The New Standard
for Dealers.
AutoTrust was founded to provide dealers with a smarter, more profitable future. We believe success should be determined by skill, not just scale.
The Story
Behind AutoTrust
When you’ve spent four decades in the automotive industry—from the executive suite at Ford to the owner’s desk of your dealership—you see the business differently. You see the patterns others miss. And our founder, Dave Mondragon, saw a fundamental shift that changed everything.
He saw the game change in the 1990s as public dealer groups began to leverage their newfound scale, negotiating deals that private dealers could never access. He recognized that successful dealers didn't lack talent; they lacked the collective power to secure the pricing and incentives of the giants.
This fundamental insight became the blueprint for a new way of doing business. A model that changes the game entirely. That model is AutoTrust.
"I knew there was a better way—a model where the dealer wasn't just a customer, but the owner." - Dave Mondragon, Founder & CEO
A Partnership Built on Dealer Success
Joining the cooperative is a financial and strategic upgrade that respects the autonomy of your operations.
Our Mission
To empower dealers with a cooperative platform that leverages collective strength to secure wholesale pricing, profit distributions, and real equity ownership.
The Vision
To build North America’s largest and most powerful dealer-owned alliance, creating a new standard of fairness, transparency, and shared success.
Our Core Values
Our values are defined by three core dualities that capture our company's balance. We are both a disruptive force and a trusted partner.
Bold & Empowering
This is our disruptive spirit. We have the boldness to challenge an outdated model and the conviction to empower dealers to take back control. We are an active force for change, providing dealers with the tools and the confidence to own their destiny.
Transparent & Fair
This is our ethical foundation. We believe in radical transparency, showing dealers exactly how the money flows, and a deep commitment to fairness—ensuring that profits are distributed equitably and that every member gets their rightful share.
Collaborative & Unified
This is our cooperative soul. We are fundamentally collaborative, understanding that our strength comes from unity. This creates a shared sense of purpose and mutual support among our members as a unified alliance.
Meet our Leadership Team
AutoTrust was built by people who’ve walked in your shoes—and led at the highest levels of the industry. From running major OEM operations to owning successful dealerships, our leadership team brings the rare combination of corporate insight and real-world dealer experience.
David serves as the strategic and operational leader of AutoTrust Dealer Alliance, responsible for driving sustainable growth, fostering innovation, and ensuring exceptional value delivery to customers, partners, and stakeholders. He provides visionary leadership to position AutoTrust as a trusted industry leader, aligning the company’s strategy with market opportunities and operational excellence.
Carmen serves as the senior operating executive responsible for leading AutoTrust Protect and scaling all functional areas of our business. She oversees sales, training, finance, claims processing, product development, and dealer development. Carmen is a high-performance leader with strong P&L discipline, deep automotive and F&I experience, and a strategic mindset to drive growth and operational excellence.
Cynthia leads the marketing strategy and execution at AutoTrust Dealer Alliance, with a mandate to grow brand equity, drive dealer engagement, and strengthen go-to-market performance. With a focus on insight-driven strategy and executional excellence, Cynthia’s senior leadership experience ensures every touchpoint reinforces the power and promise of the AutoTrust model.
Backed by Titans Behind
America’s Biggest Brands
Our model has attracted elite investors and advisors who have built and scaled some of the most successful business models in American history. They are partners in our vision to revolutionize the industry.
Robert DiRomualdo, Founder and CEO of Naples Ventures, brings decades of leadership in retail, investment, and turnaround strategy. As Chairman & CEO, he scaled Borders into a Fortune 500 national leader. He has served on numerous boards, including Ulta Beauty, driving growth, governance, and transformation across retail and specialty sectors.
Richard Galanti, former EVP & CFO of Costco, brings decades of global finance and strategic leadership. He scaled Costco through rapid growth, stewarding its transformation into a Fortune 20 powerhouse cementing its industry stature. His expertise spans finance, governance, IT, and investor relations, with board experience including the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Kristen Gruber, former President of iA American Warranty Group, brings 30+ years in insurance leadership. She led iAAWG through acquisitions and integrations, scaling sales beyond $1 billion and achieving an A.M. Best “A” rating. Known for strategic vision and people-centered leadership, she drove growth, transformation, and workplace culture across the industry.
Jim Inglis, former EVP and Board Member at Home Depot, brings 60+ years of leadership in the global home center industry. He helped shape Home Depot’s explosive rise into a national retail leader and later advised Sodimac, Hornbach, Bunnings, Komeri, and Cemaco, guiding international expansion and retail innovation worldwide.
Scott Kaplan, CFO of Bakken Energy, brings 30+ years of financial and operational expertise. With two decades on Wall Street and leadership in entrepreneurial companies, he has guided finance, investment banking, and growth strategies across clean energy, automotive, technology, and health sectors, serving as CFO, COO, board member, and advisor.
Steven Lebow, Founder and CEO of Bakken Energy and Lebow & Co., brings 40+ years in investment banking and venture capital. As lead financier in early-stage funding, he helped build Costco, Starbucks, PetSmart, Dick’s, and ULTA Beauty into global leaders, creating transformative enterprise value and driving multi-industry innovation.
Maurice Rasgon, entrepreneur and investor, founded and led Cosmetic Design Group through a successful exit to Bain Capital in 2018. With investments spanning health, automotive, advertising, and real estate, he brings proven expertise in building, scaling, and monetizing businesses. His entrepreneurial track record underscores deep insight into growth and value creation.
Danny Tippens, Manager of Finance & Analytics at Bakken Energy, brings expertise in financial modeling, capital raising, and analytics. Previously an investment banker at Stephens Inc. and corporate development professional at News Corp, he has advised on M&A transactions and strategic initiatives spanning food, agriculture, and diversified industries.
A Commitment to Our Owners.
Our structure and our promises are designed for the long haul.
Complete Transparency
You receive detailed financial statements tailored to your dealership. We operate with full transparency because our success is tied directly to yours.
A Member-First Model
As a dealer-owned cooperative, our primary responsibility is to our members, not to outside shareholders. Your profitability is our key metric.
A Long-Term Vision
We are not building this company to sell it. We are building a permanent fixture in the automotive landscape, an ecosystem that will continue to add value for our members for decades to come.
Join the Dealers who areShaping the Future.
AutoTrust is the strategic alliance for owners who understand that collective power is the key to a more profitable and secure future.