Cars.com Promotes William D. Krohn to Vice President and General Manager
12 October 1999
Cars.com Promotes William D. Krohn to Vice President and General Manager
CHICAGO--Oct. 12, 1999--William D. Krohn, one of the pioneers in the area of automotive e-commerce, has been named vice president and general manager for cars.com. Krohn succeeds Mitch Golub, who has been promoted to senior vice president of product development and marketing for Classified Ventures, Inc., the parent company of cars.com.Krohn, a 15-year automotive industry veteran, led the launch of AutoConnect while serving as vice-president of product marketing at ADP Dealer Services. He joined cars.com in August of this year.
"The excellent content, our network of newspaper affiliates and our automotive expertise has led cars.com from a start-up to an industry leader in just one year," Krohn said. "I look forward to the challenge of taking this company to the next level by adding new products and services in order to improve the customer experience and increase the value to our dealer network."
As vice president and general manager of cars.com, Krohn will be responsible for the strategic and operational direction of the Web site, including marketing, sales and product development.
In addition to vice-president, Krohn held numerous positions at ADP Dealer Services, including manager of hardware administration, where he held an annual purchasing budget of $30 million. He also served as manager for contract negotiation, where he negotiated OEM contracts with manufacturers such as Motorola, Fujitsu, and Digital and director of product marketing, where he managed the sales process for document imaging systems.
"Bill's experience and knowledge within the automotive industry will be a tremendous asset in our continuing efforts to create a leading Internet site that meets the needs of dealers and consumers," said David Israel, president and chief executive officer for Classified Ventures. "His insight and leadership abilities will allow cars.com to continue providing an ongoing value to our dealer network and consumers."
About cars.com
Cars.com simplifies local car shopping on the Internet. With inventory in 26 of the top 30 U.S. markets, cars.com is the only automotive Web site to provide daily updates of dealer inventories. Cars.com allows consumers to search vehicle listings by zip code, vehicle make, model and year and easily submit a quote request to a car dealer by e-mail, fax or telephone. In addition to vehicle pricing, cars.com provides consumers with trusted automotive information, including rich editorial content pertaining to real-life issues such as how to purchase a vehicle and tips for parents of young drivers. The site also provides consumers with tools such as an auto loan calculator, news and reports on new and used vehicles, more than 3,500 independent automotive reviews (1983-present), vehicle performance data and vehicle recall information. Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, Inc., which is based in Chicago.
About Classified Ventures
Classified Ventures, Inc. provides nationally branded online services for the developing e-commerce opportunities in the classified advertising market place that build upon the capabilities and local expertise of a national affiliate network of more than 130 newspapers. The company currently operates the national Web sites Apartments.com(TM), www.apartments.com, Auction Universe(TM), www.auctionuniverse.com, cars.com(TM), www.cars.com, Moving Center(TM), www.movingcenter.com and NewHomeNetwork.com(TM), www.newhomenetwork.com. Classified Ventures, Inc. also operates HomeHunter(TM) (www.homehunter.com), a local resale real estate service.
Classified Ventures, Inc. was formed by eight leading media companies - Central Newspapers, Inc., Gannett Co., Inc., Knight Ridder, The McClatchy Company, The New York Times Company, The Times Mirror Company, Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company.
For more information on Classified Ventures, Inc., please contact William Jefferson Black at (312) 396-9728, william_black@pr21.com, or visit the Classified Ventures Web site at www.classifiedventures.com.