Wilhelms Quits Post as Triad CFO

Michael L. Wilhelms resigned his post as senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer of Triad Financial Corp., effective Oct 21. He was replaced by Jeffrey Butcher, the company’s vice president of finance and controller. Butcher will be paid $207,000 annually.

Wilhelms, an 11-year veteran of the nonprime lender, was responsible for all aspects of the finance and accounting departments. Prior to joining Triad, he was an assurance manager at KPMG Peat Marwick LLP, where he specialized in the nonprime finance industry.

Butcher joined North Richland Hills, Texas-based Triad in July 2003. Previously, he was senior vice president and controller at Bay View Capital Corp., a bank holding company that sold its auto finance portfolio to AmeriCredit Corp. in 2005. Butcher also spent a decade at KPMG, most recently as a senior manager.

Triad has been transitioning itself into a third-party servicer since it stopped originating indirect auto loans when its funding dried up in May. The effort is being spearheaded, in part, by Scott France, a former AmeriCredit executive who joined Triad in August 2007 as senior vice president of portfolio management. In late summer, Triad launched a vehicle certification program meant to bolster auction returns. The program is similar to one France helped develop at AmeriCredit in 2005.

Triad manages $4 billion in receivables. The company is owned by a trio of private equity firms: Hunter’s Glen Ford Ltd., Goldman Sachs, and GTCR Golder Rauner LLC.

—Marcie Belles