INDIANAPOLIS -

The Auction Broadcasting Co. has named a new vice president of sales to take over for Jason Hockett, who is moving up to be vice president and managing partner of ABC Auctions.

Filling Hockett’s position is Keith Whetter, who has been with ABC since August 2009.

Whetter’s time in the industry includes roles with General Motors and Lexus, in addition to his tenure with ABC.

His first post in the field was at GM, where he came aboard in 1983 and held roles in Texas, Arizona and Michigan. In 1990, Whetter moved over to Lexus as one of the brand’s initial team members. At that time, Whetter was based out of the Chicago-area office and worked in initial dealer rollout and training for the Midwest.

He became business management manager at Lexus headquarters in California following the brand’s initial launch. While at headquarters, Whetter went on to serve as marketing, financing and lease manager for the division.

He spent 10 years outside of the auto business before joining ABC.

“Keith has the organizational skills and work ethic to lead our sales team through this market,” said Hockett.

“As volumes pick up at the end of next year, I’m proud to say that we have a very good team in place to serve our customers with the people, experience and tools that they expect,” he continued. “We’re in the service business and we hope to exceed our customer’s expectations.”