Manheim kicked off the New Year announcing a new vice president and general manager for its third-largest auction location, a newly created Market Center and general manager, and the promotion of three leaders into auction manager positions in Florida and New York. 

John Eriksen was promoted to vice president and general manager of Manheim New Jersey. He transitions into the new role following the retirement of Pete Sauber, a renowned auto industry veteran who led Manheim New Jersey since 1991. Eriksen joined Manheim in 2007 and moved into positions of increasing responsibility that included general sales manager in the Mid-Atlantic Region and assistant general manager at Manheim Orlando. Most recently, he served nearly five years as general manager of Manheim Baltimore-Washington where he developed an award-winning team focused on client service and delivering strong financial performance. 

Housed on 350 acres, Manheim New Jersey has 22 physical and digital lanes, a 70,000-square-foot distribution center and Manheim’s second-largest solar panel installation powering 50% of the site’s power. It is also one of the first locations to offer Lot Vision, a tracking system that helps clients locate vehicles quickly and accurately.  

Craig Amelung has been promoted to general manager of the newly-created Mid-Atlantic Market Center that includes Manheim Baltimore-Washington, Manheim Fredericksburg and Manheim Harrisonburg, following the retirement of Manheim Harrisonburg GM Karl Kiracofe. Amelung’s nearly 30-year career with Manheim includes general manager for Manheim Virginia, four years in director-level corporate staff positions involving best practices and operations, and a return to field operations, most recently as GM of Manheim Fredericksburg.  In this role, he led the auction in achieving new levels of operating efficiency, and client and employee engagement. 

Also, Manheim announced the promotion of three auction managers. These new leaders will be responsible for driving team performance and business results while supporting Manheim’s Market Center operations. They are:  
 

• Lauren Sokolowski was promoted to auction manager at Manheim Albany, reporting to Manheim New York GM Jesse Nelson. She joined Manheim Albany in 2007 as a marketing manager.  She also served as the location’s office manager and dealer services and commercial account manager before being promoted to assistant GM in 2017. 

• Roger Teate was named auction manager at Manheim St. Pete, reporting to Manheim Tampa Market Center GM Todd Janego. His 30-plus-year career includes nine years with NextGear Capital and, most recently, regional dealer sales senior director for the Southeast Market since 2014.  

• Toni Williams was promoted to auction manager at Manheim Central Florida, reporting to Manheim Orlando-Central Florida Market Center VP and GM JD Daniels. She is a 16-year veteran of Manheim whose career has included assistant GM at Manheim Jacksonville and GM at Manheim Daytona Beach and Manheim Jacksonville before joining Manheim Orlando in 2016 as assistant AGM of Client Services. 

“Manheim is tapping the broad knowledge and experience of this talented team of leaders to help position our company for future success,” said Patrick Brennan, senior vice president, Marketplace. “We are confident they will bring tremendous value to our client relationships, team members and the communities we serve.”