Austin Ligon
{{Infobox person
|birth_name = William Austin Ligon
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|birth_date =
| birth_place = Colorado, United States
| citizenship = United States
| education = University of Texas, Austin
Yale School of Management
| occupation = Angel Investor & former CEO of CarMax
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| term =
| predecessor =
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| boards = Center for Talented Youth
St. John's College
UVIMCO
Gazelle
Redfin
Rev.com
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}}
William Austin Ligon (born ca. 1951) is the co-founder and retired CEO of CarMax. He retired in June 2006, and is now a private angel-stage investor. Among his recent investments are Gazelle, Redfin, Rev.com, Car Trade (India), Eneza Education (Kenya) and Tazza Kitchen.[https://web.archive.org/web/20140222220458/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/idUS142016+07-Apr-2011+PRN20110407 "Austin Ligon Appointed Gazelle Chairman: CarMax Co-Founder brings extensive retail experience to Gazelle"] Reuters, April 7, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2014.[http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2010/09/carmax_founder_joins_redfin_board.html?page=all "CarMax co-founder Austin Ligon joins Redfin board"] Puget Sound Business Journal, September 23, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2014.[http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/03/26/revcom-freelance-service-launches.html "Rev.com freelance market launches with $4.5M funding"] Silicon Valley Business Journal, March 26, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2014.[http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/used-car-market-rides-the-technology-wave-114012000038_1.html "Used-car market rides the technology wave: Though the segment is relatively immune to downturn, the slow pace at which the market adapts to internet use is a challenge to Cartrade.com"] Business Standard, January 20, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
Life and career
Ligon and Richard Sharp, then CEO of Circuit City, developed the CarMax idea together in 1991 and launched the first CarMax store in Richmond, Virginia, in 1993.{{Cite web |url=http://www.businessweek.com/1995/48/b34521.htm |title=Reinventing the Store |access-date=January 19, 2011 |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025225043/http://www.businessweek.com/1995/48/b34521.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }} Business Week, November 27, 1995. Retrieved January 19, 2011 Austin became Sr. VP of Automotive in 1992, and President of CarMax in 1995. He led the company through a decade and a half of rapid growth, including its IPO as a tracking stock of Circuit City in 1997. He added the title of CEO upon the company's spin off from Circuit City in 2002.[http://www.workingworld.com/articles/Austin-Ligon-and-CarMax "Austin Ligon and Carmax"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112170049/http://www.workingworld.com/articles/Austin-Ligon-and-CarMax |date=January 12, 2011 }} Suzanne Ridgway, workingworld.com. Retrieved January 19, 2011[http://www.carmax.com/enus/company-info/about-us-timeline.html "The CarMax Timeline"] carmax.com. Retrieved February 13, 2014. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20101221213546/http://www.carmax.com/enus/company-info/about-us-timeline.html, December 21, 2010) Ligon came to Circuit City from Marriott Corporation where he had been senior vice president of strategic planning for Marriott Hotels and Resorts. He joined Marriott in 1984 as director of corporate planning, and served as vice president of both marketing and concept general management in the family restaurant division.[http://www.spoke.com/info/p212dVf/AustinLigon "Austin Ligon"] spoke.com. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
Ligon was previously a senior consultant for the Boston Consulting Group in London, England, from 1980 to 1983 and an independent financial consultant in Bangkok, Thailand during 1983-84. He worked as a health economist in Dallas and San Antonio during 1976-78, and was a Teaching Fellow in economics at the University of Texas at Austin from 1973 to 1976.
Civic involvement
The primary focus of Ligon's community involvement is education. He is a member of the governing board of St. John's College (Annapolis and Santa Fe), and, formerly, The University of Virginia and the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO). He was formerly an advisory board member of the Yale School of Management, the Plan II Honors Program at the University of Texas Austin, and advisory board chairman of the Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at Johns Hopkins University[http://www.uvimco.com/Home/Board "UVIMCO Board of Directors"] uvimco.com. Retrieved February 13, 2014. Ligon created the "Ligon-Lamsam International Study Abroad" fund at the University of Texas at Austin.[http://www.utexas.edu/cola/progs/plan2/news/3327 "The Ligon-Lamsam Study Abroad Challenge: Plan II Alumnus Austin Ligon Gives $200,000 for Study Abroad, Encourages Others to Give"] utexas.edu. Retrieved January 19, 2011[https://books.google.com/books?id=JOMDAAAAMBAJ&dq=austin+ligon+alcalde&pg=PA27 "Big Money for Plan II"] Geoff Abraham, The Alcalde. Retrieved January 19, 2011 He also serves on the board of several venture start-up companies.[http://www.gazelle.com/board "Gazelle Board of Directors"] gazelle.com. Retrieved February 13, 2014.[http://www.cartrade.com/company/profile "CarTrade.com Board of Directors"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214113032/http://www.cartrade.com/company/profile |date=February 14, 2014 }} cartrade.com. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
Education
Ligon earned a B.A. in 1973 from the Plan II Honors program at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a member of the Tejas Club. He received a lifetime achievement award at The Tejas Club's 85th anniversary in October 2010. He studied at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru in Lima, Peru in 1972/73. He subsequently earned his M.A. in Economics in 1978 from the University of Texas at Austin, and an M.B.A. in 1980 from the Yale School of Management.
References
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External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20101109150826/http://mba.yale.edu/news_events/CMS/Articles/6260.shtml Yale SOM: the CarMax Case]
- [http://www.fromscratchradio.com/show/austin-ligon NPR Entrepreneurial Life Interview]
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Category:University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni
Category:Yale School of Management alumni
Category:American venture capitalists
Category:Legacy High School (Midland, Texas) alumni
Category:American retail chief executives