Manheim has named Brad Burns its new associate vice president of Vehicle Information, where he will be instrumental in leading the transformation of Manheim’s vehicle information, driving client confidence across all platforms in the Manheim Digital Marketplace. 

A 17-year veteran of the company with extensive client-facing experience, Burns’ appointment comes as 81% of Manheim’s sales in 2020 went to digital buyers, the company said. His first priority is generating a greater level of consistency in the information Manheim collects and how it displays that information. That work will begin with improving Manheim’s current tools and then leveraging several new technologies, from those developed in partnership with newly acquired Fyusion to others currently being piloted

“We are on the cusp of tremendous change in wholesale that will help grow client confidence in transacting digitally and improve the way our industry does business,” said Zach Hallowell, senior vice president of Manheim Digital Solutions. “But to help clients be comfortable online, we have to be highly consistent about what information we collect, how we collect it and how we share that information. Brad’s close work with our clients over the years gives him the unique perspective needed to take Manheim’s Vehicle Information to the next level.”

Burns has spent the majority of his nearly two-decade-long career working closely with clients across several Manheim operating locations, the company said. He began his career with Manheim in 2003 as a sales representative at what is now Manheim Central Florida. He served in various client-facing roles throughout Florida before being promoted to assistant general manager at Manheim St. Pete in 2014, followed by general manager in 2017.

His experience leading a Manheim location that specializes in under $5,000 cars helped Burns fully understand what the broader spectrum of clients needs when buying digitally. According to Burns, the under $5K client base in particular experienced a bigger challenge when Manheim went all digital in 2020. 

“We went from some of our clients choosing to conduct business digitally to everyone having to—and now we want people to want to,” Burns said. “We’ve been listening intently to clients of all sizes, we’ve heard what they struggle with the most when it comes to buying online, and we’re taking big steps to give them the information they need, how they need it.”