About us

Greg Pfleider has been A2C’s CEO since 2020. Greg has a background in the financial sector, specifically investment banks, with a proven track record of revitalizing struggling territories, expanding market exposure and sales. Information security compliance is a vital concern in finance, and Greg’s experience working with Investment Banks gave him a firsthand view of the burden satisfying compliance requirements puts on businesses. Greg is determined to create a path to compliance suited to the complex realities of today’s information security compliance requirements.

“I’m a big believer in compliance, but an even bigger believer in the success of our clients’ businesses,” said Greg. “Our solutions MUST be simple and cost-effective so our customers can tend to the businesses they run.”

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in political science, international relations and economics, Greg enjoys the outdoors, spending time with his partner Katie, two daughters Reinnen and Tatum, and watching Badger football. He lives in Bloomington, Minnesota.

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Howard Latham became A2C’s COO in early 2021 after a varied career in software, technology and services that included 18 years at IBM. Always fascinated by how information security compliance was interwoven into the concerns of businesses large and small, Howard was drawn to A2C by the opportunity to engage with this critically important topic in ways that built A2C’s strength and made operations considerably easier for its clients.

Howard is proud that his work at the company has involved developing people and having fun while doing it. A resident of Minnetonka, Minnesota, Howard enjoys spending time with his wife, six grandchildren and his golden retriever, Sunnie.

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Chief Information Security Officer and one of the founders of A2C, Tony Haux enjoys how A2C enables businesses to take better care of themselves, Tony’s career in technology and cyber security spans over 40 years, with executive experience in IT and security at Pillsbury, Honeywell and Verifications Inc. As new information security requirements continued to take shape, Tony knew there was a better way to help companies fulfill their information security and compliance requirements in smooth and painless ways. He’s particularly proud of A2C having secured endorsements from major associations in the verticals served by A2C.

Tony lives in Bloomington, Minnesota, where he enjoys deer hunting, trap shooting, and spending time with his twin sons.

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A2C’s Chief Compliance Officer Matt Vatter works with A2C’s clients to ensure the quality of their information security programs. Matt joined A2C in early 2023 after 37 years in the Minnesota National Guard, during which he completed tours of duty in Iraq and rose to the rank of a full colonel. More recently, Matt served as Assistant Commissioner for Enforcement for the Minnesota Department of Commerce, where he first crossed paths with A2C working on the issue of regulatory compliance. Matt currently serves on the advisory board of the University of Minnesota’s Technological Leadership Institute, and recently received a Visionary Leadership Award from the 2023 Minnesota Cyber Security Summit.

Vatter lives in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, where he is a high-performance driving instructor and enjoys hunting, fishing, and hiking. He has one son and a black lab named Pete, the latter of whom he won as a prize in an essay contest while he was on a tour of duty in Iraq.

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A2C’s Business Development Executive Scott Macdonald joined the company in early 2023. With a career spanning two decades in financial services in Chicago and London, Scott’s previous experience includes business development, private asset management, and futures and derivatives. Additionally, Scott’s work history also includes roles at Anderson Windows and in home improvement and construction businesses.

A highly adaptable problem-solver with a talent for helping A2C’s clients, Scott lives in Plymouth, Minnesota, where he enjoys spending time with his family, playing tennis, scuba diving, and camping. His favorite places in the state include his family cabin on the St. Croix River and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

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A2C’s Lead Product Support Specialist, Peter Sherek, joined the company mid-2023. Peter started his career with A2C after receiving his bachelor’s degree in economics at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. Prior to working at A2C, Peter had several jobs including working as an intern at a data analytics start up.

Driven to improve the experience for A2C customers, Peter lives in Long Lake, Minnesota, where he enjoys playing guitar, swimming, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.

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Marguerite Watanabe, President of Connections Insights, has worked in the auto and automotive finance industry for over 35 years allowing her to truly understand its strengths, weaknesses and, most importantly, opportunities.

Marguerite has devoted much of her energy and efforts in sharing her expertise and connections based on her unique mix of experience in automotive manufacturing and sales, captive and non-prime auto financing, credit reporting, lead generation and consulting – as well as her international experience with companies in Asia, the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East.  Her company provides focused insights to its clients on where innovative product and service solutions can be implemented to improve business processes and shareholder value and makes connections that build the bridges between strategic business partners.

Prior to forming Connections Insights in 2006, Marguerite worked for Nissan North America and Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation in the USA and Japan, Equifax, BarNone and BenchMark Consulting International. She also spent four years living and working in Japan where she learned to speak Japanese and before this, at her university housing office counseling new students and parents.

Marguerite currently sits on the Advisory Boards for three companies: ParkMyFleet which is creating mobility hubs across the US to meet the varying needs of fleet and automobile companies and Lender Compliance Technologies (LCT), a provider of compliance solutions, including an F&I cancellation and refund tool, for vehicle lenders and Accelerate2Compliance provides security compliance solutions to automobile dealers. She has also sat on the Advisory Board and Boards of Directors for LenderAuto, Carsfast and the Nissan Federal Credit Union in the past.

As an involved industry contributor, Marguerite she serves on the American Financial Services Association (AFSA)’s Vehicle Finance Board, Education Foundation Board, Women’s Leadership Council and Business Partner Board and manages the Independent Auto Finance Executive Group and Commercial Credit Committee and sits on the Operations Regulatory Compliance Committee and the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.  She also sits on the National Auto Finance (NAF) Association Board of Directors and served as the Association’s President and Chairman.

Marguerite earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.

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Rich Zellner has been in the automobile industry for over 30 years, with over 20 years in automotive finance management. In 2006, Rich formed an automotive consulting company, Automotive Resource Group, to serve dealerships and companies in the automotive industry. This included such companies as J.D. Power, Universal Auction Group and Wells Fargo Dealer Service.

Rich also created a subprime lending program for Kawasaki in partnership with Westlake financial. Automotive Resource Group has evolved to focus on giving small to medium sized dealer groups access to the programs and pricing of the large public dealer groups, thereby leveling the playing field. Using the economies of scale, Rich has been able to offer his dealers lender incentives, vendor rebates, discounted rates, and increased service levels. As a result, ARG lender partners enjoy extremely profitable portfolios and vendor partners have significantly increased volume. His vision to give small to medium-sized dealer groups a competitive edge has shown remarkable success with clients ranging from single point dealerships to one of the top 10 dealer groups in the country.

From 1999 through 2006, Rich was a Senior Vice President at WFS Financial, and Wachovia after a merger. During his tenure, Rich was responsible for policies, procedures, and management of a sales and marketing group of over 170 associates, travel and incentive group, and dealer services group working with approximately 14,000 automobile dealerships across the country. In addition, Rich was responsible for overseeing the National Accounts Group which managed the relationships with the largest dealer groups and consolidators such as AutoNation, Penske, Sonic, Lithia, and more. Subsequently, Rich served as President of Cogent Financial Group, an auto finance and elective surgery medical finance company, offering consumer loans through auto dealers and medical practices. As President, he was responsible for all facets of the business including credit, operations, funding, collections, accounting, and legal.

In 1995, after 12 years in dealer management roles, he joined AutoFinance Group and quickly climbed the ladder becoming a key member of a company that was sold to KeyBank for ten times book value. As a member of the Key AutoFinance management team, Rich was considered one of the company’s sub-prime experts and traveled throughout the country lecturing bank management and dealer groups on auto finance.

In addition to a successful career in auto finance, Rich has demonstrated a deep commitment to public service and community engagement. Since 1997, he has served as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff, dedicating his time to ensuring public safety, Rich’s unwavering dedication to serving his community was further recognized when he was awarded the prestigious Silver President’s Volunteer Service Award by President George W. Bush, highlighting his exceptional contributions and selfless devotion to making a positive impact in the lives of others.

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Rafael Maldonado, Vice President and Chief Information Technology Officer, joined the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in 2021. Rafael has more than 30 years of experience in information technology and has served in leadership positions in both the private and public sectors. In his role, Rafael is responsible for the strategic development and advancement of the use of technology and cyber security for the Foundation. He provides leadership to the technology team and works closely with other RWJF executives, operations leadership, program leaders, and staff in implementing a modern and mission focused, enterprise-level technology strategy.

Prior to joining RWJF, Rafael served as the Vice President and Chief Information Officer at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), the national trade association for franchised dealers, where he was the executive responsible for responsible for driving the association’s information technology vision to provide innovative solutions and services to our national members and international affiliates. Prior to NADA, Rafael was the global director of IT for ContourGlobal, a developer and operator of electric power generation businesses with more than 1,000 employees and 41 power plants in 14 countries, where he was the Senior IT Executive with full operating and systems planning responsibility leading all IT functions worldwide. Rafael was responsible for global IT strategic planning/operations for the company. Prior to ContourGlobal, Rafael served in IT leadership roles for ezStorage, the largest self-storage company in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., and Ernst & Young Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ernst & Young (EY).

Rafael served honorably in the U.S. Army from 1988 to 1998, with tours in Ft. Sill, OK, Heidelberg Germany, and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. As part of his service, he received several meritorious and commendation service medals as well as several leadership awards.

Maldonado holds an MBA from the Jack Welch Management Institute and a B.S. degree in computer information systems from Strayer University.

Born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, USA, Rafael now resides in Ellicott City, MD with his wife Maria, his daughter Gianelle, and his niece Ariely. He enjoys cooking for family and friends and traveling.

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