Cox Automotive Names VP To Spearhead Its Wholesale-to-Retail Inventory Management Efforts

ATLANTA – March 2, 2023 – Cox Automotive has tapped Derek Hansen as vice president of Operations, Inventory Management Solutions. In this new role, he will advance vAuto’s new Variable Management strategy, supported by its flagship solution ProfitTime® GPS, while continuing to grow Kelley Blue Book® Instant Cash Offer and Upside™—ultimately helping dealers achieve more profitable retail and wholesale outcomes.

“Derek’s deep knowledge and experience in wholesale and retail operations make him the perfect person to lead this group,” said Grace Huang, president of Cox Automotive Inventory Solutions. “With today’s inventory challenges, Derek’s expertise in helping dealers understand how to achieve greater profitability in any market will be invaluable as they navigate a changing automotive landscape.”  

Three key focus areas for Inventory Management Solutions and its clients are:

• Variable Management, vAuto’s new approach to used vehicle inventory management, relies on data science to help dealers understand each individual vehicle’s profit potential. ProfitTime® GPS helps dealers activate on this philosophy by providing them with recommended price ranges on every vehicle, every day to achieve optimal profitability and source smarter across multiple inventory channels.
• Already used in millions of trade-in transactions each year, Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer brings trust and transparency to an otherwise challenging part of the retail experience, as it gives dealers and consumers an easier way to come together on the value of a vehicle.
• Upside, Cox Automotive’s unique end-to-end wholesale solution, promises greater profitability for sellers while giving buyers an unmatched purchase experience. In less than a year since it launched, Upside has already delivered over four million dollars in profit sharing back to sellers. 

“The market has changed, making now the time for dealers to reexamine their approach to inventory management,” added Hansen. “We know that dealers who make stronger connections across their wholesale and retail operations can unlock greater profitability, and that’s exactly what these industry leading solutions—that I am excited to lead—can help them achieve.”

Hansen joined Cox Automotive in 2015 as senior director of strategic planning before assuming responsibility for Manheim’s digital operations as vice president of digital inventory solutions, where he led the development and integration of the company’s digital and physical auctions and successfully launched and grew Manheim Express. Most recently, he served as vice president of wholesale operations for vAuto. Hansen’s career also includes roles with Bain & Company, Deloitte Consulting and Intel Corp. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the Marriott School at Brigham Young University.

About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive is the world’s largest automotive services and technology provider. Fueled by the largest breadth of first-party data fed by 2.3 billion online interactions a year, Cox Automotive tailors leading solutions for car shoppers, automakers, dealers, retailers, lenders and fleet owners. The company has 25,000+ employees on five continents and a family of trusted brands that includes Autotrader®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital™ and vAuto®. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with $21 billion in revenue. Visit coxautoinc.com or connect via @CoxAutomotive on Twitter, CoxAutoInc on Facebook or Cox-Automotive-Inc on LinkedIn. 

Media Contacts:
Julie Zorn Shipp
Sr. Manager, Public Relations
Cox Automotive
404-558-7837
julie.shipp@coxautoinc.com