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Kelley Blue Book

March 21, 2012 by · Comments Off on Kelley Blue Book 

Kelley Blue Book, Authenticom, a leading single-platform provider of automotive data solutions including dealer management system integration and data enhancement services, has signed an agreement to be a licensed provider of Kelley Blue Book vehicle pricing data.

The Kelley Blue Book database of values for both new and used vehicles is now accessible through the Authenticom platform. The company has built a proprietary solution that will integrate the Kelley Blue Book data into its daily- and batch-delivery systems. This new Authenticom service is available immediately for third-party service provider applications.

“Right now, equity calculators are key drivers behind current automotive sales. Dealers are taking advantage of these tools and mining their data for repeat buyers,” commented Stephen Cottrell, president of Authenticom. “As a licensed reseller of Kelley Blue Book automotive valuation data, Authenticom is now in a prime position to provide additional data services that are integral for vendors with equity-management tools.”

Authenticom specializes in dealer management system integration and connects with over 10,000 automotive dealerships. Their data solutions provide support to hundreds of automotive marketing agencies, CRM systems, and third-party service providers throughout North America.

“Kelley Blue Book values are the most market-reflective in the automotive industry, as they are developed using hundreds of data sources and millions of vehicle data points,” said John Heffinger, vice president of data services for Kelley Blue Book. “Authenticom clients will be empowered to make the best business decisions using Kelley Blue Book’s relevant and timely values information.”

Kelley Blue Book

February 19, 2012 by · Comments Off on Kelley Blue Book 

Kelley Blue Book, Kelley Blue Book announced late Tuesday that president Paul Johnson has resigned from his position effective immediately. Taking on the role as president for KBB will be AutoTrader.com vice president Jared Rowe.

Rowe is currently vice president of product management for AutoTrader.com in Atlanta, Ga. Rowe’s new role is effective immediately. Kelley Blue Book was acquired by AutoTrader.com in October 2010.

Johnson will become a strategic advisor to the company.

“All of us at AutoTrader.com appreciate the excellent work Paul Johnson did in leading Kelley Blue Book for more than 13 years and in bringing the company into the AutoTrader family last year. He led the transformation of Kelley Blue Book from an iconic print publication into a major force in the online auto space, and during his time with the company its revenues grew nearly sevenfold. Paul leaves a strong legacy at Kelley Blue Book. We are excited about the growth strategy he has developed for the company,” explained Chip Perry, president and chief executive officer of AutoTrader.com.

Paul Johnson stated, “I have accomplished and exceeded much of what I envisioned for Kelley Blue Book when I started in 1999. The culmination of our success and transformation was realized with the acquisition by AutoTrader.com and the future path to even greater success is clear. With this in mind, I decided the time for a transition in leadership is right, and I enthusiastically support Jared and the entire Kelley Blue Book team in this next phase of growth.”

Kelley Blue Book’s new president joined AutoTrader.com in 2010 as vice president of product management. Before joining AutoTrader.com, Rowe spent 10 years at FordDirect where he was a member of the founding executive management team. At FordDirect Rowe assumed varying positions of responsibility, including product strategy, dealer products distribution, channel pricing, call center management, sales model development and information technology, before being named executive vice president responsible for the re-architecture of FordDirect’s business and product strategy.

“Jared is a proven business leader who understands consumer behavior in the car-buying process and the marketing needs of auto dealers and manufacturers. Jared will focus on maintaining the company’s leadership position in the automotive research and valuation space while leading important product collaboration efforts between Kelley Blue Book and the other companies in the AutoTrader family,” said Perry.

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