DealerCX Builds Its C-Suite with Automotive Industry Veterans

March 23, 2026

This is a paid press release. Contact the press release distributor directly with any inquiries.

PR Newswire

5 min read

Proven Operators Join to Lead Revenue, Operations, Marketing, and Product as AI-Native Customer Experience Platform Prepares for Market

HOUSTON, March 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — DealerCX, the automotive industry’s first AI-native platform built to unify the complete customer journey across sales and service, today announced four senior additions to its leadership team: Lance Scott as Chief Revenue Officer, Russ Beckenstein as Chief Operating Officer, Shelli Clark as Chief Marketing Officer, and Jessica Ruth as Chief Product Officer.

Founded by Jack Behar and Gary Graves — the team that built and sold TotalCX to CallRevu in 2024 — DealerCX enters the market with a platform designed to replace the fragmented stack of tools that has burdened dealerships for years. Where traditional CRMs focus on closing the deal, DealerCX manages the complete customer relationship from awareness to loyalty — bringing sales and service together under one login, one customer record, and one shared timeline. Scott, Beckenstein, Clark, and Ruth bring the credibility, relationships, and experience to deliver on that promise.

“Building a company is ultimately about assembling the right people,” said Jack Behar, Co-Founder and CEO of DealerCX. “Lance, Russ, Shelli, and Jessica each bring deep automotive expertise, a track record of results, and a genuine passion for the dealer community. Together, they’ll help us bring to market a platform that finally makes the entire customer relationship visible, manageable, and profitable.”

“Having a team that can walk into a dealership, speak their language, and bring that vision to life — that’s everything,” said Gary Graves, Co-Founder of DealerCX. “We’ve always believed dealers need to shift their focus beyond the transaction. That’s exactly what DealerCX was built to do.”

Lance Scott | Chief Revenue Officer

Scott joins with a well-established track record of building high-performance sales organizations in automotive SaaS. He spent 18 years at DealerSocket, rising to VP of Sales during a period of significant national expansion — playing a central role in scaling the company’s sales teams and driving growth that transformed the business.

A former NFL offensive lineman, Scott brings a people-first philosophy to everything he builds. He has spent years coaching youth football and mentoring athletes, and he leads revenue teams with the same discipline — focused as much on developing the people around him as on the numbers they produce.

“Jack and Gary have built something rare — a company with a strong foundation, a clear mission, and a genuine commitment to helping dealers succeed,” said Scott. “I look forward to building a team that takes this platform to every dealership that’s ready to stop managing vendors and start managing relationships.”

Russ Beckenstein | Chief Operating Officer

Beckenstein joins DealerCX with more than 15 years of automotive technology experience, most recently as President of the CRM division at Affinitiv. He built his career from the ground up — working directly inside dealerships before rising to lead one of the industry’s well-known CRM platforms — a path that gives him a clear understanding of what dealers expect from the teams that support them.

Before joining the automotive industry, Beckenstein spent more than a decade in banking, including executive leadership roles at Fifth Third and M&I Bank, and as the CEO of a lending company. A United States Marine at his core, he brings the discipline, operational rigor, and dealer-first instincts that a platform at DealerCX’s stage of growth demands.

“I’ve spent my career making sure dealers get real value from the technology they invest in — not just at launch, but every day after,” said Beckenstein. “For a company built around the customer journey, having that operational foundation right is everything, and I’m committed to bringing that same standard to every dealer who puts their trust in DealerCX.”

Shelli Clark | Chief Marketing Officer

Clark joins DealerCX with more than 15 years of marketing leadership across automotive retail and B2B SaaS. She has spent her career helping companies find their voice in crowded markets — turning product value into demand and building brands that stand out. She began her career inside automotive dealerships before moving to the technology side, a background that gives her firsthand understanding of the dealers DealerCX is built to serve.

Most recently, she led marketing strategies for STELLA Automotive AI, including demand generation, product marketing, and the company’s thought leadership platform. Her career also includes senior marketing and operations roles at VinSolutions, TrueCar, and DealerBuilt.

“I’ve been in automotive long enough to know when technology will actually change how a dealership operates,” said Clark. “DealerCX is that technology — one platform that replaces everything dealers have stitched together for years. I’m genuinely excited to help bring that story to market.”

Jessica Ruth | Chief Product Officer

Ruth joins with more than 15 years of experience building and scaling enterprise SaaS platforms in automotive technology. She has spent her career solving complex, high-stakes operational problems — using automation, data, and AI-enabled systems to reduce friction and drive measurable outcomes for the businesses and teams that rely on her products.

She has held senior product leadership roles at OEC, Cars Commerce, and Clarivoy, and earlier served as Senior Program Manager at Dominion Dealer Solutions. Her earlier work in brand and business management at DealerFire and DealerRefresh gave her a foundation in the dealer community that continues to shape how she builds products.

“DealerCX is built around a simple but powerful idea — that dealers deserve a platform that manages the entire customer relationship, not just the transaction,” said Ruth. “That purpose, combined with founders who have genuinely lived this industry, made joining the team an easy decision. I’m here to help turn that idea into a product dealers can’t imagine working without.”

Together, Scott, Beckenstein, Clark, and Ruth bring the operational depth, dealer relationships, and go-to-market experience to build DealerCX into the platform the automotive industry has been waiting for. To learn more or to schedule time with the leadership team, visit www.dealercx.com.

About DealerCX

DealerCX is the automotive industry’s first AI-native customer experience platform, built to unify sales and service under a single system. Founded by Jack Behar and Gary Graves — the team behind TotalCX, sold to CallRevu in 2024 — DealerCX replaces the fragmented tools most dealerships rely on today with one platform that manages the customer relationship from first click to long-term loyalty.

Media Contact Shelli Clark
Chief Marketing Officer
shelli@dealercx.com
913.485.2145