Operator Profile

SEAN McAULIFFE

Founder-operator with twenty years in wholesale distribution and multichannel ecommerce. Now CMO of Automotive Keys Group, a Kinderhook Industries platform. Two realized exits.

Long Island, N.Y. Distribution: Unrestricted

Executive summary

Sean McAuliffe
The subject. Portrait AI-enhanced; track record unretouched.

Sean McAuliffe is CMO and senior growth executive of Automotive Keys Group, a Kinderhook Industries platform, where he leads ecommerce, sales, marketing, brand, and digital transformation across its B2B and DTC businesses. He got there by building: he founded International Key Supply, scaled it past $20 million, and created Keyless2Go along the way, today the leading aftermarket car key and remote brand in the United States. Both businesses now operate inside the platform.

He is a builder and an AI super-user: automating the repetitive, equipping his teams, and moving faster than the competition. A straight shooter, comfortable getting his hands dirty in a warehouse or presenting to a board.

Track record

Orders shipped 2,000,000+
Attributed revenue $500M+
Platform revenue, current Nine figures
Private equity exits 2
Founded business, scaled to $20M+
Annual advertising budget managed $3M+

Figures cumulative across International Key Supply, Keyless2Go, and Automotive Keys Group. Operational highlights include multiple ERP integrations, a PIM implementation, and the relaunch of the Locksmith Pro Expo as a leading North American industry event.

Realized transactions

2021

International Key Supply

acquired by

Automotive Keys Group

A Kinderhook Industries platform

Announcement ↗

The subject, on competition

I don’t want to put my competitors out of business. I just want to take all of their customers.

Capabilities

Commercial
Sales leadership, go-to-market strategy, growth and brand strategy, P&L ownership.
Channels
B2B and DTC ecommerce; Amazon, eBay, and Walmart marketplaces.
Platforms
Platform strategy on Shopify and BigCommerce: re-platform decisions, build-versus-buy calls, integration roadmaps, and accountable delivery.
Systems
Led ERP and PIM implementations (NetSuite, Akeneo) and owns the commercial stack, from Klaviyo and HubSpot to Google and Meta advertising.
AI
Puts AI in his teams’ hands: builds the automations, teaches the workflows, and holds the bar as a daily operator of Claude, OpenAI, and Gemini.
Leadership
Team building, coaching and upskilling operators, change management, M&A integration, community building.

Exhibits