Shaun Cornelius

MEDIA Solutions, the Cox Automotive company that represents CarsGuide and Autotrader in Australia, has appointed Shaun Cornelius as its new chief executive officer.

Mr Cornelius, who has vast experience in executive roles for start-up businesses including Shop A Docket, Hey You and SKUvantage, has also previously worked with Deloitte and eBay.

Cox Automotive Australia CEO Rob Whiten said Mr Cornelius replaces Cox senior executive and Kelley Blue Book executive Dan Ingle, who took on the role in a temporary capacity earlier this year until a full-time appointment was made.

“Since the departure of the previous CarsGuide CEO (Lauren Williams), we have been recruiting for the right candidate to lead our media businesses forward and launch Autotrader into the Australian marketplace,” Mr Whiten said.

“As we knew this search would take time, we were fortunate enough to secure the services of long-time US Cox Automotive senior executive Dan Ingle, from Kelley Blue Book International, to lead the Media Solutions team until a full-time appointment could be made.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce Shaun’s appointment as the permanent CEO for CarsGuide/Autotrader.

Dan Ingle

“Shaun has a passion for leading teams to deliver great results and has extensive commercial and strategic experience at an executive level.

“Combining this with his in-depth knowledge of, and experience with, digital marketplaces, he has the qualities we need to lead both brands into the next exciting phase for the business.”

Mr Cornelius said CarsGuide/Autotrader has made great progress and has a huge amount of further growth potential.

“I am looking forward to working with the team to build on the recent launch of Autotrader to deliver increased value to our customers,” he said.

Mr Whiten thanked Mr Ingle, who had been the interim CEO since early 2018, for his instrumental role in preparing for the launch of Autotrader and strengthening the CarsGuide business.

“He galvanised the team and really set us on our path to deliver our new classifieds platform while ensuring CarsGuide posted strong financial results throughout the year,” Mr Whiten said.

“Dan will work with Shaun during a thorough handover period once he commences and will return to the US in late October.

“Dan will stay connected with us in his capacity as vice-president of International Business Development for Kelley Blue Book, so we look forward to continuing to work with him in the future.”

By Neil Dowling