FAIRFIELD, Calif. — Copart recently announced that Willis Johnson will remain chairman of the company but will relinquish the title and responsibilities of chief executive officer to Jay Adair, who has been serving as the company's president.

Moving up into the role as president will be Vincent Mitz, Copart's executive vice president.

Copart also mentioned that along with staying as chairman of the board and an executive officer, Johnson will remain actively involved with mergers and acquisitions and other strategic planning.

Both Adair and Mitz have enjoyed long tenures with Copart.

Adair has served as president since November 1996 and as a director since September 1992. From April 1995 until October 1996, Adair was executive vice president.

Spanning August 1990 until April 1995, Adair worked at Copart as vice president of sales and operations. From June 1989 to August 1990, Adair was manager of operations.

"Jay is ready and has earned the opportunity to assume the responsibilities as Copart's chief executive officer," Johnson pointed out.

"Jay has been with Copart for over 20 years and knows every aspect of the business. He has been a key driver in our growth, particularly with the adoption of technology and the use of the Internet in our business," Johnson highlighted.

"He designed VB2, our Internet remarketing platform and led its roll out in 2003. I am completely confident in his ability to continue the development and growth of Copart," Johnson added.

Mitz was employed by NER Auction Systems from 1981 until its acquisition by Copart in 1995. At NER, Mitz held numerous positions culminating as vice president of sales and operations for the company's New York region from 1990 to 1993 and vice president of sales and marketing from 1993 to 1995.

Once becoming an executive with Copart, Mitz served as senior vice president of sales and marketing from May 1995 until July 2007. The company promoted Mitz to executive vice president in August 2007.

"Vinnie's promotion is well deserved. He is unique in that he has an in depth understanding of both operations and sales and marketing," Johnson noted.

"He has worked closely with Jay since his promotion to executive vice president in 2007 and has been instrumental in driving the integration and growth of our United Kingdom operations," Johnson added.