Janet Barnard took on the role of president of Manheim North America, effective Dec. 11, according to a press release. Previously, Barnard was executive vice president and chief operating officer. Barnard fills a spot left open last year when Sandy Schwartz was picked to lead Manheim parent company Cox Automotive. In her new position, Barnard will continue to head up Manheim’s core vehicle auction business, which includes 78 operating locations and a team of more than 18,000 employees, according to the company. Also, as a member of the Cox Automotive leadership team, she is responsible for strategic business functions such as operations, sales, customer experience, and product development. Barnard joined Cox in 1988 as the accounting manager for Middle Georgia operations, and has steadily moved up in the company, eventually serving as senior vice president and general manager for Cox Communications’ Central Region.
In the past three years at Manheim, Barnard worked to create a multi-platform selling solution that makes buying and selling easier for customers, according to the release, and launched a $100 million multi-year auction modernization effort that uses technology to redesign processes, enabling employees to spend more time with customers.
