"Bringing balance and choice
back to the auto auction industry."
"Bringing balance and choice
back to the auto auction industry."
Acacia Automotive, Inc. is fortunate to have the expertise of three experienced industry veterans. With almost seven decades of combined management experience in the automobile and truck business, most of which have been concentrated in the automotive auction industry, these individuals possess all the leadership qualities, skills, and experiences necessary to take this company to a position of national prominence.
Steve "Junior" Sample - President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board
With nearly 30 years of successful management experience in the automobile and truck business, more than 15 of which have been in auto auction management, Mr. Sample brings strong sales and operations experience to the forefront. With extensive experience in sales, service and operations management with automobile and heavy-duty truck dealerships and leasing companies, he is still best known for his successes in the auto auction industry where he specialized in sales and business development. He served in a number of capacities including sales manager, operations manager, and general sales manager with several large auction companies, including Anglo-American Auto Auctions and its name successor ADT Automotive Auctions, Manheim Auctions, and ADESA Auctions, before joining Acacia Automotive. Mr. Sample is credited for the major turnaround of a failing auction, accomplishing an EBITDA profit swing of nearly two million dollars in his first ten months, mostly as a result of instituting his management practices and initiating the influx of nearly ten thousand rental fleet vehicles from his clients. His award-winning management style has won the favor of clients for many years and remains one of his unique trademarks.
Most recently, Mr. Sample spent the final two years of his auction career as Executive Director of Sales for ADESA Corporation. He resigned that position at the end of 2005, to avoid any conflict of interest in pursuing the fulfillment of this effort. Having spent the next eighteen months in developing Acacia's business plan and taking the company to public status, Sample created the roadmap for an aggressive growth model that is designed to propel it to a position of prominence in the industry. With the Company’s management and advisory team, Sample believes it has every potential of successfully meeting and exceeding all its goals.
"I had the most rare and exciting opportunity to work under Tony Moorby and David Bynum for many years", said Sample, "and can think of none better than these two industry leaders. While Tony was at the very top of the ADT Automotive food chain and we all reported to him either directly or indirectly, I was also extremely fortunate to work directly under David when he was Vice President and Regional Manager (and subsequently National Heavy-Duty Truck and Equipment Manager for ADESA. Already knowing David from our associations through working at sister ADT Automotive auctions, I came to really know the man when he shared his vast skills and knowledge with me in Florida. From the moment he walks on to a property, you know that he instantly sees more than others discover in weeks or months...if ever at all! David quickly analyses, sets a course, and then steers the ship into battle without hesitation. As a successful manager myself, I found it most pleasurable to work under someone I respected as highly as David Bynum. Whatever strong drives I possessed were magnified again by his leadership. He is truly a model for all managers, and Acacia Automotive could not have made a better choice. David and Tony can only be described as the tops in auction management and advisory leadership. How very fortunate we are to have these fine gentlemen as leaders in our arsenal!"
David Bynum - Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and Director
David Bynum is truly one of the auto auction industry's most respected managers. After successfully operating a Chevrolet dealership in the Atlanta area from 1979 to 1989, Mr. Bynum entered the auto auction realm in 1989. Serving for more than ten years as General Manager of ADT Automotive's Southern States Vehicle Auction in Atlanta, Bynum exemplified the qualities required for success. After that auction was purchased by ADESA Corporation in 2001, David was promoted to become ADESA's Regional Vice President in October of 2000, with responsibility for all their Florida auctions and two other large operations in Atlanta and Charlotte. He directed the construction of the new 260 acre ADESA Atlanta Auto Auction facility in 2003, being promoted in January 2004 to become ADESA's National Director of Heavy-Duty Trucks and Equipment. Also respected as one of the foremost managers in that industry segment, Bynum's heavy-duty truck and equipment auctions eclipsed the competition in short order.
Most recently, Mr. Bynum took an early "retirement" from ADESA in 2006 to join his son in their custom homebuilding business in Atlanta. It didn't take long for David to realize that he sorely missed the day-to-day interactions with his customers and employees, and he began to think about a return to the auction industry. After his non-compete with ADESA expired, David joined Acacia Automotive's Board of Directors, and in the spring of 2008 came aboard in a part-time capacity as the Company's Regional Director of Sales and Operations. David has all the knowledge and experience required in his position, and also possesses the unique quality of being able to effectively share it with others. Bynum brings the strongest operational skill set to the auction arena, and promises to give Acacia the very best chance for success as it faces the challenges associated with growth.
Tony Moorby - Director and Chairman of the Advisory Board
With nearly 40 years of successful management experience in the automotive business, including more than 20 years in auto auction management, Tony Moorby brings impeccable credentials to the table. Originally serving in management with British Car Auctions in England, he was dispatched to America with Michael Richardson to develop a new company which they named Anglo-American Auto Auctions. As it commenced operations in 1982, Moorby helped the company begin its train of acquisitions with Nashville Auto Auction. Moorby and Richardson saw their company rise from that one auction to a position of national prominence in becoming America’s largest auto auction organization in 1990, with 26 operating facilities. Anglo-American changed its name to ADT Automotive in 1991, shortly after it was acquired by ADT Holdings. ADT Holdings was subsequently acquired by TYCO Ltd. in 1997, at which time Moorby rose from his longstanding position as Executive Vice President to become its President and Chief Executive Officer. As CEO of ADT Automotive, Moorby presided over a remarkable term of growth, efficiency, and profitability followed by the company's sale to Manheim for $1,000,000,000 cash in 2000. With the exodus of ADT's "duplicate" management after the Manheim acquisition, Tony served a two year stint as Executive Vice President of ADESA Corporation with responsibility for corporate development. In 2002, Moorby elected to leave ADESA in favor of becoming managing partner of Flying Lion Dealer Services in his American "hometown" of Nashville, and later became the Principal of Tony Moorby and Associates, an automotive consulting firm. Moorby joined Acacia Automotive as its President and COO in late October of 2006, labeling it as the “perfect fit” for him. Retiring from that position at the end of 2008, Moorby assumed the position as Chairman of the Advisory Board for the corporation while remaining a Director of the Company. Tony is one of very few who have been inducted into the Halls of Fame of both the National Auto Auction Association (NAAA) and the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association (NIADA), and serves on the Board of Trustees of the NIADA and the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Independent Automobile Dealers Association (TIADA).
Through the launch of Acacia Automotive, these highly-skilled and successful managers share a joint goal to recreate a form of the excitement, history and style they enjoyed at Anglo-American Auto Auctions, later renamed ADT Automotive. In its conjoined opinions, Anglo-American/ADT had the finest overall management team in the history of the auto auction industry and contributed strongly to the industry's “balance”. Acacia management's intention is to selectively “do it again” by merging their 80+ combined years of automotive experience and knowledge in guiding the Company to new heights by providing the finest service in the industry today. They believe that “competition is good”, and that it will bring balance and choice back to the auto auction industry. "We had a great team in the last go-round, and we have a great team today", says Moorby. "There is nothing stopping us from breaking through all the barriers and taking Acacia to a position of national prominence. I am very excited to be back in the game!"