Junk-car auction service Copart said that founder Willis J. Johnson stepped down as CEO on Monday. He was replaced as CEO by A. Jayson Adair, who had been Copart’s president since 1996. The company has suffered five straight quarterly profit declines.
In December, the company said first quarter profits slid 5.3 percent. Copart has cited both currency exchange and the poor economy. Also effective Monday, Adair’s title of president was given to Vincent W. Mitz, who had been an executive vice president at Copart.
Johnson will continue as chairman of the board and an executive officer. Copart Inc. was founded in 1982 to sell vehicles on behalf of insurance companies, banks, finance companies, fleet operators, dealers, car dealerships and to the public. Auto recyclers have been pushing back by joining forces to cut-out middlemen like this.