LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — Ricky Beggs will retire from Black Book on April 1 as one of the leading authorities in the vehicle remarketing industry, ending a 34-year career with the used-vehicle data provider.

Beggs leaves at a high-water mark for Black Book as well as his own career trajectory.

"I will be forever grateful to Black Book for giving me the opportunity to be a part of a team that has represented the interests of the automotive community with respect and integrity all these years," Beggs said. "I'm certainly proud of our accomplishments, and I leave knowing Black Book is well positioned for its next phase of growth and development."

Beggs, who joined Black Book in 1981, was described as the voice of the company in a company announcement.

Black Book moved two other associates into leadership roles, including naming Anil Goyal as vice president of automotive valuation and analytics. Goyal will take over responsibility for editorial and analytic operations.

Kevin Giddens has been appointed to the position of managing editor. Giddens will lead the daily operations of the editorial team.

"It has been an honor to work alongside Ricky who has become an industry legend," said Tom Cross, Black Book's president. "His legacy of leadership and his dedication to excellence have left an enduring mark on our company, ensuring our position as the industry’s most reliable and accurate source of vehicle valuation and insight."

Beggs started at Black Book as the used car editor and quickly established himself as an authority on vehicle valuation data and insight, Cross said. Black Book promoted Beggs to managing editor in 1990. He leaves as senior vice president and editorial director.

Beggs pioneered several innovations while at Black Book, including introducing daily vehicle valuation reports. He introduced a weekly video blog where he analyzes segment-specific trends. Beggs also led publication of a guidebook produced by an editorial staff that became certified automotive remarketers.

Beggs and Black Book maintained a strong professional relationship with Automotive Fleet and the Conference of Automotive Remarketing, said Mike Antich, editor and conference chair.

"I have worked with Ricky Beggs during his entire career at Black Book, although Ricky did precede me in the business by four years," Antich said. "Over the year's Ricky's stature in the remarketing industry has grown to almost iconic portions due to his encyclopedic knowledge of the used-vehicle market from his decades of experience down to the day-to-day pulse of the market with his daily updates of residual values on pages of Black Book."