barber Racing School in 2002. As Senior Vice President,
Sales and Marketing, Upson is responsible for retail sales, marketing, public
relations, event marketing, sponsorship, corporate events, special projects and
licensing/merchandising. Headquartered in Lakeville, Connecticut, Skip Barber
Racing School is the oldest and largest high-performance driving and racing
school in the country, operating out of 5 base locations and conducting schools
and races at over 20 tracks in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Previously, Upson was Senior Vice President, Sports and Entertainment Marketing
at First USA Bank where he was hired to lead the company's entry into the
sports affinity credit card business. Upson managed business development and
account management teams that grew the sports and entertainment credit card
portfolio to over $1 Billion via relationships with over 250 partners,
including MLB, NHL and NBA franchises and other sports organizations such as
the PGA TOUR, the USTA, US Soccer and Strike Ten Bowling. Upson expanded the
portfolio to include entertainment properties ranging from Live Broadway to the
Grand Ole Opry to KISS.
Upson's sports and entertainment marketing experience began when he joined
Major League Baseball Properties as Vice President, Business Development. His
most significant accomplishment at MLBP was leading the team that created and
managed All-Star FanFest. Immediately upon its introduction in 1991, FanFest
was hailed as a pioneering concept in sports event marketing -- an interactive
theme park of baseball which to this day attracts 100,000 fans annually for the
five days leading up to the All-Star Game.
Upson spent the first 10 years of his career in the advertising industry with
positions at Ted Bates, DMB&B and Partners & Shevack. His account
management responsibilities included clients such as Warner Lambert, Kraft
General Foods, National Westminster Bank and Major League Baseball.
A graduate of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, Upson now
lives with his family in New Canaan, Connecticut.
|
Jeff D'Onofrio, Senior Vice
President & Chief Financial Officer
Jeff D'Onofrio joined Skip Barber Racing School in 2005. As Senior Vice
President & Chief Financial Officer, D'Onofrio is responsible for
accounting and finance, information technology, and corporate scheduling.
Headquartered in Lakeville, Connecticut, Skip Barber Racing School is the
oldest and largest high-performance driving and racing school in the country,
operating out of 5 base locations and conducting schools and races at over 20
tracks in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Previously, D'Onofrio was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Major
League Baseball Advanced Media, LP. MLB Advanced Media was formed in 2000 by
Major League Baseball to serve as the sport's new media and e-commerce arm, and
has widely been recognized as an innovator in the new media space. D'Onofrio
helped grow the company to $300 million in revenue, led the strategic
acquisition of Tickets.com, and helped secure a significant revolving credit
facility for further expansion and growth.
D'Onofrio first joined Major League Baseball in 1998 as Assistant Controller
for Major League Baseball Properties, where he worked his way up to Controller
before joining MLB Advanced Media in 2000.
D'Onofrio began his career in 1994 with Ernst & Young, LLP in New York
where he serviced numerous media and entertainment clients in the firm's audit
practice. During that time, he earned his CPA license in New York.
A graduate of Penn State University, D'Onofrio now lives with his family in
Goshen, Connecticut.
|
Laszlo Nagy - OEM Events,
Director
Laszlo has been in the motorsports industry for a total of eight years,
primarily with Champ Car, prior to joining Skip Barber OEM Events group in
early 2002. He has been instrumental to the reemergence and recreation of Skip
Barber OEM Events, as again the most recognized provider of automotive
education and experiential programs.
Laszlo has played a large role in the creation and development of
some key programs and events in the ride and drive community. He served as the
program producer and manager on the Volvo Owner Experience overseeing the
program development and all logistics management, staffing and curriculum for
this five DMA, 31-event program featuring the XC90 vehicle. And additionally,
the Chevy Supercharged Tour, a first of its kind consumer program that traveled
to 8 cities in conjunction with Hot Import Nights and Night Shift Sport Compact
Shows. He has been responsible for creating, developing and marketing the Auto
Show Test Drive Experience - a unique consumer ride and drive program linked to
motor shows. And most recently as the creator and program director of the
successful DaimlerChrysler SRT Track Experience - a 28 city experience that
provides owners a full day educational and product immersion in the full
line-up of SRT vehicles at major race track facilities across North America.
Laszlo has extensive background and knowledge in program planning, sponsorship
sales, event management, and execution as it relates to product launches,
dealer training, award ceremonies production, media events, and consumer
programs for the automotive and motorsports industry. This vast experience has
provided for a broad understanding of the business and has allowed him time and
again to connect particular clients to a unique program.
|
Robert Lowe - Chief
Technology Officer
Hired as Chief Technology Officer in January 2006, Robert is responsible for
all aspects of Skip Barber's IT infrastructure and line-of-business software
development, support and maintenance, including information service delivery
and security. Under Robert's direction, the IT department is dedicated to
anticipating and aligning Skip Barber's technology deployment strategy with its
business strategy. The IT department takes a leadership role in the design and
implementation of world-class, integrated strategies, processes and
architecture that ensure a more productive, efficient and valuable use of
information within the enterprise.
With 18 years of technical and IT management experience, Robert has held a wide
variety of Information Technology roles. Most recently, he served as Director
of Information Technology at Onyx Environmental Services, a leader in the
Hazardous Waste treatment and disposal industry. Robert gained his IT technical
and management experience through multiple MRP implementations, the creation of
credit card marketing systems, interactive website development, and IT
technical and management consulting for Honeywell International, Pitney Bowes,
and Cargill.
Robert holds an MBA from the University of New Haven in Connecticut.
|
Melanie O'Connor - Senior
Program Manager
Melanie has been with Skip Barber Racing School since November, 1995. After her successful three-year tenure as a School & Series Advisor, Mel moved over to the Barber Dodge Pro Series, where she served as Race Series Administrator, Barber Dodge Pro Series Coordinator and ultimately Driver Relations Coordinator. In 2002 Mel returned to headquarters as Skip Barber's Marketing Coordinator before joining OEM Events in 2004 as a Program Manager.
|
Don Harple - Chief Instructor
Don has been a professional instructor for more than 25 years, most of them
with Skip Barber. Don was named the OEM Events Chief Instructor in January
2007. He has raced and won in Skip Barber Regional, IMSA Grand Sports, Sports
and World Supercar and was part of the team that won two IMSA Manufacturers
Championship for Chrysler.
|
| |
|
|
|