AutoNation's CEO Takes Leave of Absence for Health -- WSJ
April 14 2020 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Nora Naughton
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (April 14, 2020).
AutoNation Inc.'s chief executive Cheryl Miller has taken a
leave of absence for health reasons, adding to the challenges
confronting the nation's largest car-dealership chain as the
coronavirus outbreak has pummeled sales and dented business.
The company said Monday in a filing with the Securities and
Exchange Commission that Chairman Mike Jackson will serve as
president and chief executive officer until Ms. Miller returns. An
AutoNation spokesman declined to disclose further information on
Ms. Miller's health.
AutoNation didn't disclose further information on Ms. Miller's
health.
Ms. Miller, 47 years old, took the helm at AutoNation last July
following the ouster of Carl Liebert after just months on the
job.
The first female CEO of a publicly-traded auto retailer, Ms.
Miller has led several strategic initiatives including building
AutoNation's partnership with Waymo, the driverless-car unit of
Google parent Alphabet Inc. She most recently served as
AutoNation's chief financial officer before taking the top job.
Mr. Jackson, 71, led AutoNation as chief executive for nearly
two decades before stepping down at the start of 2019. He is
credited with growing the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based dealership
chain into an auto-retailing giant, with more than 300 stores in 18
states.
Mr. Jackson also is known for his candor and willingness to
criticize car companies for practices that hurt their dealers, such
as over-producing vehicles.
Mr. Liebert was an industry outsider when he became CEO last
March, succeeding Mr. Jackson. However, the longtime leader said he
quickly concluded that Mr. Liebert "was not a good fit" and
promoted Ms. Miller, then its chief financial officer, to the top
post.
Mr. Jackson said the decision to replace Mr. Liebert was mutual.
Mr. Liebert at the time couldn't be reached for comment.
Like other parts of the auto industry, U.S. dealerships have
been hit hard by the Covid-19 outbreak, with sales plummeting at
the end of March as millions of Americans were ordered to stay
home.
Car executives and experts expect sales declines to worsen this
month with many states continuing on lockdown.
Some analysts are predicting U.S. new car sales could fall as
low as 13.5 million in 2020 -- a level not seen since 2010 when the
industry was only starting to emerge from the financial crisis.
AutoNation took cost-cutting measures earlier this month, laying
off 7,000 workers, cutting executive pay and postponing more than
$50 million in capital expenditures, according to a regulatory
filing. The company said in the filing that sales of new and used
vehicles declined by about 50% during the last two weeks of March,
compared with the same period a year ago.
--Colin Kellaher contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 14, 2020 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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