# W. Austin Ligon

> W. Austin Ligon co-founded CarMax with Richard Sharp, led the business as president and its first CEO, and retired in 2006. His fixed-price retail philosophy drew on his family’s Quaker values. He later became an angel investor and advisor, with investments and board roles spanning Redfin, Gazelle, Rev and CarTrade, and has supported liberal arts education and study abroad at the University of Texas at Austin.

- **Role:** Angel investor and advisor to retail, service and educational startups
- **Organizations:** CarMax, Circuit City, Marriott, Boston Consulting Group, Redfin, Gazelle, Rev, CarTrade, University of Texas at Austin - Plan II, Yale School of Management, St. John’s College
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Plan II Honors Program, University of Texas at Austin, MA, Economics, University of Texas at Austin, Master’s degree in management, Yale School of Management, Study abroad, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
- **Known for:** Co-founded CarMax and helped establish its fixed-price used-car retail model., Led CarMax through its development inside Circuit City and its separation into an independent company., By his October 2005 retirement announcement, CarMax was a Fortune 500 company with more than 11,000 associates.

## Career timeline

- **1980-1983** — Senior consultant at Boston Consulting Group in London.
- **1983-1984** — Independent financial consultant in Bangkok.
- **1984** — Joined Marriott in corporate planning and business development; later held restaurant marketing and management roles.
- **1990** — Joined Circuit City as vice president of corporate planning.
- **1991** — Developed the CarMax concept with Circuit City CEO Richard Sharp.
- **1993** — First CarMax store opened in Richmond, Virginia.
- **1995** — Became CarMax president.
- **1997** — CarMax tracking stock began public trading while the business remained part of Circuit City.
- **2002** — Became CEO when CarMax separated from Circuit City on October 1.
- **2006** — Retired in June; Tom Folliard succeeded him. Began a career as an angel investor.
- **2007** — Joined Gazelle’s board.
- **2010** — Joined Redfin’s board and invested in the company.
- **2011** — Appointed non-executive chairman of Gazelle.
- **2012** — Prepared remarks for the Democratic National Convention emphasized the shared conditions that helped CarMax grow.
- **2026** — Discussed CarMax’s operational development in a May 19 Yale Insights interview.

## Achievements

- Co-founded CarMax and helped establish its fixed-price used-car retail model.
- Led CarMax through its development inside Circuit City and its separation into an independent company.
- By his October 2005 retirement announcement, CarMax was a Fortune 500 company with more than 11,000 associates.
- With Samornmitr “Pan” Lamsam, donated $1 million in 2006 to support Plan II study abroad and pledged a further $200,000 in 2011.
- More than 500 Plan II students had benefited from the study-abroad fund by 2011.
- Received UT Austin College of Liberal Arts’ Pro Bene Meritis award.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Yale Insights published his interview on May 19 about CarMax’s fixed-price model and operational improvements; it identified him as an angel investor and advisor to retail, service and educational startups.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-ligon-6256989

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/austin-ligon
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14