vAuto Founder Dale Pollak Named as Poling Chair at Indiana University

Cox Automotive Exec to Share Entrepreneurial Insights at Alma Mater

Dale Pollak, vAuto Founder (Photo: Business Wire)

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill.--()--Dale Pollak, founder of vAuto, Inc. and an alumnus of Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, has been named a leader-in-residence at the school, its Poling Chair of Business and Government, for the upcoming year.

“I am honored and privileged to be part of this prestigious program at the Kelley School of Business,” says Pollak, who will continue as executive vice president for Cox Automotive while serving as the Poling Chair. “I’m looking forward to engaging Kelley students and learning as much from them as they might from me.”

The Poling Chair was established in 1993 by the late Harold "Red" Poling, a Kelley School alumnus and Ford Motor Co. chairman and chief executive officer from 1985 to 1994.

Recipients of the Poling Chair are given the charge to stimulate discussion in the areas of leadership, the critical interactions between private business and government in matters of public policy, enterprise competitiveness and economic growth. Pollak will interact with students and faculty at the Kelley School in Bloomington and Indianapolis through 2015.

Idalene “Idie” Kesner, dean of the Kelley School and the Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management, says she knows students will be inspired by Pollak, who is visually impaired.

“Dale often talks about the hurdles you have to jump through to become a successful entrepreneur. He has met those challenges in his career and his personal life. He believes you shouldn’t let anything hold you back, and he is a wonderful example of that.”

As vAuto founder, Pollak led the creation of inventory management solutions and best practice performance management to help retail automotive dealerships appraise, manage and price their new and used vehicles based on real-time market data. His current roles with vAuto and Cox Automotive include strategic planning and product development.

Pollak also is author of three books, "Velocity Overdrive: The Road to Reinvention," "Velocity 2.0: Paint, Pixels and Profitability,” and “Velocity: From The Front Line To The Bottom Line” (all New Year Publishing LLC).

Prior to vAuto, Pollak served as vice president of sales and business strategy at Digital Motorworks, the market leader in data integration and application development for original equipment manufacturers, mega dealers and third party providers. He helped build the company from inception to its successful acquisition by ADP in 2002.

Pollak earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from IU and is a graduate of the General Motors Institute of Automotive Development. He also earned a law degree from DePaul University and was a four-time winner of the American Jurisprudence Award for top performance in his class.

Previous Poling Chairs have come from both the public and private sectors. They include Elizabeth Acton, retired chief financial officer of Comerica and a former vice president and treasurer of Ford Motor Co.; Bob Eckert, chief executive officer of Mattel Inc.; Ronald Dollens, former president and CEO of Guidant Corp.; Samuel K. Skinner, former U.S. secretary of transportation and chief of staff to former President George H.W. Bush; Sen. Evan Bayh, who taught prior to his election to the U.S. Senate; Randall L. Tobias, chairman emeritus of Eli Lilly and Co. and former vice chairman of AT&T Corp.; Gen. Peter Pace, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Frank Popoff, former CEO and chairman of Dow Chemical Co.; and Cie Nicholson, chief marketing officer of Equinox Fitness Clubs.

About vAuto

vAuto® provides industry-leading new and used vehicle inventory management solutions for thousands of dealerships across the United States and Canada, helping them compete more effectively and increase sales volumes and profits. Founded in 2005, vAuto revolutionized dealers’ used vehicle operations with its Provision® system, which gives dealers real-time, local market supply-and-demand data and intelligence to make better acquisition, appraisal, pricing and merchandising decisions. The Provision system embodies the Velocity Method of Management™ principles pioneered by vAuto founder, Dale Pollak. In 2013, vAuto created the Conquest™ system, which combines live market data, incentive management and the Velocity method to help dealers stock, price and sell new vehicles more effectively. The vAuto Genius Labs division provides smart, simple and stand-alone solutions that include AuctionGenius and AutoVisor. Headquartered near Chicago, IL, vAuto is wholly owned by Cox Automotive, which also includes AutoTrader.com®, Kelley Blue Book®, VinSolutions®, HomeNet Automotive® and Haystak™ Digital Marketing. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. For more information, visit www.vauto.com.

Contacts

Media Relations:
vAuto
Lance Helgeson, 708-613-5816
lance.helgeson@vauto.com
or
Indiana University
George Vlahakis, 812-855-0846
vlahakis@iu.edu

Release Summary

Dale Pollak, founder of vAuto, Inc. and an alumnus of Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, has been named a leader-in-residence at the school, its Poling Chair of Business and Government.

Contacts

Media Relations:
vAuto
Lance Helgeson, 708-613-5816
lance.helgeson@vauto.com
or
Indiana University
George Vlahakis, 812-855-0846
vlahakis@iu.edu