A resident of Chesapeake, Virginia, Michael Hockett has a record of profitability in the automobile auction field. Since 2015, Michael Hockett has shifted his focus to vacation property development, using the proceeds to construct churches overseas.

Before beginning his work in auto sales in Virginia, Mr. Hockett lived in Alabama and Indiana, where he graduated in 1985 from Butler University in Indianapolis and set records in the high hurdles. After college, he served in technical jobs in computer programming and clinical trials.

Mr. Hockett then turned his attention to buying and selling cars as an assistant manager for Auto Dealers Exchange in Alabama. He combined that experience with his computer background to develop pioneering software that automated the auction system. As a result, he founded and served as the president of Eagle Automation from 1989 to 2015.

During the 1990s, Mr. Hockett performed various executive functions for ADESA, a seller of low-mileage vehicles. In two locations he reversed financial losses and improved operational efficiency.

Having turned around ADESA’s fortunes, he purchased another troubled company, Tidewater Auto Auction, in Chesapeake, Virginia. He increased average weekly sales per unit from less than $1,000 to nearly $5,000 while increasing the numbers of units sevenfold.

Mr. Hockett enjoys many family activities in his leisure time, ranging from pontoon boating and flying in a seaplane to racquetball and playing the guitar. The family also enjoys traveling to the Bahamas, and tries to visit a different island each year.