Stephen A. Feinberg, chief executive of Cerberus Capital Management, has stepped down from Ally Financial’s board of directors, Gina Proia, Ally’s communications director told AFN.
Effective June 22, William (Bill) H. Cary, president and chief executive at General Electric, will be appointed to Ally’s board of directors, according to an Ally press release.
“In 2006, Cerberus led a consortium of investors to purchase majority stake in Ally — but through the years Cerberus’ holdings changed, and our 2014 IPO caused us to become a publicly traded company,” Proia told AFN. According to the firm’s latest 13F filings, she added, Cerberus held less than 5% of Ally common stock. “I can’t speculate on whether Steve’s electing to step down was related to this,” she said.
Cerberus declined to comment on Feinberg’s departure, a company spokeswoman told AFN.
“It has been a privilege to be part of Ally’s unique journey, and I continue to believe in the company,” Feinberg said in the release. “After seven years of board service and many transformational efforts, this was a natural time to step down and let this highly talented board and capable management team lead the next chapter.”
“Steve offered invaluable leadership throughout the company’s transformation — a multi-year process of transforming from a captive finance company, into what today is a leader in financial services; a publicly traded, stand-alone entity with a broader range of businesses,” Proia said.