Meet the Team

Building great relationships starts in-house. That’s why we take the time to get to know our team members before we bring them on board.


  • Founder & CEO

    Burt has always had a passion for high performance cars, especially the German and Italian variety. He has years of industry experience serving as a driving instructor for Atlanta Motorsports Park (AMP), Porsche Experience Center, Chin Motorsports, McLaren and Drivers Club at Road Atlanta (DCRA). He is a founding member at AMP and former owner of Velocity Motorsports, a supercar experience company. He founded Merit in 2014 with his business partner, Jonathan Hull. He has owned multiple Porsche GT cars and Ferrari’s and currently spends most of his free time hosting track events where he drives a GT3 Cup and GT4 Clubsport. His approach with clients is not simply buying a car but in selecting the right car for them based on a full understanding of their needs and desires.

    “Great relationships are built around great experiences and I have had the privilege of doing what I love with this business for several years and making some life-long friendships in the process.”


  • Co-Founder

    Jonathan, a native Atlantan, cultivated a passion and fascination for cars at a young age. He grew up restoring classic cars with his father and his first car was a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS convertible 4-speed in Porsche Red. Jonathan has a Finance degree from the University of Georgia’s Terry School of Business and is black-belt certified in Lean Six Sigma. In 2014, Jonathan partnered up with Burt Strange to form Merit Partners. He is passionate about driving his Carrera GT in the mountains, a dream car of his that now has 28k miles. After about 6 years in the high end car industry, Jonathan has developed a strong affinity for documenting and tracking all production data on the CGT, 918, and 911R’s. He also appreciates the role he plays as “trusted advisor” for his clients to assist them in finding that special car and is passionate about managing the process from start to finish. Jonathan’s interests outside of cars are his wife Lauren and 4 kids: Chapel, Jonah, Lucy and Sullivan. His hobbies include golf, traveling, and sports.

    “My goal is cultivating deep, trusted relationships and sharing my passion with enthusiasts around sports cars.”


  • CFO

    Phillip has loved cars since he was a toddler. His passion grew from naming cars in parking lots in preschool, to memorizing specs from Road & Track in elementary school, and then to wrenching on and tracking his own cars. For most of his life, his friends and family also have relied on him for all forms of car advice.

    Phillip has BSBA in Accounting from Samford University, a Master of Accountancy from The University of Alabama, and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. After nearly a decade managing accounting & finance functions for real estate investment funds, he transitioned over to the automotive industry. He enjoys using his financial experience in an industry he loves, and forming relationships with clients and peers who share his passion.

    Outside of work, Phillip loves to play guitar, travel, and stay active in his church. He grew up in Alabama and is a life-long Alabama Crimson Tide fan. Fortunately, he still is well accepted by his Georgia and Clemson alumni peers at Merit Partners.


  • Director of Operations

    Michael, a third generation native Atlantan, was raised in a car-focused family. His father was involved in local motorsports and his love for cars was amplified by his exposure to the track at a young age.

    At 22, Michael entered the automotive industry where he spent several years with Audi, then transitioned to overseeing the Ferrari of Atlanta workshop in 2014. Throughout his 8-year career at Ferrari, Michael took every opportunity to provide superior customer service and above-and-beyond solutions for each client. His focus on the end-of-end client experience, along with implementing better processes and new systems for the department led to great success. In 2018, Michael elevated Ferrari of Atlanta service from a reliable dealership workshop to the #1 Service Department in the World honored by Ferrari S.p.A..

    While his passion started with cars, his desire to exceed client expectations and form meaningful relationships with clients, dealers, and vendors has made the most impact to his career.


  • Advisor

    Evan is a native of Atlanta and acquired a passion for cars at an early age. His obsession began when he saw the McLaren F1 in Paris at 12 years old. Since then, he has always found a way to stay connected to cars. After graduating Clemson university in 2010, Evan began working for a technology start-up in Atlanta, GA. After two years working for some amazing entrepreneurs, Evan started his own company, Velocity Motorsports, in 2012. Velocity gave individuals the opportunity to drive some of the world’s best cars on Atlanta Motorsports Park. After selling the company in 2014, Evan began working and developing sales departments at multiple companies. In 2019 Evan joined the Merit Sales Team. His passion is to share his love of cars with others and put clients into the car that perfectly fits them.


  • Advisor

    Michael was 5 years old when he was bitten by the car bug. His uncle would let him shift gears while riding in his 1976 Camaro Z28. Ten years later he owned his own muscle car, a 1967 Camaro. He continued to share his passion for cars from that time forward.

    Michael moved to GA in 1999 from Pennsylvania and started his career at Nissan for the next seven years before moving to Porsche. Michael gained even more experience at Porsche for 4 years before he started with Ferrari. Michael was at Ferrari for 12 years and has started a new journey with Merit Partners in 2022.

    If you ask Michael what he enjoys most about sales after 23 years, his answer would be the people. Building relationships, making friends along the way and being part of their dreams from when they were 5 years old.


  • Finance Manager

    Meet Christopher Fiffie, a proud native of Louisiana with a captivating journey. Christopher spent 14 years serving in the Marine Corps, which whisked him away to diverse corners of the world totalling over 18 countries.

    In 2014, Christopher embarked on a new adventure in the automotive industry, starting his career at MINI of Kennesaw. Fueled by his passion for luxury cars, he soon found himself as a Porsche Certified Brand Ambassador, diving headfirst into the exhilarating world of high-performance automobiles.

    Continuing his upward trajectory, Christopher assumed the role of Brand Manager for McLaren and worked closely with other industry giants like Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, and Aston Martin.

    Today, Christopher Fiffie is thrilled to announce his latest endeavor as the Finance Director at Merit Partners. His wealth of experience and unwavering dedication to luxury vehicles makes him a perfect fit for this exciting new chapter.


  • Inside Sales

    Spencer was born and raised an Atlanta native. A passion for cars began at an early age as he grew up watching auto racing with his father, an avid Formula One enthusiast. As Spencer grew older, his passion for exotic cars did as well, with a memorable ride in a Ferrari igniting the passion into an evolving career. Concurrently, a pursuit in aviation allowed Spencer to gain experience in a critical work environment, providing reliable service to passengers and to travel the world creating lasting connections. As a professional airline pilot here in Atlanta, Spencer is responsible for sourcing inventory that represents our brand and values. Establishing new relationships with clients and enthusiasts alike, Spencer travels the world looking for unique cars and representing the Merit Partners team.


  • Guest Relations

    Born in New York, Alissa moved to the Atlanta area with her family when she was in middle school and has lived here ever since. She has a passion for people, relationships, and the well-being of others, thus resulting in her Bachelor of Science in Psychology, graduating in 2020 with Summa Cum Laude. Her goal within a career has always been centered around relationships and the desire to make people feel like they’re in the right place. She loves creating spaces that will make you feel seen, known, and cared for through small details, hospitality, and logistics that are uniquely designed to meet the needs of a particular person/clientele base. While at Merit Partners, she wants to curate a space that makes you feel like you are being welcomed home while visiting and to create meaningful relationships that will carry on past the business alone. 


  • Tag & Title Specialist

    Parth was born in Toronto, Ontario and grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA. His passion for cars began during early childhood when he received a 1/18 scale model Ford F-150 as a birthday gift. Whether it is an exotic car or a lifted pickup truck, his passion for vehicles and the culture around them has grown into what it is today. His career in automotive began early 2013 when he started working at United BMW as a sales concierge. He quickly progressed and transitioned to lead dealership photographer in less than one year. From there Parth moved on to the Social Media Coordinator and lead photographer at MotorCars of Atlanta, where he began crafting his skill and managed to create some very valuable relationships within the automotive industry. In August of 2021 Parth joined Merit Partners and is extremely grateful to be a part of such a great team! During his time away from work Parth enjoys photography, finding new and exciting places to eat, going to car shows, listening to country music and recently has developed an interest to learn a programming language called ‘Python’. He hopes to one day develop a mobile app for Merit Partners to help clients find their next car!


  • Marketing & Social Media

    Cody’s passion for cars can be traced back to the earliest days of his childhood. When thinking about his career, he knew it needed to involve cars. He started detailing cars in 2015 with Toyota where he began to hone his craft. After years at Toyota he moved to Porsche Experience Center where he entered the high end market. Today, Cody continues to expand his skill set becoming an integral part of our marketing & social media strategies.


  • Detailer & Inventory Management

    Born and raised in Snellville, Georgia Ian’s obsession with cars began at a young age where he was surrounded by classic American muscle cars which has evolved his passion for speed and collectable cars. In 2020, Ian began in the automotive world working at a local window tint & detail facility where he began to study under their in-house detailer. Not long after his start, he quickly took on his passion for the art of detailing which led him to buying into the business as a partial owner. As his skillset grew and ability to focus on more valuable projects increased, he found the path to better himself within in the industry. Fast forward to 2023 Ian joined the Merit Partners team to assist in maintaining our incredible inventory.


  • Detailer & Inventory Management

    Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia Ray has had a passion for cars for as long as he can remember. From an early age he knew there was a career in his future around in the automotive industry. In 2020 he began detailing cars in his spare time around spending weekends at the racetrack and honed in his craft. Fast forward to 2022 Ray started detailing cars full-time for Porsche Cars North America and woking part time as a Porsche Driving Experience Coach on the weekends. Ray attends as many track days as he can with his own personal vehicle and now holds his competition racing license. He continues to refine his crafts to help maintain and improve the Merit Partners incredible inventory.