Wells Fargo Names Hurzeler to Head Auto Unit

Wells Fargo Auto Finance tapped its own ranks for a permanent replacement for former President Gary Lorenz. Bob Hurzeler, a 22-year veteran of parent company Wells Fargo & Co., was named to the post on June 12.

Hurzeler reports to Dave Kvamme, president and chief operating officer of Wells Fargo Financial. Kvamme served as interim president of the auto group since Lorenz resigned last November.

Since joining Wells Fargo as a credit trainee in 1986, Hurzeler has held a number of senior executive positions. Most recently, he served as senior vice president in charge of operations for the $27 billion auto group. Based in Chester, Pa., Wells Fargo Auto Finance is an operating unit of Wells Fargo & Co., and is managed by Wells Fargo Financial.

LAZENBY JOINS UPSTART NAVIGATOR
Buy-here, pay-here dealer group Navigator Holdings LLC hired industry consultant Bobby Lazenby as its president.

Navigator was formed last month from the operations of bankrupt Manchester Inc., which sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year after hitting triggers with its senior-secured lender.

The new company is comprised of Navigator Acceptance and Navigator Dealer Group. Its 11 dealerships in Georgia and Indiana sell three to seven-year-old cars with an average sales price of $11,000.

Despite the tough times in the auto sector, Lazenby expects the venture to do well. “There is more opportunity than downside,” he said. “We can buy higher Fico customers for a greater coupon than in the past 10 years because of an absence of players in the market.”

Ultimately, Navigator Acceptance plans to finance 50% of the expected 1,000 vehicles the dealerships sell per monthpeak5. The other half will be funded by external lenders, said Lazenby, who still owns Las Vegas-based risk-management advisory firm Lazenby & Associates.

Meanwhile, Senior Vice President of Credit Patrick Inks is working to consolidate credit, collections, and custodial operations at a new service center in Atlanta, slated to open in September. Inks was formerly director of credit for Harley-Davidson Financial Services.

Currently, Indianapolis-based Navigator employs 225 people.

TOYOTA FINANCIAL REJIGS SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Toyota Financial Services shuffled three seasoned executives and hired a fourth last month.

The moves are part of an ongoing effort by the captive to expose senior executives to different areas of the business, said company spokeswoman Kerry Rivera. “It also helps to have our leaders bring fresh perspectives to new areas,” she added.

• Dave Pelliccioni was named senior vice president and chief administrative officer, a new post that entails oversight of the legal, human resources, corporate planning, and business technology solutions groups. Previously, Pelliccioni was senior vice president of sales and marketing. He joined parent company Toyota Motor Sales in 1988 and Toyota Financial Services in 1999.

• Mike Groff, a 25-year Toyota veteran, was appointed group vice president of sales, product, and marketing. In the new role, he will manage the company’s three regional sales offices, all sales and product operations, and the marketing group. Groff’s prior title was group vice president of operations and corporate planning.

• Mike Wells was promoted to the newly created position of group vice president of operations, commercial financial, international, and Toyota Financial Savings Bank. He was most recently vice president of marketing, product development, and the bank.

• Mark Sarago was hired as vice president and chief information officer. Reporting to Pelliccioni, Sarago will develop and implement the company’s technology initiatives and infrastructure. Previously, he served as chief information officer for Citi Residential Lending.

Pelliccioni, Groff, and Wells report directly to Toyota Financial Services President and Chief Executive George Borst. All appointments were effective as of July 28.

Torrance, Calif.-based Toyota Financial Services employs more than 3,000 people and manages more than $79 billion of assets.

PEAK5 SNARES FORMER CITI COLLECTION HEAD
Loan servicer Peak5 hired Todd Klem as senior vice president of operations, reporting to Chief Executive Kevin Barry. Klem was most recently in charge of CitiFinancial Auto’s Denver collection operation. At Centennial, Colo.-based Peak5, Klem will oversee day-to-day loan-servicing operations.

—Marcie Belles