Gilbert Chavez

Current

President at CarZeus Consulting, LLC

Past

Vice President of Business Development at iMagicLab
E-Commerce Director at Planet Automotive: Planet Honda, Planet Hyundai
Vice President of Operations at iMagicLab

E-Marketing Director Largest privately owned dealer group in Colorado at Phil Long Dealerships
Chief Operating Officer: Roswell Toyota, Roswell Honda, Roswell Hyundai, Bulldog Dodge at Krumland Automotive Dealerships
General Manager at Burt Automotive Network (Largest Hispanic-owned company in the United States)
General Sales Manager at Burt Automotive Network
Internet/ Fleet Manager Burt ' s Arapahoe Ford at Burt Automotive Network
Major at United States Army

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Education

University of Denver
New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI)
Elizabeth High School

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Recommended

15 people have recommended Gilbert

Connections

341 connections

Industry

Automotive

Websites

Gilbert Chavez’s Summary

One of the original automotive internet pioneers Gilbert A. Chavez grew up in the automotive industry.

Mr. Chavez has been recognized as one of the leading experts in retailing automobiles. He is a true innovator and renowned for his success in team building. Once called the Vince Lombardi of car guys.

He was chosen as one of Dealix Corporation’s Top 25 Marketers, and has had a reoccurring advice column called ‘ASK GILBERT’. He has also written many articles for different publications. He built one of the best Online Credit Union lending and selling programs in the country. His Affinity Partner Selling Programs with United Airlines, Ball Aerospace, U.S. Military, Centura Health, were ground breaking and outstandingly successful. He has consulted multicar franchises on how to improve their e-initiatives.

“Helping dealers sell more cars and make more money has been my main focus over the years. I get a superb return on investment with their Internet sales, floor sales and marketing back to their owner base with their CRM and other marketing solutions. I am very aggressive in giving dealers real solutions to sell more cars, make more money and take care of their customers. People buy cars from people they like, that is what it is all about.”

A former U.S. Army Infantry Officer, Company Commander, Paratrooper, Mr. Chavez has served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Krumland Auto Group, the General Manager of the Burt Automotive Network, the E-Marketing Director for the Phil Long Dealerships, the largest privately owned dealer group in Colorado, the E-Marketing Director for the Planet Automotive Group and he also served as the Vice President of Operations and Business Development for iMagicLab.

“My job is to surround dealers with amazing technology and with the brightest and most forward thinking car sales people I can find." I have worked in every sales role that a car dealer has and have been exceedingly successful at every level."

Gilbert Chavez’s Specialties:

Online campaign, e-mail marketing, classifieds, Dealership Consulting, inventory management, DMS SEM SEO sales BDC trainer, website development, CRM, sales processes, leadership, designing internet sales departments, recruitment ads, lead providers, eBay, e-mail templates, call scripts, ROI, reports, internet sales, nonprofit, community affairs, partner programs, mentoring, credit unions, online lending, brokers, OEM, business development, relationship building, negotiation, Leadership Training.

Gilbert Chavez’s Experience

President

CarZeus Consulting, LLC

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Automotive industry)

February 2004 — Present (4 years 9 months)

One of the original automotive Internet pioneers Gilbert A. Chavez/ AKA CarZeus, grew up in the automotive industry. Chavez has been recognized as one of the leading experts in retailing automobiles. He is a true innovator and renowned for his success in team building. Once called the Vince Lombardi of car guys. He was chosen as one of Dealix Corporation’s Top 25 Marketers, and has had a reoccurring advice column called "Ask Gilbert". He has also written many articles for different publications. A true “Car Guy”, Gilbert has worked in all facets of a dealership. He consults single point to multi-car franchises on how to improve their e-initiatives.
Vice President of Business Development

iMagicLab

(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Automotive industry)

2007 — 2008 (1 year)

iMagicLab is the fastest growing customer relationship management software company aimed at the expansive automobile retailing marketplace and is an approved solution for most of the major automobile manufacturers in the United States. The company creates customer relationship software, internet lead management solutions, inventory management systems, service retention, lead generation, websites, DeskLog, AutoPencil and eBay auction services specifically for the automobile retailing industry.
E-Commerce Director

Planet Automotive: Planet Honda, Planet Hyundai

(Automotive industry)

2008 — 2008 (less than a year)
Vice President of Operations

iMagicLab

(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Automotive industry)

2007 — 2008 (1 year)

iMagicLab is the fastest growing customer relationship management software company aimed at the expansive automobile retailing marketplace and is an approved solution for most of the major automobile manufacturers in the United States. The company creates customer relationship software, internet lead management solutions, inventory management systems, service retention, lead generation, websites, DeskLog, AutoPencil and eBay auction services specifically for the automobile retailing industry.
E-Marketing Director Largest privately owned dealer group in Colorado

Phil Long Dealerships

(Privately Held; 1001-5000 employees; Automotive industry)

2005 — 2007 (2 years)

Featured in Digital Dealer Magazine
http://digitaldealer-magazine.com/issues/DD_sept06.pdf

Ranked Top 25 Dealer Groups by Internet Sales Volume

Went to #24 from being unranked the year prior

Selected to the Top Internet Sales Professionals of 2005

Receiving national recognition for branding campaign: http://wardsdealer.com/latest/my_phil_long/

Established an e-mail / telephony model to sold customers achieving $16,430,954 in sales in a year

Built 17 new web sites and 50 micro-web sites within one month of taking position

Established a referral program garnering 2500 referrals in a 2 month period

Pioneered the first automotive blog pages in the industry

Established SEO/SEM program for all dealer group Web Sites that tripled site traffic

ASK GILBERT columist for the Dealix Newsletter

Founding Board Member of the Association of Automotive Internet Sales Professionals (AAISP)

Featured speaker at the 2006 / 2007 AAISP annual conference.
Chief Operating Officer: Roswell Toyota, Roswell Honda, Roswell Hyundai, Bulldog Dodge

Krumland Automotive Dealerships

(Automotive industry)

August 2004 — August 2005 (1 year 1 month)

Built revolutionary Call Center Featured in Ward's Dealer Business Magazine: http://wardsdealer.com/ar/auto_call_us_call/

Increased sales, service, and part revenues 100% in four months with Customer Relations Management innovation.

Doubled sales per representative by building a state of the art Business Development Center .

Implemented new processes and procedures for H/R, sales, and marketing.

Launched a corporate branding site under a consolidated domain name centralizing all e-commerce directives.

Mentored students at Goddard High School Business Professionals of America
General Manager

Burt Automotive Network (Largest Hispanic-owned company in the United States)

(Automotive industry)

1995 — 2004 (9 years)

Burt Chevrolet, Subaru, Toyota, Nissan, GMC, Pontiac, Buick, Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Mazda, Ford, Lincoln. Mercury

Top 100 Dealers: e-Dealer 100 Burt Toyota Rank #4 in the United States 2,681 Total Units Sold Online by Ward’s Dealer Magazine.

Rated # 1 Internet Sales Group in Colorado .

Achieved over $500,000 in gross sales per month for a record 5 consecutive years.

Increased regional sales from $25 million to $350 million.

Built the nations first front to back e-commerce division.

Recognized as Auto industry expert of innovation.

Published several articles in e-commerce and business development.
General Sales Manager

Burt Automotive Network

(Automotive industry)

May 1997 — May 1999 (2 years 1 month)

Burt Chevrolet, Subaru, Toyota, Nissan, GMC, Pontic, Buick, Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Mazda, Ford, Lincoln. Mercury

Top Sales Department in Colorado

Co-developed / marketed an Auto Help Center to assist customers with purchasing, service, and diagnostic questions.

Authored / Managed / Mentored online training program through a corporate Intranet site.

Implemented #1 Web Site for Automotive as selected by Ziff-Davis and Automotive News
Internet/ Fleet Manager Burt ' s Arapahoe Ford

Burt Automotive Network

(Privately Held; 1001-5000 employees; Automotive industry)

May 1995 — May 1997 (2 years 1 month)

Develop first Internet selling process

Establish fleet accounts with USAFA, United Airlines, Ball Aerospace, University of Colorado , Centura Health

Ford Motor Company CSI Sales Excellence Award
Major

United States Army

(Government Agency; 10,001 or more employees; Military industry)

May 1985 — May 1995 (10 years 1 month)

Airborne Air Assault. Rifle Platoon Leader, Anti-Tank Platoon Leader, Arctic Paratrooper, 1st BN 501st (Airborne) Parachute Infantry Regiment. Won Toughest Man Combat Fighting Contest: in 1-501st Parachute Infantry Regiment: Geronimo.
Infantry Company Commander E CO 2nd BN 18th INF.Selected as #1 Anti-Tank Company is in U.S. Army (Army Test Tables). Selected Best Company in 24th Infantry Division:FITT to Fight Award.
Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal

Instructor: United States Army Infantry School: Platoon Trainer: Infantry Officers Basic Course (IOBC), Military Leadership and Infantry Tactics

Senior U.S. Army Mountaineering Instructor: Northern Warfare Training Center (NWTC)

U.S. Army Air Assault School

U.S. Army Airborne School

U.S. Army Combined Service Staff School

Gilbert Chavez’s Education

University of Denver

BA, Political Science / Communications, 1983 — 1985

Activities and Societies:

Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, Speech Team, Peer Counseling Advisor * Full Army ROTC Scholarship, Intern for Governor of Colorado
New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI)

AA, Political Science, 1980 — 1983

Activities and Societies:

Mike Troop Commander, Honor Board, Rupert Speech Award Winner, Officers Club, ROTC Scholarship Cadet, Commandant Leadership Award, LAE, Class Vice President, LEO Club President, Tour Squad Commander with Two Oak Leaf Clusters
Elizabeth High School

1978 — 1980

Activities and Societies:

Varsity Football, Wrestling, Track, Speech Team, Drama Club, School Vice President

Additional Information

Gilbert Chavez’s Websites:

Gilbert Chavez’s Interests:

Weight Lifter, Runner, Mountain Biker, Road Biker, Mountain Climber, Fisherman, Wife Lover, Dog Lover, Pet Lover (Not Cats), professional networking, Down Hill Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Telemark Skiing

Gilbert Chavez’s Groups:

Flight For Life Foundation Board
St. Anthony's Health Foundation Board
Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) Board
FordDirect.com Dealer Advisory Board
Cars.com Dealer Advisory Board
Toyota.com Dealer Steering Committe
Cobalt Dealer Advisory Board
AAISP Founding Board Member
Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity Alumni Association
Littleton Public Schools District Driver's Education Advisor
Goddard High School Business Professionals of America Mentor