Wednesday, February 23, 2005
12/14/04 - Manheim Announces Retirement of Richard Deckard
For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrew Maraniss McNeely Pigott & Fox (615) 259-4000
ATLANTA - Manheim has announced that Richard Deckard will retire as senior vice president and chief information officer, effective Dec. 31, 2004. His retirement marks the end of his 30-year career with Manheim.
"Richard played an instrumental role in establishing Manheim as a technology leader in the wholesale automobile auction industry," said Dean Eisner, Manheim's president and CEO. "His knowledge and his dedication to the auction business helped transform not only Manheim, but also the industry. He served as chief information officer, heading up Manheim's information technology operations and technology initiatives, from the time when the company offered only one way to purchase vehicles - in the lanes at the auctions - to Manheim's current status as a leader in online vehicle sales. Richard leaves a legacy that will significantly influence our company for years to come."
Deckard joined Manheim in August 1974 as a staff accountant. In 1975, he was promoted to assistant controller. A year later, he was named data processing manager, and he designed and wrote the company's software system, which is still used today. At that time, Manheim had only 13 auction facilities in the United States, compared to the 116 facilities worldwide it operates today.
In 1983, Deckard was promoted to vice president of data processing. He was named vice president and chief information officer in 1991, a position he held until being promoted to senior vice president and chief information officer in June 2003.
While under Deckard's leadership, the company's information technology department experienced tremendous growth. In the past seven years alone, the company has grown from operating five production servers to running 475. In 1997, the company's network had 200 personal computers (PCs) and 64 data circuits, and equipment was stored in an office environment. Today, Manheim has 12,000 PCs, 360 data circuits and four professional U.S. data centers and three facilities overseas. In addition, the company has gone from one server in 1997 handling 200 employees with e-mail addresses to 21 servers managing 9,000 employees with e-mail addresses.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrew Maraniss McNeely Pigott & Fox (615) 259-4000
ATLANTA - Manheim has announced that Richard Deckard will retire as senior vice president and chief information officer, effective Dec. 31, 2004. His retirement marks the end of his 30-year career with Manheim.
"Richard played an instrumental role in establishing Manheim as a technology leader in the wholesale automobile auction industry," said Dean Eisner, Manheim's president and CEO. "His knowledge and his dedication to the auction business helped transform not only Manheim, but also the industry. He served as chief information officer, heading up Manheim's information technology operations and technology initiatives, from the time when the company offered only one way to purchase vehicles - in the lanes at the auctions - to Manheim's current status as a leader in online vehicle sales. Richard leaves a legacy that will significantly influence our company for years to come."
Deckard joined Manheim in August 1974 as a staff accountant. In 1975, he was promoted to assistant controller. A year later, he was named data processing manager, and he designed and wrote the company's software system, which is still used today. At that time, Manheim had only 13 auction facilities in the United States, compared to the 116 facilities worldwide it operates today.
In 1983, Deckard was promoted to vice president of data processing. He was named vice president and chief information officer in 1991, a position he held until being promoted to senior vice president and chief information officer in June 2003.
While under Deckard's leadership, the company's information technology department experienced tremendous growth. In the past seven years alone, the company has grown from operating five production servers to running 475. In 1997, the company's network had 200 personal computers (PCs) and 64 data circuits, and equipment was stored in an office environment. Today, Manheim has 12,000 PCs, 360 data circuits and four professional U.S. data centers and three facilities overseas. In addition, the company has gone from one server in 1997 handling 200 employees with e-mail addresses to 21 servers managing 9,000 employees with e-mail addresses.
