Flagship Credit Acceptance has hired Rob McKie as Chief Direct Lending Officer to further the company’s entry into direct-to-consumer lending.

McKie will lead Flagship’s direct-to-consumer line of business. He brings more than three decades of diverse operations and sales experience to the new Chief Direct Lending Officer role, including managing all phases of a business, from operational improvement and efficiencies to market share expansion.

“The addition of Rob signals an exciting time at Flagship as we expand into the direct-to-consumer space,” stated Bob Hurzeler, Chief Executive Officer at Flagship Credit Acceptance. “While the expansion is important to our long-term plans, I am equally excited about our continued growth with new and existing dealers in the indirect automotive space. Rob has already become a valuable addition to a fantastic team.”

McKie successfully led Wells Fargo’s centralized operations prior to joining Hourglass Management (IFS) during its formative years. While at Hourglass Management, McKie led three companies under the Hourglass umbrella to record growth and profits.

Flagship remains committed to servicing and growing both their dealer network and direct fulfillment partner relationships. The direct lending platform expands the company’s products and services by offering a diverse range of services to consumers.

To learn more about Flagship Credit Acceptance, visit www.flagshipcredit.com.

Today, Blinker, an automotive e-commerce technology and services company, and Flagship Credit Acceptance, a leading auto-finance provider managed by funds controlled by Perella Weinberg Partners Capital Management LP (PWPCM) and sub-advised by an affiliate of Innovatus Capital Partners, LLC (ICP), are pleased to announce they have completed a Series C capital raise with Flagship as the sole investor.

“We are excited for Flagship Credit Acceptance to launch a direct-to-consumer experience that leverages machine learning, vision technology and self-service loan origination powered by Blinker’s technology,” said Rod Buscher, Founder and CEO of Blinker.

“As we continue to build out our partnership portfolio within the automotive sector, this is a unique opportunity to deploy Blinker’s proprietary loan origination solutions with a trusted partner,” adds Danny Martinez, President of Blinker.

“This partnership supports our mission to improve the lending experience. The investment in Blinker will allow Flagship to provide accessible lending across our expanding product set while adding significant operational efficiencies,” stated Bob Hurzeler, Chief Executive Officer of Flagship Credit Acceptance.

Flagship’s Direct Lending platform will provide multiple options to manage and improve finances directly to consumers, diversifying Flagship’s offerings through AI and digital lending. Flagship will leverage Blinker’s vertically integrated platform to facilitate the entire digital loan process.

Blinker is powering the future of automotive e-commerce by providing end-to-end digital transactional transactions that enable lenders, credit unions and fleet management companies to deliver solutions that streamline the loan origination, aftermarket sales and fleet management disposal process.

American families are struggling with increased prices for everyday items, including food, as inflation is at its highest rate since 1982, according to Barron’s. To help support the communities in which Flagship Credit Acceptance operates, the company conducted its annual virtual food drive to help local food banks support families experiencing food insecurity.

Flagship’s associates in the Tempe, AZ; Coppell, TX; and Chadds Ford, PA offices competed to determine which office could raise the largest amount of food donations or financial contributions to support their community and win a $5,000 contribution from Flagship to the local food bank. Flagship also donated $3,000 to the food bank that received the second-highest donation and increased the contribution for the third-place team’s food bank to $1,500, from the previous year’s $1,000 contribution.

“When tough times strike, many American families try to support their communities and those in need. At Flagship, we believe in supporting our communities by encouraging our associates to volunteer at organizations throughout the year and recognizing their efforts,” stated Bob Hurzeler, Chief Executive Officer of Flagship Credit Acceptance.

Flagship conducts food drives throughout the year to support local branches of Feeding America through in-office events and virtual food drives that enable associates to make contributions that are delivered directly to the local food bank. The Tempe, AZ team contributed 2,008 pounds of food, the equivalent of $1,673, earning St. Mary’s Food Bank the $5,000 donation from Flagship. The total donation of $6,673 enabled St. Mary’s Food Bank to provide 46,711 meals to families in need.

The Chadds Ford office contributed 1,861 pounds of food, the equivalent value of $1,551, earning the Food Bank of Delaware a $3,000 contribution from Flagship. The combined donation to the food bank helped the organization provide 13,653 meals.

Associates from the Coppell, TX office contributed 1,590 pounds of food or the equivalent of $1,325, earning the North Texas Food Bank a $1,500 donation from Flagship. The amount raised by associates and the donation from Flagship enabled the North Texas Food Bank to provide 25,425 meals to families in the region.

Flagship’s associates raised a total of 5,459 pounds of food, representing $4,549 of support for Feeding America’s local food banks. Combined with the financial contribution from Flagship, the equivalent of 16,859 pounds of food, or $14,049, were provided to the food banks representing a total of 85,789 meals to support families in the local communities.

Flagship Credit Acceptance is proud to announce that Chuck Blommaert, Vice President of Loan Servicing, has been recognized as a top 100 auto finance mover, shaker and innovator. Candidates were nominated by their industry peers for their innovative contributions to the auto finance industry.

“Chuck is an invaluable member of our management team who freely shares his extensive financial services expertise with our associates to assist them in increasing their productivity and efficiency through a management style that strengthens our internal morale. It is wonderful to see Chuck receive the industry recognition he deserves,” stated Steve Biehl, Senior Vice President of Loan Servicing at Flagship Credit Acceptance.

This year’s winners were determined solely based on the volume of nominations received by industry participants. The Innovators Top 100 awards program is conducted by Lightico and its partner Auto Finance Journal.

To learn more about Flagship Credit Acceptance, please visit www.flagshipcredit.com.

Flagship Credit Acceptance announced today it has earned the Great Place To Work® certification for the second consecutive year. Great Place To Work recognizes businesses that have established a corporate culture built on trust and inclusion to promote company pride. The organization helps companies create compelling employer brands by conducting anonymous associate surveys based on Great Place To Work’s research-backed Trust Index.

A majority of associates, 93 percent of respondents, said Flagship has done an excellent job of providing awareness programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. An overwhelming 95 percent of associates also reported that Flagship is a physically safe place to work, and 89 percent of associates replied Flagship is a great place to work.

This year’s survey focused on diversity and inclusion and reported meaningful increases in several key categories. There was a seven percentage point increase to 88% in responses that stated management involves people in the decisions that affect their jobs or work environment. The number of associates that said Flagship celebrates the people who try new and better ways of doing things, regardless of the outcome, increased by six percentage points to 79% of associates. There was also a four percentage point increase in the number of associates who stated they want to work for the company long term, as well as by associates indicating that management demonstrates appreciation for good work and extra effort.

“We are very pleased our associates’ responses affirm our belief that a safe, inclusive, equitable and diverse culture promotes collaboration and empowers associates to reach their full potential,” stated Jeff Haymore, President and Chief Operating Officer at Flagship. “We have carefully cultivated one of the best and most inclusive cultures in our industry. It is very gratifying to see our associates appreciate that environment and value working at Flagship.”

In 2020, Flagship introduced a Diversity and Inclusion Council that fosters an inclusive workforce and environment that respects each associate’s unique perspective, beliefs and opinions regardless of their role and tenure. The corporate culture also encourages associates to engage with the broader community by providing volunteer time off, supporting local and national nonprofit and charity organizations, hosting annual food drives and conducting other activities to support the community and those in need.

Great Place To Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience and leadership behaviors. The organization conducts employee surveys around the world, benchmarks results and identifies the best workplace cultures. Since 1998, Great Place To Work has been responsible for the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list.

Companies that have earned the Great Place To Work certification are eligible for evaluation in several Best Workplaces listings. Earlier this year, Flagship was recognized as a 2021 “Best Workplaces in Texas.” Great Place To Work uses a For All Model and Methodology to evaluate businesses and top-performing companies to identify the Best Workplaces.

Flagship Credit Acceptance, widely recognized in the automotive lending industry for creating a fun and supportive work environment for its associates, also has a long history of supporting dealers participating in the company’s national dealer network. As the auto industry continues to stabilize, Flagship is further supporting these vital businesses that keep Americans employed and fans on the road.

Just like an NFL team relies on a diverse and talented group of players, dealers rely on their hard-working teams of sales, finance, technicians, customer service and other professionals to keep the dealership competitive. Playing on the sports adage “on any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team,” Flagship created the Any Given Saturday promotion to help dealers celebrate this year’s college and NFL football season with a little friendly competition that is all about getting back outdoors, enjoying the fall weather and creating the ultimate tailgating experience.

“We are excited to see the auto industry strengthening, and while dealers still face several lingering challenges from the pandemic, we felt it was important to reinforce that we are here to help them be successful,” stated Jeff Haymore, President and Chief Operating Officer at Flagship Credit Acceptance. “Any Given Saturday is a great way to show our support through a fun and rewarding competition.”

To help dealers get in the spirit for this year’s football season, Flagship will award one dealer in each of the company’s nine regions across the country with premium tailgating prizes every week. All dealers that are eligible for promotions can compete against other dealers in their area.

Weekly winners will be selected based on the largest week-over-week increase in applications, enabling any team to win. The winning team will be awarded premium tailgating prizes that include Yeti coolers, Apple AirPods, portable smart speakers and other tailgating essentials.

Each week, a new prize will be awarded to one dealership in each region. The competition begins every Sunday and runs through the following Saturday. The winners will also be highlighted across Flagship’s social media channels the following week.

To learn more about Flagship Credit Acceptance, please visit www.flagshipcredit.com.

Flagship Credit Acceptance congratulates EchoPark^® Automotive of Dallas – located in Grand Prairie, Texas – as the first recipient of the national Dealership of the Quarter Award. EchoPark Automotive, with locations across the nation, provides consumers access to thousands of 1-4 year old, low mileage vehicles.

“We created the award program to recognize the efforts of top-performing dealers that continue to evolve their business models and services to keep Americans on the road,” stated David Courts, Senior Vice President of Sales at Flagship Credit Acceptance. “Our Dealership of the Quarter program applauds the best practices dealers employ to continually grow and expand their business.”

With approximately two million individuals in the U.S. working at automotive dealerships in 2020, according to Statista, the industry has experienced tremendous transformation and resilience over the last sixteen months to keep many Americans employed and many others mobile.

“The automotive industry has experienced its own hundred-year storm with manufactures having to shut down during the pandemic followed by the shortage of computer chips,” added Richard Sanger, Dallas Area Sales Manager at Flagship Credit Acceptance. “It is important to acknowledge the efforts of dealers to meet consumer demand, and I could not be more pleased to see EchoPark of Dallas be the first recipient of our Dealership of the Quarter Award.”

Flagship Credit Acceptance works with a network of more than 8,600 automotive dealerships nationwide to provide automobile financing to their customers. The company provides dealers with unmatched service and the ability to speak with live credit analysts on every transaction if desired.

To learn more about Flagship Credit Acceptance, please visit www.flagshipcredit.com.

CHADDS FORD, PA – December 21, 2020–The coronavirus has impacted almost every family in America and worldwide. While Flagship Credit Acceptance has been fortunate to keep the vast majority of associates working, many individuals and families have experienced unstable employment leading to increased food insecurity this year. The leadership team at Flagship Credit Acceptance recognized that the 2020 holiday season would be especially trying for many families. The company normally conducts a food drive in each of its offices during the holidays, but with almost all associates working remotely, local food collection efforts would be hampered.

To address this challenge and support the local food banks, the leadership team at Flagship Credit Acceptance launched a contest in November to support Feeding America. Remote workers could make a monetary contribution or donate food through contactless drop-off directly to their local Feeding America chapter.

“Giving back to the communities in which we work has always been a part of who we are as a company. This year, it was more important than ever that we not only continue, but increase our efforts,” stated Jeff Haymore, President and Chief Operations Officer of Flagship Credit Acceptance.

For the contest, every dollar donated was considered the equivalent of one pound of food. To further excite and engage the associates, the leadership team committed to donating $5,000 to the local chapter of Feeding America that received the highest donation, with this year’s donation going to the Chads Ford office’s local Feeding America chapter in Chester, PA.

As a result of the contest, Flagship Credit Acceptance’s office in Chadds Ford, PA, donated a combined total of 2,055 pounds of food consisting of financial donations and 600 pounds of food. The Tempe, AZ, location raised a combined total of 1,615 pounds of support and the Coppell, TX, office donated the financial equivalent of 770 pounds of food.

To learn more about Flagship Credit Acceptance, please visit www.flagshipcredit.com.

CHADDS FORD, PA – December 17, 2020 – Flagship Credit Acceptance LLC (“Flagship” or “the Company”), a leading auto-finance provider, announced today a partnership with Pagaya, a financial technology company. This partnership will help Flagship to broaden its product offerings.

An important addition to the Flagship product is the loan-to-value (LTV) program, in addition to the traditional Flagship advance program. Flagship is encouraged by the early acceptance of the new program and expanded offering and looks forward to continued growth in the months to come.

“This type of partnership enables us to offer expanded financing products to our dealer network, and increases access to vehicle financing for consumers. The partnership with Pagaya will augment Flagship’s services, and provide greater value to both our business partners and customers,” stated Bob Hurzeler, Chief Executive Officer of Flagship Credit Acceptance.

CHADDS FORD, PA – November 19, 2020 – Flagship Credit Acceptance LLC (“Flagship” or “the Company”), a leading auto-finance provider, announced today it has been certified as a Great Place to Work®. The Great Place to Work program acknowledges companies that have established a documented excellent workplace culture, and is based on anonymous associate responses to the Trust Index© survey.

A majority of Flagship’s 850 associates responded to the survey. Out of the responses, 89% of associates stated Flagship is a great place to work, compared to 59% of employees at other U.S.-based companies. Additionally, 92% of respondents said they felt welcomed when they joined the company. Importantly, 91% of associates responded they were provided with the resources and equipment to be successful, and 90% stated they were able to take time off when they felt it was necessary.

“Our belief is that a diverse and inclusive culture that is uplifting and supportive is the backbone to enabling our associates to perform at their best,” stated Bob Hurzeler, Chief Executive Officer at Flagship. “By creating a supportive culture that our associates want to be a part of, we ensure they provide first-class service to each of our customers.”

As part of Flagship’s corporate culture, the company provides associates with volunteer time off, supports local and national nonprofits and charities, and more recently has supported the Boys and Girls Club of Chester, Pennsylvania with a food drive to support families effected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience and leadership behaviors. The organization helps businesses around the world survey employees, benchmark results and identify the best workplace cultures. Since 1998, Great Place To Work has been responsible for the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list.

Companies that have earned the Great Place To Work certification are eligible for evaluation in several Best Workplaces listings. Great Place To Work uses a For All Model and Methodology to evaluate businesses and top-performing companies are recognized as Best Workplaces.