Car-Mart names marketing expert Dawn Morris to its board

Rogers-based America’s Car-Mart Inc. announced Friday (March 19) the appointment of marketing and digital expert Dawn Morris to its board of directors, effective April 1. Morris will fill the vacancy on the board for the buy here, pay here used car dealer after the retirement of former Walmart executive Jim von Gremp in August.

“Dawn brings expertise transforming organizations through digital and customer-centric strategies which will add great value as we continue to implement and improve our digital presence and customer experience strategy,” said Jeff Williams, president and CEO. “We are pleased to welcome her to our board and look forward to benefitting from her insight.”

Morris previously was the chief digital and marketing officer at First Horizon Corp., where she was responsible for enterprise-wide marketing strategies, including digital banking and customer experience. She started her career as a U.S. Army officer at Fort Bragg, N.C., after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In 2002, she joined RBC Bank and served in roles including sales leadership and corporate strategy. In 2010, she joined RBS Citizens Financial Group as senior vice president and was responsible for business banking product management and customer segment and product marketing. In 2014, she joined Webster Bank, N.A., a subsidiary of Webster Financial Corp., as executive vice president and chief marketing officer. She was responsible for transforming and building the bank’s marketing operations. Morris has served on multiple boards, including marketing leadership nonprofit Marketing EDGE, the Girl Scouts of Connecticut and Massachusetts, and was co-chair along with the Connecticut governor on the Governor’s Prevention Partnership. She often speaks about marketing and customer strategy at conferences worldwide.

Von Gremp, who worked in various roles with Walmart, retired at the end of Car-Mart’s shareholders meeting in August and had served on the board since December 2015. He was chairman from August 2016 to August 2018. Existing board members include Ann Bordelon, Ray Dillon, Daniel Englander, William “Hank” Henderson, chairman Joshua Welch and Williams.

Shares of Car-Mart (NASDAQ: CRMT) closed Friday at $156.05, down $1.45, or 0.92%. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has ranged between $165 and $37.02.