Following a path taken by a former Blue Oval leader and other top chief executives, Dale Pollak, founder of vAuto and an alumnus of Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, has been named a leader-in-residence at the school for the upcoming year.

The official position — the Poling Chair of Business and Government — was established in 1993 by the late Harold “Red” Poling, a Kelley School alumnus and Ford 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.

The university highlighted Pollak will interact with students and faculty at the Kelley School in Bloomington and Indianapolis through 2015.

“I am honored and privileged to be part of this prestigious program at the Kelley School of Business,” said 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,” he continued.

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,” Kesner said. “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 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 and his industry commentaries regularly appear in Auto Remarketing. One of his most recent columns discussed vehicle financing and processes in the F&I office.

Prior to vAuto, Pollak served as vice president of sales and business strategy at Digital Motorworks, a provider of 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’s of science degree in business administration from Indiana 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

— Bob Eckert, chief executive officer of Mattel

— Ronald Dollens, former president and CEO of Guidant Corp.

— Samuel 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 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.

— Cie Nicholson, chief marketing officer of Equinox Fitness Clubs