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Posted 24 August, 2022

GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE INC appointed Mr. Daryl Kenningham as new CEO

NYSE:GPI appointed new Chief Executive Officer Mr. Daryl Kenningham in a 8-K filed on 24 August, 2022.


  The Board has appointed Mr. Daryl Kenningham to succeed Mr. Hesterberg in the role of CEO, effective January 1, 2023.  

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Overview of GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE INC
Retail/Wholesale • Specialty Retail
Group 1 Automotive, Inc. engages in the automotive retailing industry. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: U.S, the UK, and Brazil. It also sells new and used cars and light trucks, arranges related vehicle financing, sells service contracts, provides automotive maintenance and repair services, and sells vehicle parts. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.
Market Cap
$3.60B
View Company Details
Relevant filing section
Item 5.02 
Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers. 


On August 24, 2022, Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (the "Company") announced that Mr. Earl J. Hesterberg, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), as well as a member of the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board"), would resign from the position of President immediately, and would retire from the position of CEO and as a member of the Board effective as of December 31, 2022. The Board has appointed Mr. Daryl Kenningham to succeed Mr. Hesterberg in the role of CEO, effective January 1, 2023. 

Also on August 24, 2022, the Board announced that Mr. Kenningham was appointed to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer and as a member of the Board, effective immediately. Mr. Kenningham, age 58, was serving as the Company's President of U.S. Operations immediately prior to this announcement, a position he had held with the Company since 2019. From 2016 to 2017, Mr. Kenningham served as the Company's Regional Vice President-West Region, and from 2011 to 2016, he served as the Company's Regional Vice President-East Region. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Kenningham was Chief Operating Officer at Ascent Automotive, a dealer group headquartered in Houston, Texas. Prior to that he enjoyed a 13-year career at Gulf States Toyota, an independent Toyota Distributor for the south-central U.S. where his roles included Senior Vice President of Dealer Operations, President of Gulf States Financial Services, a nationwide finance and insurance firm servicing the automotive sector, and President of U.S. Auto Logistics, an automotive transportation provider servicing a variety of auto manufacturers. Kenningham received his BA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Hough Graduate School of Business at the University of Florida. There was no arrangement or understanding between Mr. Kenningham and any other person(s) pursuant to which he was selected to be President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company, or as CEO, and Mr. Kenningham does not have any family relationships with any of the Company's executive officers or directors. Mr. Kenningham is not a party to any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. 

In connection with Mr. Hesterberg's retirement, his employment agreement was amended to provide that December 31, 2022 would be the date on which his employment term would end and that such a termination was due to a voluntary retirement (the "Second Amendment to Employment Agreement"). No other changes are expected to be made to Mr. Hesterberg's compensation arrangements or contracts with the Company. 

In connection with Mr. Kenningham's promotion, he entered into an amendment to his Incentive Compensation, Confidentiality, Non-Disclosure and Non-Compete Agreement (the "First Amendment to Incentive Agreement") to provide that his new annual base salary would be set at $1,100,000 per year, beginning August 24, 2022. 

The foregoing descriptions of the Second Amendment to Employment Agreement and the First Amendment to Incentive Agreement are only summaries and are qualified in their entirety by the terms of such agreements, copies of which will be filed with the Company's next Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.