Who We Are
Founded in 2013, Strolid engages car buyers on behalf of dealers, offering a people oriented, non-automated approach that provides a strong customer experience and builds solid relationships. Our service offerings provide a complete solution for customer engagement, for every channel of communication and for every department in the store. Our agents are continuously trained and up-skilled, resulting in a dedicated and talented workforce, augmenting our dealer’s staff. Many on our team have worked together in Retail and at Strolid for twenty years, carrying a deep competence in store operations, allowing us to be truly helpful to the customers outside the dealership. In addition, Strolid boasts one of the most innovative engineering departments in the communications field, designing the first vCon, a key component in data centric Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
Strolid’s Stats
| 9 Years in Service |
145 Client Car Stores |
140 Subject Matter Experts |
| 70,000 Conversations / Month |
2.5 Million Appointments Set |
2 Patents & Internet Drafts |
| 9 Million Conversations |
12 Engineers |
1 Bright Future |
Leadership team
CEO, Vin Micciche
As founder and CEO of Strolid, Vin Micciche leads our executive team and is industry-recognized as an expert in the retail automotive sales process. Vin entered the Automotive industry in 1994, as he began selling cars after leaving college, eventually starting the first Automotive BDC 1996 for Boston’s Ira Motor Group. Holding various management positions in retail automotive, including F&I and General Manager. In 2007, Vin was put in charge of all E-commerce for the entire East region for Group 1 Automotive. Eventually, Vin built one of the largest centralized BDC’s in the country, handling dealers from New Hampshire to Florida, as far west as New Orleans, and working with over 60 different dealerships and 17 different OEMs.
Vin attended Fitchburg State University in Fitchburg, MA, and graduated from the NADA Academy in 2006. He currently resides in Southern New Hampshire with his family.
CTO, Thomas McCarthy-Howe
As CTO of Strolid, Thomas McCarthy-Howe leads our technical team. Thomas has worked with communication engineering teams for forty years to bring new products and services to market. As a technical contributor and leader, Thomas worked with pioneering teams in the videoconferencing (PictureTel/Polycom), VoIP (H.320, H.323, H.324, SIP, H.261) and ADSL chipset (Aware) markets. In 2012, Thomas was a voice architect for Harris Corporation for the thirty-year redesign of the voice network for the US National Aerospace Service. Over his career, he has worked with teams at Skype, Cisco, Deutsche Telekom and Nippon Electric Company.
Thomas is a founder of several companies that have gone public or have been acquired, including his sale of TEN DIGIT to Virtual Hold, the best-in-class provider of customer experience solutions, enabling over 300 of the world’s leading companies to improve their customer experience metrics, save money on customer interactions, and grow their reach to new customers.
Thomas has been honoured with the VON Innovator’s award; first place finishes in TADHack Global, the O’Reilly Media Telephony and Broadsoft Mashup Competitions. He holds a degree from the University of Massachusetts, was a visiting scientist at Columbia University, holds nine patents, and currently resides on Cape Cod.
CMO, Ken Herron
Ken Herron is a seasoned technology marketing executive with over three decades of experience driving growth and innovation for global enterprises. As Chief Marketing Officer at Strolid, he leverages his extensive expertise in artificial intelligence, omnichannel communications, and digital transformation to help businesses unlock the full potential of customer conversations, starting with the automotive industry.
Throughout his career, Ken has demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt to rapid technological changes, navigate digital transformation, balance innovation with practicality, manage diverse global teams, and drive growth in competitive markets. His experience spans various industries, including telecommunications giants like AT&T and Avaya, real estate leader Realogy, and cutting-edge AI startups.
In his role at Strolid, Ken spearheads the company’s expansion, from providing Business Development Center (BDC) services for US automotive dealers to offering innovative sales and technology solutions for businesses and governments worldwide. His profound knowledge of conversational AI and generative AI use cases positions Strolid at the forefront of helping organizations effectively listen to and engage with their customers and citizens.
Ken is using his ability to leverage advanced technologies to create stronger emotional connections between organizations and their stakeholders to execute Strolid’s vision to enhance customer experiences through genuine interactions.
VP of Operations, Shawna Behen
Shawna Behen is a seasoned executive serving as the Vice President of Operations at Strolid. With a proven track record in operational leadership, Shawna brings a wealth of experience to her role, overseeing the company’s day-to-day operations and strategic initiatives.
Based outside of Boston, Behen has established herself as a key figure on Strolid’s Leadership Team. Her expertise in streamlining processes, optimizing resource allocation, and driving operational excellence has been instrumental in the company’s growth and success.
Behen’s role as Vice President of Operations at Strolid reflects her strong leadership skills and extensive operational knowledge. Her strategic vision and ability to drive results make her an invaluable asset to the organization and a respected figure in the automotive industry.
Chief Revenue Officer, Jason Branham
Strolid Chief Revenue Officer Jason Branham brings over three decades of automotive industry expertise to his role. With a career spanning Fortune 500 executive leadership and private capital-owned dealerships, Branham has consistently demonstrated his ability to drive revenue growth and optimize business operations.
Throughout his 32-year tenure in retail automotive service, Branham has honed his skills in implementing innovative revenue strategies, streamlining processes, and fostering a culture of excellence. His leadership significantly increased variable and fixed operations volume, improved organizational culture, and enhanced customer satisfaction.
As Strolid’s CRO, Branham leverages his extensive industry knowledge to spearhead the company’s growth initiatives. His profound understanding of market trends, consumer behavior, and sales dynamics enables him to develop and execute effective revenue-generating strategies across Strolid’s business units. Branham’s strategic vision, customer-centric approach, and commitment to innovation make him an invaluable asset to the Strolid Leadership Team.
VP of Product, Matt Watson
- 10+ years of experience in all aspects of automotive operations between multiple dealer groups.
- Five years leading product strategy, aligning business goals with customer needs, and driving execution through data-driven decisions.
- Proven ability to bridge the gap between product, engineering, and sales teams through strategic thinking, UI/UX design, business intelligence, and software development processes.
- BBA in Management from Augusta State University College of Business Administration and Studies in Computer Science from Southern Polytechnic State University