Leadership changes at GM Financial have Kyle Birch serving as president of North American Operations, effective immediately, executives told Auto Finance News.
The staffing shuffles have Birch and his team “laser-focused” on how the captive connects with its dealer body and consumers, and how GMF “takes those customer experiences forward with digital marketing and innovation,” Birch said.
One of the most significant changes to Birch’s team is the addition of former Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Will Stacy, Birch said. Stacy has been promoted to executive vice president, chief marketing and digital officer and reports directly to Birch. “What this does is puts how we face our dealer and consumer customers, how we market to them, and how they experience contact with GMF across all of our digital platforms under my direct umbrella,” he explained.
Birch, formally executive vice president and chief operating officer of North America, will continue to report to GMF President and Chief Executive Dan Berce. Stacy will maintain a reporting relationship with Deborah Wahl, General Motors’ global chief marketing officer.
Backfilling for Birch is Executive Vice President, U.S. Sales and Credit Operations Jonas Hollandsworth. By having Hollandsworth take on areas of operation that were formally under Birch — loan services, funding, commercial vehicle lending, and commercial floorplan lending — all GMF’s dealer services functions are now under Hollandsworth’s umbrella.
The changes usher in a future of enhanced partnership with General Motors, Birch noted. “Hollandsworth will work very closely with the brand teams [at the OEM] and executives on the sales side,” Birch said. “We want to help [GM] drive vehicle sales and support profitability across the enterprise.”
Additionally, Bob Beatty is taking on a newly created role as executive vice president, chief experience officer. In his new position, Beatty will serve as the point of contact for GMF global customer experience, including a continued partnership with Travis Hester, global vice president of customer experience at General Motors. Beatty was previously executive vice president of customer experience.
Hollandsworth’s direct reports include:
- Joe Bartuch, newly named senior vice president, U.S. sales and credit. Prior to the changes, Bartuch served as senior vice president, U.S. regional sales and credit operations, North Central region;
- Brian Fallon, senior vice president, chief commercial officer – North America;
- Grant Helmer, senior vice president, dealer services — funding;
- Mike Urrutia, senior vice president, dealer services — operations support; and
- Paul Gillespie, senior vice president, AmeriCredit — U.S. sales and credit operations
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