Reynolds and Reynolds promotes president, COO

Reynolds and Reynolds Co. said Thursday it has promoted two executives to the roles of president and COO.

The privately held dealership management system provider said Chris Walsh, 57, previously the company's executive vice president of sales and marketing, is taking over as president. Willie Daughters, 54, formerly Reynolds' executive vice president of operations, is COO. Both moves took effect immediately.

Reynolds CEO Tommy Barras was named president and COO in June 2020, and the company said when Barras was promoted to CEO in November 2020 that he also would retain those titles. Barras succeeded then-CEO Bob Brockman, who stepped down following indictment on federal tax evasion charges.

"Chris and Willie are two of our most accomplished and respected leaders," Barras said in a statement. "Both have broad experience leading all facets of large, complex functions at Reynolds, and they lead with great clarity and a focus on customers."

Walsh's career with Reynolds includes positions in business development, operations, quality control, sales, marketing and support spanning more than 35 years, the company said. Daughters' tenure with Reynolds covers more than 30 years and includes working with automakers, leading support organizations in Canada and Europe and managing product quality assurance and the company's technical assistance teams.

"Moving forward, we will be more focused than ever on expanding our footprint in retail automotive, making it easier to do business with us and helping our customers achieve new levels of profitability," Walsh said in a statement.

Walsh and Daughters join a C-suite that includes Sheri Robinson as CFO and Eric Edwards as chief technology officer.

Reynolds, of Dayton, Ohio, is in the process of reviewing its business to improve its reputation with dealers and reverse its image as inflexible and challenging to work with. The company said it is simplifying its DMS contracts and providing more flexibility to auto retailers.

"Over the last 12 months, we have made several definitive changes to how we operate in order to make it easier to do business with us. These key promotions are one more step that helps position us to fully live up to our own aspirations," Barras said in a statement.