EDMONTON, AB, March 26, 2024 /CNW/ - AutoCanada Inc. ("AutoCanada" or the "Company") (TSX: ACQ), a multi-location North American automobile dealership group, announced today that Steve Carlisle and Christopher Harris have been nominated for election to its Board of Directors at the Company's 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 2, 2024.

Steve Carlisle recently retired from his position as Executive Vice President and President of General Motors North America, after more than four decades with General Motors.  Before leading General Motors North America, Steve had been Senior Vice President and President of Cadillac and President and Managing Director, General Motors of Canada. Over the course of his career with General Motors, Steve has held other senior leadership positions, including Vice President, Global Product Planning, Vice President, U.S. Sales Operations, and President, Southeast Asia Operations.   Steve obtained his Master of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management and his Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Waterloo.

Christopher Harris is currently a Partner at Imperial Capital, a private equity firm based in Toronto, Ontario focusing on healthcare, business and consumer services investments.  Chris has significant experience in investments involving fragmented sector consolidations such as express car washes and environmental consulting.  Chris joined Imperial Capital in 2007 from KPMG where he worked in the M&A Transaction Services department.  Chris obtained his Master of Business Administration from the University of Oxford and his Bachelor of Commerce from Queen's University. He is also a Chartered Professional Accountant.

"We are very excited to welcome Steve and Chris to our Board of Directors. Steve brings extensive and unparalleled OEM experience and strategic acumen, offering invaluable guidance during a period of industry transformation, while bringing the perspective of our most important business partners to the boardroom. Chris' expertise in multi-site consolidation roll-up investments and financial prowess provides essential guidance for managing our growth trajectory," said Paul Antony, Executive Chair. 

Current directors Paul Antony, Rhonda English, Stephen Green, Barry James and Elias Olmeta have been nominated for re-election as directors, while Dennis DesRosiers and Lee Matheson will be retiring from their positions.  "We would like to thank Dennis and Lee for their years of dedicated service to AutoCanada.  Their guidance has been invaluable while the Company has evolved and grown," said Paul Antony, Executive Chair.

AutoCanada is a leading North American multi-location automobile dealership group currently operating 84 franchised dealerships, comprised of 28 brands, in eight provinces in Canada as well as a group in Illinois, USA. AutoCanada currently sells Acura, Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, FIAT, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan, Porsche, Ram, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo branded vehicles. In addition, AutoCanada's Canadian Operations segment currently operates three used vehicle dealerships and one used vehicle auction business supporting the Used Digital Retail Division, 13 RightRide division locations, and 11 stand-alone collision centres within our group of 27 collision centres. In 2023, the Company generated revenue in excess of $6 billion and our dealerships sold over 100,000 retail vehicles.

Additional information about AutoCanada is available at the Company's website at www.autocan.ca and www.sedarplus.ca.

SOURCE AutoCanada Inc.