iA American’s Executive Leadership

John Laudenslager

President

John is joining iA American after 17 years at Assurant. For the last 13 years, he was responsible for launching Assurant's international automotive business and merging their international and domestic auto business into what it is today, Assurant Global Automotive. Throughout his tenure, John worked hand-in-hand with his leadership team to create a highly collaborative and productive environment throughout the organization. He held a number of business-critical positions, including director of large dealer group development and vice president of global product development.

During a career that spans more than three decades, John has amassed a wealth of experience in both automotive sales and services and insurance-related industries. He has held a variety of senior-level positions with large dealer groups and automotive companies such as Southeast Toyota and Jim Moran & Associates (JM&A).

As head of iA American, John is responsible for the overall direction of the company and growing the business through new channels and the expansion of traditional ones.

Coby Duffer

Vice President of Major Accounts

A published author, public speaker, and coach, Coby has been with iA American for 10 years. He started as a training & development specialist, transitioned to north regional manager in 2013, and became national director of sales in 2020. Coby now serves as iA American's vice president of major accounts. He studied English/Speech Communications at Texas A&M University, and is the author of The PAD Method, which teaches effective decision-making skills to companies, teams, families, and individuals.

Miles Fisher

Chief Information Officer

Miles is a proven business transformation professional with over 15 years of experience in the automotive and technology sectors. Miles joined iA American in 2018 to lead post-acquisition merger integration. After multiple successful migrations and a company sale, he transitioned to lead a multi-year technology transformation initiative. Prior to joining iA American, Miles held IT strategy and sales operations roles at Hewlett Packard and Danahar Corporation. He has an MBA in consulting from Thunderbird School of Global Management, and a BA in entrepreneurship from Texas Christian University.

David Grier

Senior Vice President of Sales

David is a results-driven sales professional with over 30 years of industry experience. David joined iA American in 2007 and has held several positions of increasing responsibility, including account executive, national sales director, and vice president of dealer development. In recognition of his experience and significant impact across the sales organization, he now serves as senior vice president of sales.

David grew up in the car business, where he performed nearly every role, including sales associate, sales manager, finance manager, finance director, and platform finance director for a large dealer group. Throughout his career, he has built long-lasting relationships with his clients across the country and has earned their trust and respect.

Doug Guziec

Chief Operating Officer

Prior to joining iA American in 2017, Doug led strategy and business development for Rent-A-Center, Inc., along with Vizient, a privately held healthcare services firm. Doug also has experience with consulting firms Booz & Company and Bain & Company, and the Strategic Planning/M&A group at JPMorgan Chase. Achieving top honors as a Palmer Scholar, Doug received his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with majors in finance and strategic management. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a degree in Mathematics.

Frank Klaus

Chief Senior Advisor

Frank started his career in the automobile industry in 1980 selling vehicles at a local Oklahoma dealership. Due to his hard work and business dedication, he quickly worked his way up to the position of General Manager. In 1987, Frank decided to expand his experience by joining General Financial Systems, a California-based administration company. While working for General, Frank learned the reinsurance business and traveled across the country forming and managing Producer Owned Reinsurance Companies (PORCs). At the time, Frank was one of the few experts in this area, and is a nationally known reinsurance expert. He formed First Dealer Resources (FDR) in 1989 to provide superior aftermarket products and training to dealers in Oklahoma and surrounding states. Prior to its acquisition by iA American in 2014, FDR had become one of the largest independent general agencies in the country. Frank also has equity ownership of three Oklahoma-based franchised dealerships.

Eric "Frenchy" Mélon

Executive Vice President of Sales

An industry legend, Eric, or "Frenchy" as he is widely known, has spent more than 35 years in the automotive industry, training thousands of successful sales and management personnel throughout the world. Now executive vice president of iA American's sales efforts, Frenchy drives sales growth across all sales distribution channels, including agent channel, dealer channel, national accounts, and training. Prior to joining iA American, he directed training initiatives and national dealer relations growth for First Dealer Resources. Frenchy also served as a dealer development consultant for Chicago-based Stuker & Associates, a world-renowned sales training organization. Prior to Stuker, Frenchy enjoyed a successful career working in automotive retail, with extensive experience in sales, sales management, and upper management.

Michael Perrett

Vice President & Chief Legal Counsel

Michael is a seasoned attorney who has been practicing law for over 25 years. After 13 years with an F&I benefits administrator, having served as General Counsel the last 10 years, he joined iA American in 2023. Prior to his legal career in the automotive industry, Michael served as counsel for several publicly traded companies in the information technology space. He holds a law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law.

Mylène Rioux

Chief Financial Officer

Mylène joined iA American's parent company, iA Financial Group, in 2008 and held various management positions prior to becoming iA American's chief financial officer in 2023. She is known for her collaborative leadership style and brings with her a depth of financial management experience, including accounting, actuarial, capital management, pricing, and mergers and acquisitions functions. Mylène holds a bachelor's degree in Actuarial Sciences and is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FICA), and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA).

Shon Sanders

Senior Vice President of Sales

Shon has been with iA American since 2013. Because he has actually sat in nearly every seat available in a dealership, Shon has the advantage of being able to share his real world experience, hands-on expertise, and inside knowledge of best practices to assist our dealer clients. He began his career in the automotive industry over 19 years ago as a Sales Associate, and subsequently worked his way up to Sales Manager, F&I Manager, F&I Director, General Sales Manager, and ultimately General Manager. Upon joining iA American, Shon served as National Sales Director for six years before being promoted to Vice President of Sales, Midwest Division in 2020. He was promoted again to his current Senior Vice President of Sales position in 2021. Shon attended Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma.

Ryan Smith

Chief Strategy Officer

Ryan is a seasoned marketer and strategist with over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing and consulting. He joined iA American in 2017 after five years with the NetSpend division of TSYS. While there, Ryan led the Marketing Operations group, focusing on the operational aspects of sending personalized communications to millions of cardholders. Prior to Marketing Operations, he was Director of Retention Marketing, responsible for all communications to current cardholders for two of NetSpend's four divisions. Before NetSpend, Ryan honed his marketing skills at Dell, Blockbuster, and IBM. As Chief Strategy Officer, Ryan coordinates and drives our go-to-market strategy across all departments. He holds an MBA in Marketing from the University of Texas – McCombs School of Business, and a BA in Business from Southwestern University.