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In September 2018, AutoNation announced that it was looking for a new CEO and said Jackson would become executive chairman once a replacement was hired.
In early 2019, the company hired Carl Liebert, an industry outsider and COO of insurance provider USAA, to become CEO, and Jackson retired from that position.
Liebert started in this role in March 2019, but was laid off in July 2019 when the company shifted gears and appointed longtime CFO Cheryl Miller as CEO. Liebert turned out not to be a good candidate, Jackson said at the time.
Miller’s tenure at the top of AutoNation was also short-lived. She requested medical leave in April 2020 and AutoNation fired Jackson to the CEO seat to replace Miller during his absence. But she never returned, resigning from the company in July 2020.
At this point, with the coronavirus pandemic well advanced, AutoNation said it has extended Jackson’s contract until April 12, 2022. The company said it plans to begin the search for Jackson’s successor at the end of 2021 or early 2022. Jackson’s contract called for he could leave sooner. if a new CEO was hired before this April date.
Some industry analysts at the time said the executive reshuffle was a concern among investors, and some management experts criticized AutoNation waiting to begin its research. But AutoNation said now was not a good time for a search because of the pandemic.
The outspoken Jackson, known to be the voice of dealerships, especially when it comes to his criticism of staircase incentive programs, will be leaving AutoNation after joining the company as CEO in October 1999. He was leading the charge. formerly Mercedes-Benz USA – making the same leap from automaker executive to dealer group leader Manley is doing now.
Early in his tenure at AutoNation, Jackson was quick to shut down most of the retailer’s 29 AutoNation USA used car megastores and convert the rest to new car dealerships. He also killed plans for a national brand, although he kept the idea close and bided his time until the AutoNation brand rolled out in 2013 to all of the company’s dealerships except luxury brand stores.
Jackson then extended that brand name to auctions, aftermarket, and finance and insurance products, and he brought the used vehicle stores AutoNation USA back, albeit with a smaller footprint and deployment. slower than the retailer’s efforts in the late 1990s. Jackson has also helped raise $ 28 million for cancer research and treatment through AutoNation’s Drive Pink initiative.
“I’ve always liked Jackson’s straightforward style, [and] his crystal ball in terms of predictions about things like the [annual industry sales rate] tended to be very specific, â€Whiston said.
AutoNation, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Ranks # 1 on Automotive Newslist of the top 150 US-based dealer groups, with retail sales of 249,654 new vehicles in 2020. It retailed 241,182 used vehicles for the same period, ranking it No. 3 on Automotive Newslist of the top 100 used vehicle retailers.
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