# Marco Schnabl

> Marco Schnabl is a German-American automotive entrepreneur, co-founder and former co-CEO of automotiveMastermind, and founder and executive chairman of RockED. A former Mercedes-Benz retail professional in Germany and New York, he helped turn dealership customer data into predictive sales software before moving into mobile learning and employee development for automotive retailers.

- **Role:** Founder and Executive Chairman at RockED
- **Organizations:** RockED, automotiveMastermind, Mercedes-Benz, German American Chamber of Commerce
- **Nationality:** German-American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, Management and Operations, Berlin School of Economics
- **Known for:** Co-founded automotiveMastermind, which grew from six launch dealers in 2013 to more than 800 by 2016, according to company history., automotiveMastermind placed seventh on the 2017 Inc. 5000., Helped lead automotiveMastermind through its 2017 majority acquisition by IHS Markit.

## Career timeline

- **2003** — Joined Mercedes-Benz, working in Germany and later New York.
- **2005** — Moved to the United States, as recalled in his Humans of Automotive interview.
- **2012** — Co-founded automotiveMastermind with Johannes Gnauck; the platform launched in 2013.
- **2013** — automotiveMastermind platform launched with six dealer partners.
- **2016** — JMI Equity announced the company’s first institutional investment; Schnabl oversaw sales, service and operations.
- **2017** — automotiveMastermind ranked seventh on the Inc. 5000; IHS Markit acquired approximately 78% for about $392 million, with potential additional performance-linked consideration.
- **2022** — Matt Leone succeeded him as automotiveMastermind CEO effective April 1; Schnabl moved to counsel and strategic partnerships, then left the business in September.
- **2023** — Publicly active as founder and executive chairman of RockED; JM Family announced a partnership and investment in December.
- **2025** — RockED announced FM Capital backing and launched an automotive AI certification with Impel.
- **2026** — Appeared at the CBT News Automotive Leadership Summit; RockED announced DriveCentric and EPIC certification partnerships.

## Achievements

- Co-founded automotiveMastermind, which grew from six launch dealers in 2013 to more than 800 by 2016, according to company history.
- automotiveMastermind placed seventh on the 2017 Inc. 5000.
- Helped lead automotiveMastermind through its 2017 majority acquisition by IHS Markit.
- Founded RockED, an automotive workforce development platform backed by JM Family and FM Capital.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — RockED announced its selection as the National Loan Payoff Clearinghouse’s official industry certification partner on July 28.
- **2026-07** — RockED and DriveCentric announced a partnership to connect employee performance data with training; the release dated July 14 was posted July 21.
- **2026-06** — Schnabl discussed dealership employee training and pricing transparency at the CBT News Automotive Leadership Summit; the interview was published June 23.
- **2025-08** — Impel and RockED publicly launched an automotive AI certification program with more than 70 microlearning modules.
- **2025-06** — RockED announced a growth investment from FM Capital.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-schnabl-8896bb7/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/marco-schnabl
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25