- Earl Hesterberg to retire at
year end
- Daryl Kenningham, current
President of US Operations, appointed to Board of Directors and as
President and Chief Operating Officer of Group 1 immediately; will
assume CEO role on January 1,
2023.
HOUSTON, Aug. 24,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Group 1 Automotive,
Inc. (NYSE:GPI) ("Group 1" or the "Company"), an
international, Fortune 300 automotive retailer with 204 dealerships
located in the U.S. and U.K., today announced that Earl J. Hesterberg, President and Chief
Executive Officer will retire as CEO and from the Board of
Directors, effective December 31,
2022. Long-tenured Group 1 executive Daryl Kenningham, currently President of U.S.
Operations, has been appointed as President and Chief Operating
Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, effective
immediately, and will succeed Hesterberg as CEO effective
January 1, 2023, upon Mr.
Hesterberg's retirement.
"On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Group 1 employees,
we are deeply grateful for Earl's many years of exceptional
leadership and strategic vision," said Steve Quinn, Chairman of Group 1's Board of
Directors. "As a highly respected international automotive
executive, Earl utilized his relationships to expand the Company's
U.S. operations and build a significant U.K. business, increasing
aggregate Company revenues threefold. His passion for our
core values β integrity, transparency, professionalism, teamwork
and respect β promotes an invigorating workplace for our associates
and drives our commitment to excellent customer service."
"The Board and I are delighted to announce Daryl as Group 1's
next CEO," added Quinn. "Over the course of his career, Daryl
has developed strong relationships with the automotive
manufacturers. He is a proven, strategic operating executive
with extensive automotive experience and a deep knowledge of Group
1. His business acumen and experience in the implementation
of applied technology are what we need in this fast changing,
dynamic marketplace. He has placed great emphasis on all
aspects of ESG, and in particular has become a champion in the area
of diversity, equity and inclusion."
Hesterberg added "Now is the perfect time to transition to a new
generation of leadership at our Company. Daryl's performance
throughout his career has been exemplary, and he has driven our
U.S. business to record levels. Although I will sorely miss
the wonderful people at Group 1, this transition will be seamless
and our Company could not be in better hands."
Hesterberg joined Group 1 in April
2005 after a 30-year career with several automotive
manufacturers including Ford and Nissan. Kenningham joined
Group 1 in 2011 as a Regional Vice President and continually
expanded his areas of responsibility since that time to include all
of Group 1's U.S. operations as well as many key Company support
functions such as marketing, facilities and information
technology.
Regarding his appointment as CEO, Kenningham commented, "I am
honored and excited to embark on this new role. I thank Earl
for his outstanding leadership and the Board for their confidence,
guidance and support. We have an outstanding team at Group 1,
and I am energized to work alongside them to chart our path forward
for the benefit of our employees, customers, communities and
stakeholders during this exciting and dynamic time in our
industry."
ABOUT DARYL
KENNINGHAM
Mr. Kenningham joined Group 1 in 2011 as Regional Vice
President. He has over 30 years of automotive industry
experience. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer
at Ascent Automotive. From 1998 to 2011, he served in senior
executive roles at Gulf States Toyota, including Senior Vice
President of Gulf States Toyota, President of Gulf States Financial
Services, and as President at USA
Logistics (previously known as Gulf States Transportation).βHe
began his career at Nissan Motor Corporation in 1988.
ABOUT EARL
HESTERBERG
Mr. Hesterberg has served as Chief Executive Officer and
President of Group 1 since 2005. He previously served as Group Vice
President for Marketing, Sales, and Service for Ford North America
and prior to that held the same position for Ford of Europe, in Cologne, Germany. He also served as
President and CEO of Gulf States Toyota and held various senior
sales, marketing, general management, and parts and service
positions with Nissan Motor Corporation in the U.S. and Nissan
Europe, both of which are wholly owned by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Hesterberg is a board member of the Greater Houston
Partnership.
ABOUT GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE, INC.
Group 1 owns and operates 204 automotive dealerships,
273 franchises, and 47 collision centers in
the United States and the
United Kingdom that offer
35 brands of automobiles. Through its dealerships and
omni-channel platform, the Company sells new and used cars and
light trucks; arranges related vehicle financing; sells service and
insurance contracts; provides automotive maintenance and repair
services; and sells vehicle parts.
Group 1 discloses additional information about the Company,
its business, and its results of operations at www.group1corp.com,
www.group1auto.com, www.group1collision.com, www.acceleride.com,
www.facebook.com/group1auto, and
www.twitter.com/group1auto.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995, which are statements related to future, not past, events,
including statements regarding the planned CEO transition, and are
based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our
business, the economy and other future conditions. In this context,
the forward-looking statements often include statements regarding
our goals, plans, results of operations and business strategy, and
often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends,"
"plans," "believes," "seeks," "should," "foresee," "may" or "will"
and similar expressions. While management believes that these
forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, there
can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be
those that we anticipate. Any such forward-looking statements are
not assurances of future performance and involve risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially
from those set forth in the statements. For additional information
regarding known material factors that could cause our actual
results to differ from our projected results, please see our
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our
Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and
Current Reports on Form 8-K. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update
or revise any forward-looking statements after the date they are
made, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
Investor contacts:
Jason
Babbitt
Vice President, Treasurer
Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
jbabbitt@group1auto.com
Media contacts:
Pete
DeLongchamps
Senior Vice President, Manufacturer Relations, Financial Services
and Public Affairs
Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
pdelongchamps@group1auto.com
or
Clint Woods
Pierpont Communications, Inc.
713-627-2223
cwoods@piercom.com
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SOURCE Group 1 Automotive, Inc.