How some retail auto tech companies are addressing generative AI
Tekion, TrueCar, Cox Automotive, Cars Commerce and CarNow are among automotive retail technology companies evaluating generative AI technology.
People on the move
Accounting
Thomas Tschopp Jr., CPA, has joined Schafer, Tschopp, Whitcomb, Mitchell & Sheridan LLP as a manager.
Boards of directors
Sean Mahoney, executive vice president and chief financial officer for RLJ Lodging Trust, was appointed to the board of directors of KMI International, a global construction management firm headquartered in Orlando.
Health care
Jennifer Ambs was appointed as chief financial officer for both AdventHealth Fish Memorial and the West Volusia County market.
Law
John Dannecker, partner, Shutts & Bowen LLP, Orlando, was named a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers.
Ian Wiggins has joined Dean Mead as an attorney in the firm’s Space Coast office.
Attorney Flor M. Leiva has joined McDonald Toole Wiggins P.A., Orlando.
Public relations
Natalie Eck was hired as a senior public relations specialist at Curley & Pynn Public Relations Management, Orlando.
Submit professional appointments, management-level promotions and significant awards for individuals, along with photos as .jpg attachments, to peopleonmove@orlandosentinel.com.
Farley, top Ford execs hit road to hear dealers' concerns
The tour comes as dealer trust levels within Ford have plummeted as the company faces continued quality woes and questions over its electrification strategy.
Americans are living farther and farther from their workplaces
Freed, perhaps, from a daily jaunt to the office, the average American worker now lives almost three times farther from their job than they did before the pandemic, research shows.
Workers’ average distance to their employer increased from 10 miles in 2019 to 27 miles in 2023, according to a study released March 3 by Gusto, a payroll software firm, and the Stanford WFH Group, a team studying work-from-home trends.
The study analyzes Gusto’s payroll data from about 5,800 small and midsize businesses from 2018 to 2023. Distances were measured by linking employees’ addresses with employer locations.
The data shows the distance between workers and their employers is most pronounced among people who started in their jobs after the pandemic hit. Workers hired in March 2020 or later lived 35 miles from their employer in December 2023, on average. That’s more than twice the distance of people hired before March 2020.
While the payroll data doesn’t explicitly show that people living farthest from their employer are taking advantage of hybrid or remote work arrangements, the results line up with years of research by the Stanford WFH Group showing the dramatic impact the pandemic had on where work is performed.
Suzuki gives SkyDrive a lift into the global air mobility race
SkyDrive is looking like Japan’s brightest hope in the burgeoning air mobility business. By teaming with Suzuki on production, the eVTOL startup aims to emulate the success of the country’s automakers on the global stage.