automotiveMastermind has named Aaron Baldwin its new Chief Executive Officer, promoting him from his previous role as Chief Product Officer. The announcement marks a key leadership transition for the S&P Global company as it prepares for significant structural changes, including the planned spin-off of its Mobility division. In today’s special episode of Inside Automotive, host Jim Fitzpatrick sits down with Baldwin to discuss his new role and the future of automotiveMastermind.
Baldwin officially steps into his new role immediately, leading a team of approximately 450 employees across four countries. His initial focus as CEO will be to strengthen customer and employee relationships. He plans to hold in-depth conversations with dealer partners to understand better how the platform impacts their operations and identify opportunities for further value. Internally, he intends to meet with staff to ensure alignment and continuity during the leadership change.
While Baldwin doesn’t anticipate any significant shifts in strategy, he emphasized the company’s ongoing evolution beyond its roots as an equity mining platform. Over the past five years, automotiveMastermind has broadened its capabilities with advanced data and predictive tools that help dealerships forecast customer intent, pricing sensitivity, and buying timelines. These tools are already being integrated into dealer workflows across major groups like Morgan Automotive and others nationwide.
Baldwin highlighted the upcoming spin-off of S&P Global’s Mobility division, which includes automotiveMastermind, Carfax, MarketScan, and Polk Automotive Solutions, as a significant opportunity to enhance collaboration and data integration across the new standalone entity. The move is expected to enable faster innovation and improved product synergy for OEMs and retail dealers.
Baldwin brings a deep background in automotive and SaaS technology, including previous leadership experience at Asbury Automotive. His leadership style emphasizes active listening, cross-department collaboration, and maintaining strong relationships in what he describes as a close-knit industry. He inherits a seasoned executive team that has been working together for over four years.
As the industry continues to navigate economic headwinds caused by auto tariffs, Baldwin expresses confidence in the retail automotive sector’s adaptability. He recalls the industry’s resilience during COVID-19 and inventory shortages as proof that dealers can remain agile and succeed in uncertain times.
"Being a new self-contained publicly held company is going to allow us to work even more closely together and to create better connectivity across all of our different data products. What that ultimately will yield for our customers and for our businesses — better predictions, better products, and our ability to build more powerful solutions for our automotive partners in both the OEMs and the dealers." – Aaron Baldwin
