Cox Automotive Announces Expanded Leadership Role for Ken Kraft

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Aug 06, 2024, 14:00 ET

Ken Kraft, as chief marketing and sales officer, will lead combined sales and marketing teams to drive profitable growth and enhance the customer experience.
Current Chief Sales Officer Tim McKinley will retire at the end of 2024 after 11 distinguished years at Cox Automotive.
Before joining Cox Automotive in 2021, Kraft led marketing and sales operations at Cox Business, the commercial services division of Cox Communications.

ATLANTA, Aug. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Automotive today announced an expanded leadership role for Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Ken Kraft. In addition to his current marketing responsibilities, Kraft will lead the company's sales organization. He will continue to report to Cox Automotive President Steve Rowley and remain a member of the executive leadership team.

Since joining Cox Automotive in 2021, Kraft has partnered closely with the sales and product teams to develop effective and impactful marketing strategies, resulting in significant growth and improved customer satisfaction. In addition to championing a people-first culture, he has been instrumental in reimagining and simplifying the company's brand architecture, expanding its industry presence and elevating important customer relationships.

"There's no one better to lead this best-in-class marketing and sales organization than Ken Kraft," said Steve Rowley, president of Cox Automotive. "Ken's laser focus on putting the customer first and his deep understanding of how marketing and sales can partner together to drive business success have been the hallmarks of his over 35-year career."

As Kraft steps into his new role, he will collaborate closely with Tim McKinley, the current chief sales officer, who will retire at the end of the year. McKinley concludes a distinguished 40-year career, including six years at Cox Communications and 11 years at Cox Automotive. He has been a key member of the Cox Automotive executive leadership team for the past five years, helping lead record revenue growth during his time with the company.

"I'm honored to lead such a talented and passionate group of team members and continue to build on a solid foundation," said Kraft. "By further aligning our sales and marketing efforts, we can better serve our customers, bring innovative solutions to market faster and achieve unprecedented success for Cox Automotive."

Before joining Cox Automotive, Kraft led marketing and sales operations at Cox Business, the commercial services division of Cox Communications. He built the marketing and sales operations team and positioned them as strategic business partners, playing a pivotal role in Cox Business' explosive growth. Prior to joining Cox, Kraft had a long-standing career in telecommunications, leading marketing, communications, product and sales teams at AT&T, BellSouth and Sprint.

A longtime Atlanta resident, Kraft is passionate about giving back to the community and environmental stewardship. He currently serves on the board of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Previously, he served on the boards of the Trust for Public Land, Woodruff Arts Center, Fernbank Museum, Adaptive Spirit and the Sandy Springs Education Force.

Kraft earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina and serves on the Dean's Leadership Council for the College of Information and Communications.

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, auto manufacturers, dealers, lenders and fleets. The company has 29,000+ employees on five continents and a portfolio of industry-leading brands that include Autotrader®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, vAuto®, Dealertrack®, NextGear Capital™, CentralDispatch® and FleetNet America®. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately owned, Atlanta-based company with $22 billion in annual revenue. Visit coxautoinc.com or connect via @CoxAutomotive on X, CoxAutoInc on Facebook or Cox-Automotive-Inc on LinkedIn. 

SOURCE Cox Automotive