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Leadership

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Meet the team

The F&I Sentinel leadership team’s innovative thinking, rigor, and unwavering drive for operational excellence and regulatory expertise are hallmarks that permeate how we interact internally and externally as a company.

Stephen McDaniel

Chief Executive Officer

Matthew Nowels

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF RISK MANAGEMENT

Tim Barchie

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Kat Venner-Fowler

CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER

Scott Zucco

VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES

Nicole Aiello

VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS

Saundra Burrell

VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE

Scott Hendriks

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT STRATEGY

Tara Longest

DIRECTOR OF HR & Talent Acquisition

Recognition

F&I Sentinel received accolades and industry recognitions for its exemplary commitment to financial stability, innovative risk management strategies, and exceptional customer service, solidifying its position as a leader in the financial services sector.

Inc. 5000 America's Fastest Growing Private Companies
Inc. 5000 America's Faster Growing Private Companies Financial Services
Inc. 5000 America's Fastest Growing Private Companies
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Stephen McDaniel

Stephen McDaniel

Chief Executive Officer

Prior to co-founding F&I Sentinel, Stephen spent 13 years as insurance regulatory counsel focusing his career on compliance issues relating to F&I products. During his time practicing law, Stephen was responsible for overseeing the passage and implementation of state laws throughout the country governing the offering of F&I products. 

Throughout his career, Stephen has worked with many of the largest vehicle finance companies in the United States to implement a compliance management system with respect to the financing of F&I products. Stephen’s experience with the regulations governing the offering and financing of F&I Products has been instrumental to F&I Sentinel’s customers navigating the complex regulatory environment applicable to these products.

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Matt Nowels

Matthew Nowels

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF RISK MANAGEMENT

Prior to co-founding F&I Sentinel, Matthew spent 13 years as insurance regulatory counsel focused on the areas of guaranteed asset protection (GAP waiver), vehicle service contract, and motor vehicle ancillary products.

During this time, Matthew developed a unique expertise specific to these products. Instrumental in the shaping or passage of legislation across the country governing the offering and financing of GAP waiver, Matthew is the nation’s leading expert on the product. Since the inception of F&I Sentinel, Matthew’s expertise has been invaluable in helping vehicle finance companies address a constantly evolving regulatory and litigation landscape.

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Tim Barchie

Tim Barchie

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Tim Barchie serves as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of F&I Sentinel. Working with F&I Sentinel, Tim develops annual operating budgets, presents company financial results, and uses this information to drive strategy and make key business decisions. From market forecasting to investment analysis, he plays a key role in achieving the company’s anticipated financial results and developing financial performance plans that assign accountability throughout the organization.

Before joining the team at F&I Sentinel, Tim served as CFO for GoFan (acquired by KKR), an events management platform, and CFO with Colibrium (acquired by HGS), a tech-enabled services and SaaS platform for the healthcare insurance industry. He was responsible for overseeing all financial functions, performing duties similar to his role at F&I Sentinel.

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Kat Venner Fowler Headshot

Kat Venner-Fowler

CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICEr

Kat Venner-Fowler serves as Chief Product Officer (CPO) of F&I Sentinel. In this role, she leads the company’s product team and oversees strategy, vision, and roadmaps while collaborating cross-functionally with the operations, engineering, marketing, and sales teams.  


Prior to F&I Sentinel, Kat was Senior Director of Product at Cox Automotive, where she gained extensive experience in automotive finance, holding various leadership roles in product, operations, and enterprise data analytics over her 23-year tenure. Her successes in lender and dealer solutions, including her time at F&I Express, have solidified her reputation as an industry expert and leader. Also a founding member of Dealertrack, Inc., she began her automotive-industry journey at Chase Auto Finance.

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Scott Zucco

Scott Zucco

VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES

As Vice President of Sales, Scott leads the F&I Sentinel sales team in defining and executing key strategies to drive growth and expansion. He is an accomplished sales professional with 30-plus years of experience in business development, relationship management, and sales acumen in the area of SaaS-based Enterprise software sales, focusing on financial services companies, financial institutions, auto lenders, and large national organizations.

Most recently, Zucco served as Senior Account Executive with Upstart, a leading artificial intelligence lending platform designed to improve access to affordable credit, where he was instrumental in the development and sales of auto products and responsible for driving key relationships and complex enterprise solutions. Zucco also served as Senior Technology Sales Executive with Defi Solutions (formerly Fiserv), a financial services company that offers loan originations and servicing platforms to large automotive lenders.

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Nicole Aiello

Nicole Aiello

VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS

Nicole Aiello serves as Vice President of Operations for F&I Sentinel, where she is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations, implementing strategies and plans that align with F&I Sentinel’s short and long-term goals, and realizing efficiencies and process improvements. With over 22 years of experience, Nicole is a results-driven leader who excels in developing teams, optimizing processes, and enhancing business plans.

Prior to joining F&I Sentinel, Nicole held several senior leadership positions, including Senior Director of CX Operations at Protective Asset Protection, and Chief Operations Officer at Revolos. In these roles, she drove operational direction, cost efficiency initiatives, and improved customer experience (CX) and self-service options. Nicole’s experience and expertise will help fuel F&I Sentinel‘s continued growth and contribute to shaping the company’s organizational culture as it scales.

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Saundra Burrell

Saundra Burrell

vice president of finance

Saundra Burrell serves as F&I Sentinel’s Vice President of Finance. In this role, she is responsible for the strategic oversight of F&I Sentinel’s financial health by managing the company’s daily accounting operations. With over 20 years of experience, Saundra is a dedicated leader who excels in creating and maintaining sustainable accounting processes and driving proactive financial outlook practices.

Prior to joining F&I Sentinel, Saundra served as the Vice President of Finance/Controller at Waste Eliminator, a recognized leader in sustainable waste collection and diversion, where she oversaw the company’s $45 million fleet of assets deployed across north and central Georgia. Saundra’s years of experience as a senior leader in finance and accounting are instrumental in driving F&I Sentinel’s strategic decision making as it pertains to the company’s present financial operations and ensuring its fiscal security for the future.

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Scott Hendriks

Scott Hendriks

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT STRATEGY

Scott Hendriks comes to F&I Sentinel with 30 years experience in the auto and consumer lending industries. Over this time, he has been in a variety of roles for both lenders and solution providers including Flagship Credit, Wells Fargo, Fiserv, Sagent Lending, and defi SOLUTIONS. While on the lender side, he worked for prime and non-prime lenders in operations, credit management, risk management, pricing and dealer services.

On the provider side, Scott has extensive experience in loan originations and servicing software where he designed, implemented, consulted upon, and led product management and strategy functions. As an industry consultant, Scott had his own consulting practice where he helped lenders and providers maximize their value in their unique markets by creating robust integrations, efficient operations, and innovative product strategy.

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Tara Longest

Tara Longest

director of HR & Talent Acquisition

As the HR & Talent Acquisition Director, Tara Longest plays a key role in shaping employee relations and talent strategies at F&I Sentinel. She leads initiatives that encourage ongoing employee development and growth to ensure the company’s mission shines through each employee. Tara is also at the helm of F&I Sentinel’s recruiting process, guiding the roadmap to attract, nurture, and keep top-notch talent in line with the company’s growth goals as it strives toward fulfilling its vision.

 

Prior to joining F&I Sentinel, Tara served as Talent Acquisition Director for US Operations at Tradebe Environmental Services, a globally recognized leader in the environmental services space. With a wealth of experience in HR, she is the driving force behind F&I Sentinel’s recruitment and retention strategies, fostering a positive and enduring workplace culture.

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