Management

H. Wayne Huizenga, founder of AutoNation retired from the company to focus on his private entrepreneurial activities on May 12, 2004.

Mr. Huizenga and his vision provided the driving force behind the formation and rapid growth of his company. Moreover, it was his recognition that consumers expected and deserved better from automotive retailers that allowed us to set the standard of excellence for the industry. We will always value his guidance and insight.

We are dedicated to continuing his commitment to transform our industry, providing our customers and shareholders the performance they expect from the industry leader.

Mike Jackson has served as our Chief Executive Officer and Director since September 1999, as our Chairman of the Board since January 2003, and as our President since June 2017. Under his guidance, AutoNation secured its position as America’s largest automotive retailer, setting milestones that stand as testimony to his vision of the company as a standard-bearer for a more customer-focused, transparent and contemporary business model.

Previously, Mr. Jackson served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-Benz USA that oversaw the German automaker’s U.S. sales operation and 311 franchised dealerships. In that role, he led a renaissance in the luxury vehicle brand’s sales and marketing efforts. He has also served as chairman of the Mercedes-Benz National Dealer Council. Fittingly, it was at a Mercedes-Benz dealership that Mr. Jackson began his automotive career, starting as a technician for the dealership.

Mike Jackson’s achievements have been widely recognized by his peers. In 2009, Automotive News named Mr. Jackson one of the “Fifty Visionary Dealers” of all time. In 2011, Mr. Jackson was named one of the top 50 Global Business Leaders by Fortune Magazine. In January 2012, The Detroit Free Press announced that Mike Jackson was awarded the 2011 National Retail Leadership Award by the Detroit Free Press in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Mr. Jackson has also been recognized as a ten-time member of the Automotive News “All-Star Team” of automotive executives. Mr. Jackson serves as trustee for Nova Southeastern University. Mike Jackson was named a 2014 recipient of the prestigious Horatio Alger Award, presented to Americans who overcome adversity to achieve success. In 2015, Mike Jackson was inducted into Saint Joseph’s University’s Haub School of Business Hall of Fame.

His business acumen has been recognized beyond the automotive industry, as well. In 2014, he began a three-year term as a Director for the Atlanta Federal Reserve Board of Directors, and in November of that year, his role was elevated to vice chair of its board of directors for the U.S. southeast region. Most recently, Mr. Jackson was appointed Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Board of Directors, a position he held from January 2018 until December 2018.

Mr. Jackson is noted as a vocal and compelling advocate for an enhanced energy policy, and in 2010 he was chosen to offer guidance to members of the federal leadership on the future of the U.S. automotive retail industry in a changing economy. He has earned a reputation for taking early and bold positions favoring technological advances in automotive engineering, championing the use of fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrids and electric cars. He has presented his views on energy policy, U.S. economic policy and domestic policy at the William J. Clinton School of Public Policy, the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, the North American International Powertrain Conference and the NADA OESA conference. He is a special contributor to the CNBC, Fox, and Bloomberg business news networks.

Scott Arnold is Executive Vice President of Customer Care and Brand Extensions. In his role, Mr. Arnold serves as a member of the company’s Executive Committee and is responsible for the organization’s service, wholesale & retail parts, collision repair, as well as AutoNation’s Brand Extensions.

Mr. Arnold has 40 years of automotive retail experience and has held various positions within the automotive retail industry, including, General Manager, Market President, Region Vice President-Customer Care, and most recently, Senior Vice President-Customer Care. He previously served as a multi-store General Manager and as the on-site Dealer Principal for Lithia Motors Inc.

In 2015, Mr. Arnold joined the Corporate Team at AutoNation as Vice President of Customer Care. Under his leadership, AutoNation has developed and launched the automotive retail industry’s first private label parts and accessories product-lines, AutoNation Auto Gear and AutoNation Precision Parts.

Mr. Arnold’s philosophy is, “keep things simple,” simplify things for both the customer and the associate. By keeping things simple, the Customer Care teams are focused on one common element, delivering a peerless customer experience.

Mr. Arnold continues to change the paradigm of traditional automotive retail service to drive unmatched brand loyalty.

Jim Bender has served as our Executive Vice President of Sales since January 2019. Mr. Bender is responsible for new and used vehicle sales, as well as Customer Financial Services and manufacturer relations. Prior to becoming Executive Vice President, Mr. Bender served as Region President of our Eastern Region, with responsibility for the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, and Maryland from February 2015 until December 2018, and as President of our Florida region from April 2004 until January 2015. Mr. Bender joined AutoNation in April 2000.

Before joining AutoNation, Mr. Bender he spent 23 years with Holman Enterprises, global leader of automotive services based in New Jersey with a strong retail presence in South Florida. Mr. Bender has extensive experience in automotive retail. Mr. Bender has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Canisius College.

Marc Cannon has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer since January 2017. Mr. Cannon is responsible for Marketing, Communications, Customer Service, AutoNation.com, and Public Policy. From February 2016 until January 2017, he served as our Chief Marketing Officer, Senior Vice President of Communications and Public Policy, and from February 2007 until February 2016, he served as our Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications.

Mr. Cannon has more than 30 years of executive-level experience as an automotive industry communications, branding, advertising, and public policy professional. Notably, he directs the company’s broad range of communications – to investors, the industry, the media, and the marketplace.

During his tenure with AutoNation, Mr. Cannon has been instrumental in the growth of the company into the country’s largest and most successful automotive retailer. In particular, he supervised the brand launch of AutoNation’s Coast-to-Coast initiative and part of the executive team that launched AutoNation Express, an industry leading transactional digital platform, which seamlessly integrates the customer’s in-store and online experience. Mr. Cannon also spearheaded the company’s multi-year mission to raise funds to fight cancer, and he has successfully positioned the company as the leading voice in automotive retail.

Prior to joining AutoNation, Mr. Cannon served as Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Marketing for Blue Dot Services, a national network of home repair and services contractors. He also served as Vice President of Internal Communications for Republic Industries, Vice President of Marketing, Advertising and Communications for AutoNation USA, and Vice President of Advertising for Alamo Rent A Car. During his tenure with Alamo, Mr. Cannon was part of the team that grew the company from 15 to over 100 locations nationwide, expanded the company into Europe and developed the “Where all the miles are free” campaign, a pioneering advertising and operational effort that changed the way vehicles are rented in the United States.

Mr. Cannon has a bachelor’s degree in public affairs from the University of Miami. He is a member of the Arthur Page Society, the most distinguished honor society in the communications industry, and he serves on the University of Florida Public Relations Advisory Council. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Automotive Hall of Fame and was honored by Automotive News with the All Stars Award for Public Relations/Communications, the only recipient from an automotive retailer to be granted this honor.

Coleman Edmunds has served as our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since April 2017. In addition to his role as General Counsel, Mr. Edmunds assumed responsibility for Human Resources and Corporate Development in January 2019. Mr. Edmunds serves as the Chairman of the company’s Employee Benefits Committee and is a member of company’s the Business Ethics Committee and Risk Review Committee. From October 2007 to March 2017, Mr. Edmunds served as our Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary. Prior to joining AutoNation, Mr. Edmunds was in private practice with the international law firm of Baker & McKenzie.

As chief legal advisor for the company, Mr. Edmunds oversees all aspects of AutoNation's legal affairs, including securities law, mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, litigation, compliance, manufacturer relations and government relations. He also serves as the Corporate Secretary of the company and the chief legal advisor to the Board of Directors. Mr. Edmunds joined AutoNation in November 1996.

Mr. Edmunds holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia, a law degree from the University of Richmond, and a masters of law degree (taxation) from the University of Miami. Mr. Edmunds currently serves, or has served, on various industry, civic and charitable boards and committees, including the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the National Automobile Dealers Association, Florida Automobile Dealers Association, the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, and the Orange Bowl Committee.

Cheryl Miller has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since March 2014. Ms. Miller is a member of the company’s Executive Committee and has responsibility for all financial functions and corporate strategy, as well as corporate real estate services and benefits. She was appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer in January 2014, and she served as Treasurer and Vice President of Investor Relations from April 2010 to March 2014. Ms. Miller also serves as a director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Tyson Foods, Inc., one of the world’s largest food companies and a member of the S&P 500.

Under her financial leadership, AutoNation has reached a number of significant milestones, including achieving its lowest SG&A as a percentage of gross profit in its corporate history. In addition, it was under her guidance that AutoNation has become the only automotive retailer to earn investment-grade status from Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service, and Fitch Ratings. She established an internal Controller University to develop future financial talent, and she has championed a vigorous and growing focus on enterprise and cyber risk management.

Ms. Miller has more than 20 years of corporate finance experience in consumer-focused industries and experience in such key areas as acquisitions, cybersecurity, e-commerce and public company shareholder relations. Prior to Ms. Miller’s tenure at AutoNation, she served as Vice President and Treasurer for JM Family Enterprises, Inc., a diversified automotive company, and ION Media Networks. She also previously held financial management positions at Republic Industries and its successor companies of AutoNation, Alamo/National car rental, as well as Circuit City Stores.

Ms. Miller holds a bachelor's degree in finance and business administration from James Madison University. She has received numerous honors, including the Florida Diversity Council's Glass Ceiling Award and CFO of the Year by the South Florida Business Journal. She has been listed as a Director to Watch in the 2018 Directors and Boards Journal, one of 30 Outstanding Women in Finance by Treasury & Risk magazine, one of the nation's top female CFOs by Business Insider magazine, a member of the 2017 All-America Executive Team in the Midcap Best CFOs category by Institutional Investor magazine and one of the 100 Leading Women in the North American Automotive Industry by Automotive News. She is an advisory board member for the Florida Institute of CFOs and serves a director and member of the investment committee for the Broward Performing Arts Foundation.

Mr. Ardissone is the Eastern Region President and is responsible for the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland, Illinois, and Minnesota. Prior to his current role, Mr. Ardissone served as the Central Region President. Mr. Ardissone also served as a Market President in the Western Region which included the Company’s operations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Roseville, California and Seattle/Bellevue, Washington. Mr. Ardissone has served a strategic role in growing manufacturer relationships and driving common processes across all stores. Through a successful twenty years in automotive retail, Mr. Ardissone has held many positions within dealerships. His commitment to personal development and industry leading performance has allowed him to quickly climb the dealership organizational ladder and hold key positions in our dealerships in Northern California as well as a Region Used Vehicle Director. In this position, Mr. Ardissone was able to successfully mentor dealership General Managers and Used Vehicle Managers to drive exceptional used vehicle performance.

Mr. Ardissone joined AutoNation in 2002. Prior to AutoNation, he held other leadership and sales positions within automotive retail and also Pepsi and Gallo Wines. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from The University of San Francisco.

Steve Kwak is the Western Region President. Prior to his current role, Mr. Kwak served as Market President for several markets in our western region which includes stores in the Orange County, San Diego, Nevada and Los Angeles County. He brings over 19 years of success in the automotive retail space. He is responsible for the operations of over 80+ dealerships and leads about 7,000 of our associates.

Before joining AutoNation in 2001, Mr. Kwak was the operating partner of an Audi and Toyota dealership. He started his career as a Sales Manager at the House of Imports and quickly ascended to GM at key brands for Chevy, Acura and Mercedes Benz. He has been awarded the Toyota President’s Award, Magma Society for Audi and the Best of the Best by Mercedes Benz.