Joe Hawkes

About Joe Hawkes

Proven leader and team builder with extensive experience establishing new business processes to reduce negative customer impact and improve business operational efficiency. I have managed teams of customer escalation experts while acting as the final voice to resolve any customer escalation, including direct complaints to the CEO. I collaborated with legal and compliance teams to identify the correct response and resolution in situations with legal exposure. Additionally, I implemented company wide complaint tracking and reporting procedures to identify trending customer complaints and identify long-term solutions enhancing the customer experience. Provide guidance and strategic planning for dealerships supporting 138 dealerships in 29 operating states Supported new store openings in 15 existing markets and 5 new operating statesManage, develop, and implement dealership strategies for improved compliance adherence and efficiency at a state and county level Implemented Business Process Enhancements to test drive process saving man hours company wide and improve security of inventory during the processPartner with business leaders to develop and maintain efficiency strategies for operations while maintaining a focus on achieving sales goals Identified correct stake holders to develop and implement over 100 Business Process Enhancements based on customer complaint data to reduce complaints and achieve sales goals• Example – implemented system restrictions for first payment due date reducing complaints and downstream business impact of early account modifications by 75%• Created QA process for Retail customer interactions to drive compliance and sales metrics; in pilot markets improved Lead to App metric by 14% and scaled project nationallyProvide proactive leadership to the team to achieve maximum results 5 direct reports currently, experience leading teams up to 40 indirect reports both on-site and remoteTrain the team with respect to dealership processes, potential red flags, and compliance metricsManage and develop centralized dealership operations monitoring

Experience

1. Automotive Collections Manager

   Upgrade, Inc.

   Feb 2026 — Present · AZ, US

   Leading Collections, Recovery, and Remarketing teams

Education

• Old Dominion University

  Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Communications

  2006 — 2010

Skills

• Customer Service
• Customer Satisfaction
• Leadership
• Team Building
• Microsoft Office
• Sales