Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> October 6, 1999
MARK W. LORIMER was appointed President and CEO of Autobytel.com, Inc.
in June 1998, and executed the company's successful initial public
offering in March 1999. He joined the company in 1996 as Vice President
and General Counsel, and subsequently was promoted to Executive Vice
President and Chief Operating Officer. Distinguished as an Internet
visionary and e-commerce leader, Mr. Lorimer has branded Autobytel.com
as the premier automotive Website capturing an almost 50% market share.
Under his leadership, Autobytel.com is successfully penetrating the
international marketplace, with joint ventures in Canada, Japan, Sweden,
the United Kingdom, Australia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Belgium,
Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Mr. Lorimer serves on the National Board
of Directors of the American Electronics Association and is a member of
the Technology and Communications Convergence Policy Committee. He is a
frequent speaker at key industry events including INC.'s CEO Symposium,
The Economist Automotive Conference in Geneva and The Financial Times
Automotive Conference in Frankfurt. His contributions as an agent of
change for online car buying have been recognized with Autobytel.com's
inclusion in the 2000 Computerworld Smithsonian Collection as part of
the Smithsonian's permanent archives. Mr. Lorimer was recently ranked 16
among Digital Coast Reporter's Top 50 Internet Executives. Previously,
Mr. Lorimer was a partner of the international law firm of Dewey
Ballantine. He also served on the faculty at Fordham Graduate School of
Business Administration. Mr. Lorimer graduated from Northwestern
University (BS Speech) and Fordham University (JD) School of Law. Profile
company's history, services, customers, those kinds of things.
Mr. Lorimer: The company was founded in 1995 by a former
