Cox Automotive’s Sandy Schwartz on Ending His Tenure as CEO and Welcoming New President Steve Rowley

Sandy Schwartz

Recently, powerhouse Cox Automotive announced a changing of the guard. Effective today, August 3rd, Sandy Schwartz transitions to a new role as CEO of the Cox Family Office. Former executive vice president of Cox Business, Steve Rowley joins Cox Automotive as the newly inducted president. On today’s show, we’re pleased to welcome back Sandy to discuss what the future holds for himself, the next stage of his career, and Cox Automotive.

During his tenure as CEO of Cox Automotive, Sandy had some incredible highs including turning Manheim into a hugely successful business, the transformation of Autotrader and their acquisition of Kelley Blue Book, bringing Dale Pollak and vAuto into the fold, and of course the Dealertrack acquisition. However, Sandy is most proud of working alongside amazing people, guiding them, and watching them build incredible teams.

“We all have our roles to play. We do them, I think, fairly well, but I feel like we’ve been able to shape the industry in the right ways,” says Sandy. “We’ll continue to do that, but it’s all the partnerships, the people we’ve cultivated, and the friendships I’ve built.”

Sandy has been with Cox Automotive for 35 years and will remain the CEO until the end of 2020. In his new role the Cox Family Office, Sandy will be assisting the Cox family with investments and everything concerning keeping the Cox Enterprises legacy in the family. 


Did you enjoy this interview with Cox’s Sandy Schwartz? Please share your thoughts, comments, or questions regarding this topic with host Jim Fitzpatrick at jfitzpatrick@cbtnews.com.

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