Executive Biographies

Matriarch of the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company, Nellie Jackson serves as Executive Director and continues to contribute to the company's success. Her passion for automobiles and business acumen have been a driving force behind Barrett-Jackson's evolution into the world's leading collector car auction company. Along with her husband, Russ, and Tom Barrett, Nellie co-founded Barrett-Jackson and has held an executive position with the company since the doors opened in 1971.

Born in the automotive town of Pontiac, Mich., Nellie's first office job was in the cost accounting department at Fisher Body, a division of General Motors. Her affinity with classic autos began when she and Russ purchased a 1934 V-12 Cadillac Opera Coupe from a junkyard they passed while on vacation. The car moved with them from Pontiac to Scottsdale, where they became very active in the Classic Car Club of America. Nellie served as treasurer and was later elected as the first female Regional Director of the club.

Nellie and Russ met Tom Barrett in September of 1960. They became family friends and in 1971 held the inaugural auction, which later became known as the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction.

During the mid-1960s, Nellie's everyday car was a 1937 Cadillac V-16 limousine, the first of many collector cars she owned and drove daily. She received the prestigious Meguiar's Treasure of the Collector Car Hobby Award at the Hollywood Kodak Theatre in June 2004.

Craig Jackson, CEO of the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company, is one of the world’s most respected car collector and restoration experts. During his tenure, Jackson has continued to solidify the companies reputation as one of the premier automotive lifestyle entities on the globe. He is responsible for the renowned collector car events held in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Palm Beach, Fla. as well as a growing multi-media empire that serves the collector car industry. Jackson comes from a family that has been an important part of the car collecting industry for over 35 years. His father Russ, and longtime friend and business partner Tom Barrett, founded the company in 1971. Jackson has shared his family's passion for automobiles from a very early age, learning every aspect of both the collector car and restoration businesses as he climbed the corporate ladder. The result has been numerous Best of Show and First Place trophies, as well as an extensive education on classic car restoration.

Since assuming leadership of the family-owned auction in 1997, Jackson's company has consistently improved the quality and scope of all of Barrett-Jackson events, carefully selecting vehicles that interest the public. The Barrett-Jackson lifestyle events have achieved international acclaim thanks to the unique automobiles, entertainment, events and features that attract hundreds of thousands of spectators every year. These annual events have seen hundreds of world records fall, while annual sales have rocketed to over $135 million in 2006.

Barrett-Jackson events garner coverage from such notable media outlets such as CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Business Week, MSNBC, Motor Trend and Forbes. Jackson also serves as an advisor to many notable collectors and celebrities, most of who attend Barrett- Jackson's events each year. He has served as an automotive expert and correspondent for Bloomberg Television, CNN and SPEED and is consistently described as a "rare visionary" whose grasp and understanding of the collector automotive market is second to none.

Barrett-Jackson's strong commitment to philanthropy has earned millions of dollars for charities across the country. It has also earned the company numerous accolades including the Sterling Award for Small Business from the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce, which honors excellence, innovation and community stewardship within the business community. Jackson has twice been named on Top 50 Power Listing in the automotive industry. Jackson has also captured the coveted Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year" award for the Business Services category in the Arizona/Orange County region. This award is presented annually to business leaders whose integrity, hard work and perseverance create and sustain successful, growing enterprises.

The organization is still very much a family business, as Jackson's mother Nellie is still actively involved in the company and shares his vision for the continued success of the company. Craig Jackson's dedication to family traditions, hobbyists and the collector car industry confirms the success of the Barrett-Jackson Auction and continues to offer spectators, consignors and buyers spectacular, world-class automotive lifestyle events.

Steve Davis is the President at Barrett-Jackson and serves as the driving force behind the company's tremendous success in attracting the industry's most desirable collector car inventory and retaining the industry's largest and most loyal customer base. Steve's responsibilities include overseeing and managing all operations and departments related to auction sales. In this role, Steve regularly interacts with the company's customers, both consignors/sellers and bidders/buyers, to ensure that the "Barrett-Jackson experience" is always first-rate. Steve first came to know Barrett-Jackson as a customer himself in the late 1970's (and has been a member of the senior management team at Barrett-Jackson since 1996.) As the owner of Valley Oak Auto in California, Steve has long been one of the top purchasers and sellers of noteworthy collector cars in the country.

Steve attended California State University in Fresno, completed additional coursework in Management and is a graduate of the T.C.P.O.A. Law Enforcement Academy.

As a lifelong collector car enthusiast, Steve has served as one of the founding directors as well as President and General Manager for the Visalia Motorsports Festival in California, which was one of the largest and most unique motorsports festivals in the world. He remains an influential member of the collector car industry, serving as a special advisor to Carroll Shelby for both Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation charity and Shelby American, Inc. His many personal accolades include being the recipient of the California State Senate Recognition award for "promoting the appreciation of classic automobiles through the Valley Oak Auto Collector Car Auction and Exposition." Steve was also the recipient of the "Legislative Excellence Award" from the National Specialty Car Dealer Association for his successful work in originating and prompting the 1997 grass-roots petition drive to exempt 1973 and older autos from stringent new smog restrictions in California. This effort became known as SB 42, and if it had not passed, the collector car business as we know it could have been eliminated in California.

A leading collector car industry expert, Steve is frequently quoted in leading publications including the New York Times, USA Today, AutoWeek and MotorTrend. He is also a contributor to a multitude of automotive publications, with emphasis on market trends and the overall status of the collector car hobby.

Patrick van den Bossche is the Chief Operating Officer for Barrett-Jackson, the premiere leader in providing products and services to classic and collector car owners, astute collectors and automotive enthusiasts around the world. His responsibilities include day to day company operations, company finances and strategic business development.

He has more than 20 years of experience as a senior executive by managing fast growth, start-up and next-growth companies. Offering a rare blend of creative, operational and strategic strengths, Patrick has achieved significant results in growing sales, profits and strategic management. His capabilities are highlighted by his accomplishments as President of SPI, where he led the company from sales of less than $2 million annual revenues to over $200 million with managed net profits.

Patrick's exceptional track record has resulted in creating significant value for the companies and their shareholders. He has significant experience with acquisitions, mergers, corporate capitalization and Public Offering. He is known for his wide range of abilities to promote and manage growth and his problem solving capabilities.

He is an occasional lecturer who has spoken at Penn State University and at various stock growth conferences. Patrick graduated from the State of California Polytechnic University of Pomona. His credentials include Six Sigma certified, and LEED™ and Toyota Production System training. His Board of Director experience includes SPI, Modtech, TurnKey, MBI, DD Ventures, Ecolite International and NotMYKid non-profit organization.

Patrick is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization, the Arizona Dutch Club and is active with the St. Theresa Catholic School Dad's Club.

Gary Bennett is the Vice President of Consignment at Barrett-Jackson. He has been a participant as both buyer and seller in all Barrett-Jackson auctions since his introduction to Russ and Nellie Jackson at their inaugural event in 1971. Gary joined the company in 2002, and he puts his many years of collector car expertise to work as the Automotive Director/Senior Automotive Specialist in the day-to-day operations of the Consignment department, as well as assisting in securing sponsorship agreements with both Chrysler and Ford.

Involved in the automotive industry throughout his professional career, Gary has worked in many different aspects of the industry - including the restoration, aftermarket, and design fields. He started out as a founding general partner for BSW International, which is currently one of the largest architectural firms in the United States with clients such as Wal-Mart and Texaco. In 1989, Gary sold his interest in BSW International and began pursuing his automotive passion on a full-time basis. He started Bennett Investor Auto Auction, which specialized in classic and special-interest cars, and also established Auto Connection - a highline automobile dealership with annual sales in excess of $10M per year.

Broadening his automotive horizon, Gary began his adventure with Lister North America - a European company - and became the President of Lister North America, a Jaguar/Corvette aftermarket tuner company specializing in performance upgrades for those two marks. Simultaneously, he was the President of Lister Restoration, a premier restoration company which specialized in muscle cars, European sports cars and Shelby Cobras, which served distinguished clients such as Roger Penske, Prince Abdul Azziz of Saudi Arabia and Nubo Sawama of Japan. In addition, Gary also acted as the President of Coach Connection - an upscale motorcoach accessory company.

Among his many design accomplishments, Gary designed and was awarded two separate patents for the conversion of Chrysler and Ford minivans to be utilized as motorcycle carriers. He subsequently sold the patent and all rights for the benefit of manufacturing handicap-accessible vans. Aside from his love of automobiles, Gary also established a passion for motorcycling, and designed and built custom V-8 motorcycles which utilized the engine as the stress-bearing member in place of an actual frame.

Throughout his long and varied automotive career, Gary became an avid racecar driver, and has won many awards racing vintage NASCAR, Trans-Am and open wheel racecars at racetracks throughout the United States.

Gary is quoted often in noteworthy publications such as the New York Times, and has had various automotive-related accomplishments which have been featured in Motor Trend, Autoweek, Corvette Fever and other similar magazines.

Jason Rose is the Vice President of Operations for Barrett-Jackson and functions as one of the key forces behind Barrett-Jackson's state-of-the-art technology infrastructure. Jason joined the company as a Vendor/Sponsor Assistant and aided with event site logistics. For the past seven years, Jason's role at Barrett-Jackson has evolved to enhance several functions and departments throughout the company. Jason is an essential player in effective departmental development, organization and functions within the different sects of the company. In his current role, he is responsible for managing the I.T. infrastructure, on-site event logistics, and operations for traveling events to efficiently streamline all aspects of event preparation and execution.

Prior to working at Barrett-Jackson, Jason and his brother launched an Internet-based company which provided an online community guide for residents and visitors of Fountain Hills, Arizona and its surrounding areas. The company was formed with the vision of harnessing the reach of the Internet by creating a bridge to the small community mentality with e-commerce and broadcast multimedia capabilities. Prior to working at Barrett-Jackson, he worked as both a mechanical engineer and design engineer in the semiconductor and manufacturing industries.

Jason attended Purdue University and transferred to the Colorado School of Mines. He graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a Minor in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. Jason spent a semester in Luleå, Sweden on exchange as part of his education.

As Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Barrett-Jackson, Phil Neri manages the company's sponsorship and business development programs as well as the company's marketing and merchandising endeavors. In addition, he is responsible for sponsorship and vendor activities during the company's events in Scottsdale, Palm Beach and Las Vegas.

Retained by Barrett-Jackson in 2006 as Director of Sponsorships and Business Development, Phil has been instrumental in the company's evolution into one of the most celebrated automotive lifestyle events in the world. He has helped develop strategic partnerships with automotive giants Ford and General Motors, as well as key relationships with top-notch brands like Meguiars and Shelby Automobiles; these have been imperative to Barrett-Jackson's success.

Prior to joining Barrett-Jackson, Phil was Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Home Fragrance Holdings, the largest private label candle manufacturer in the United States. His guidance and innovation at HFH led to the revitalization of the company's sales and marketing program. Phil is credited with identifying new markets and expansion opportunities for HFH and spearheading a premium licensing agreement with a leading crystal/china company.

Phil also served as Senior Vice President of Sales for The Dial Corporation, a leading manufacturer of consumer products. He was responsible for all Dial Corp. products targeting grocery, drug, military and convenience store channels throughout the United States. An 18-year veteran of the company, Phil held numerous sales and management positions, implemented a Sales Force Automation project and oversaw the design of a third party service organization.

Phil gained additional experience as marketing executive for a real estate development firm in Scottsdale, where he developed a key partnership with a major cable provider and created the company's Web site.

He earned a B.S. in Marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a MBA from Arizona State University through the Executive MBA program. He is a member of the Phoenix Thunderbirds organization and has been active in the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club of America.