ATLANTA -

It was announced this afternoon Janet Barnard will be taking on the position of president of Manheim North America.

The move is effective immediately.

Barnard, who previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer, will continue to lead the company's core vehicle auction business that includes 78 operating locations and a team of more than 18,000 employees, the company shared.

Now as a member of parent company Cox Automotive’s leadership team, she will also be responsible for strategic business functions such as operations, sales, customer experience and product development.

"Janet has done a tremendous job of reinforcing Manheim's position as an industry leader and setting a vision for the company's long-term success," said Sandy Schwartz, Cox Automotive president. "We congratulate her on this well-deserved achievement and look forward to the many contributions she will continue to make to our industry, our company and our customers as a valued member of the Cox Automotive executive team."   

Barnard has been involved with a number of initiatives designed to further the industry over the past three years.

This includes working to create a multiplatform selling solution and launching a $100 million multi-year auction modernization effort.

Prior to joining the auction giant, Barnard served as senior vice president and general manager for Cox Communications' Central Region.

She was responsible for growing the $1.2 billion region in voice, data and video services across a residential and commercial base of more than 700,000 customers.

Prior to that role, Barnard served as senior vice president and general manager for other Cox Communications regional business areas, including Northern Virginia, Middle America and Omaha.

Barnard began her career with Cox Communications back in 1988 as the accounting manager for Middle Georgia operations. 

She is also very active in her community and is a member of the Metro Atlanta Clean Tech Leadership Council.

She was most recently recognized by Women in Technology (WIT) as the winner of the 2014 Woman of the Year in Technology Award in the Large/Enterprise Organization category.

Barnard also gives back to her community as a supporter of and participant in the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America (KPCRAA).

In addition, she has been involved in All Our Kids, acting as a board member and mentor for this organization that serves at-risk youth by providing mentoring and college scholarships to those who uphold certain behavioral and performance standards in the program.