Zag Appoints Matthew Handal VP of Operations

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Zag (http://www.zag.com), an automotive retail innovator, today announced the appointment of Matthew Handal as vice president of operations.

Zag is a groundbreaking company with a state-of-the-art technology and services platform designed to dramatically improving the way consumers buy cars while simultaneously helping dealers and affinity groups enable sales.

Handal has more than 15 years’ experience in product enhancement, affiliate marketing, conversion improvement, sales management and lead generation. Before joining Zag, he was vice president of product optimization for Reunion.com, where he was responsible for promoting and enhancing new and existing products and services to Reunion members. He restructured the web analytics reporting model, redefined metrics for media campaigns, and designed and implemented a price point testing system – resulting in increased conversions and customer loyalty, a 22 percent increase in gross margins for media campaigns, and a 15 percent increase in monthly revenue.

“Matt is an excellent addition to our team,” said Scott Painter, CEO, Zag. “He’s a skilled manager and he’s successfully helped build some major online and offline brands. He will provide valuable leadership and insight as we continue to expand the capabilities of our car-buying and selling platform.”

Handal also has held senior positions and been directly involved in the scaling of LowerMyBills.com (purchased by Experian) and Intermix Media (purchased by Fox News Corp.). He was the leading force behind building and managing A/B testing platforms for these companies.

Handal earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Loyola University, New Orleans.

About Zag

Zag is an independent technology and services business, committed to dramatically improving the way consumers buy cars while simultaneously helping dealers enable sales. Zag is transforming the auto-buying experience with a groundbreaking online platform that extends current online buying capabilities – and soon will make it possible for consumers to complete the entire auto-buying transaction online. Zag's platform goes beyond research-related websites to give consumers upfront pricing and inventory availability for new and used cars, and the ability to configure a new vehicle and arrange financing online. Over the next year, the company will roll out additional capabilities that will enable a complete, end-to-end online transaction for the first time.

Zag works with affinity-based organizations to bring a private label, customized experience to members or customers while automating much of the time-consuming, inefficient processes at the dealership level. Inaugural users include Capital One Auto Finance, the nation's largest online auto lender, which is rolling out Zag's platform for its DriveOne program; and Autoland, the nation's oldest and most successful credit union auto-buying service, which Zag acquired as a wholly owned subsidiary in November 2005. Zag is based in Santa Monica, Calif., with offices in Sherman Oaks, Calif., Fullerton, Calif., and Portland, Ore.