Mr. Penske, 72, has served as our Chairman and CEO since May 1999. Mr. Penske has also been Chairman of the Board and CEO of Penske Corporation since 1969. Penske Corporation is a privately owned diversified transportation services company that holds, through its subsidiaries, interests in a number of businesses. Mr. Penske has also been Chairman of the Board of Penske Truck Leasing Corporation since 1982. Mr. Penske serves as a member of the Boards of Directors of General Electric Company, Universal Technical Institute and Internet Brands, Inc. Mr. Penske also is Chairman of the Downtown Detroit Partnership and a director of Detroit Renaissance.
Robert H. Kurnick Jr.
President
Mr. Kurnick, Jr., 47, has served as our President since April 1, 2008. Previously he was Vice Chairman since March 8, 2006, and a director since May 3, 2006. From February 2000 until March 2006, Mr. Kurnick served as our Executive Vice President and General Counsel. He also serves as President and a director of Penske Corporation, which he joined in 1995.
Calvin C. Sharp
Executive Vice President Human Resources
Mr. Sharp, 58, was appointed as Penske Automotive Group's Executive Vice President of Human Resources July 1, 2007. From October 2003 until July 2007 he served as Senior Vice President - Human Resources for Penske Automotive's Eastern Region.
Prior to joining Penske Automotive, Mr. Sharp was with Detroit Diesel Corporation, a joint venture company established in 1988 between General Motors and Penske Corporation, holding numerous positions in Human Resources culminating in his appointment as Senior Vice President - Human Resources from 1997 to 2003.
From 1974 to 1988, Mr. Sharp held various positions in Human Resources Management with General Motors.
Robert O'Shaughnessy
Executive Vice President Finance & Chief Financial Officer
Mr. O'Shaughnessy, 43, has served as Penske Automotive's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since January 2007. In his position, he oversees the accounting, finance, tax, treasury, risk management and information technology functions at PAG. From July 2005 until January 2007, he served as Senior Vice President Finance. From August 1999 until July 2005, he served as the Company's Vice President and Controller.
Prior to joining Penske Automotive in 1997 as Assistant Controller, Mr. O'Shaughnessy was a senior manager for Ernst & Young LLP, an accounting and financial advisory services firm, which he joined in 1987.
George Brochick
Executive Vice President West Operations
Mr. Brochick, 59, is Executive Vice President for Penske Automotive Group. He oversees Penske Automotive's Western Region operations and Mexico. He joined PAG in 1996 upon the sale of the former Sun Automotive Group to Penske Automotive. In addition to his current executive functions, Mr. Brochick has held numerous dealership general manager positions throughout his automotive career.
From 1977 to 1984, prior to entering the automobile business, Mr. Brochick served as Vice President, Operations, for Southwest Kenworth, Inc. Mr. Brochick also held the position of Director, Marketing Services, for Euclid, Inc., a division of Daimler-Benz, A.G., with worldwide responsibilities for market research and technical field studies.
Mr. Brochick currently serves as a Board Member of the American International Automobile Dealers Association.
Gerard Nieuwenhuys
Managing Director Sytner Group
Mr. Nieuwenhuys, 48, has been Managing Director of Sytner Group since May 2005.
His earlier career with Sytner began in November 1990, when Mr. Nieuwenhuys joined the company as Sales Manager when it was a single BMW dealership in Nottingham. He was appointed Sales Director of BMW Nottingham in 1992, becoming Managing Director of that dealership in 1993 to coincide with the Group's first acquisition. In 1996, he became Operations Director of the Group, and was appointed Joint Managing Director in 2003.
Prior to joining Sytner Group, Mr. Nieuwenhuys was employed at Inchape as Sales Executive becoming Sales Manager of two dealerships in 1983.
R. Whitfield Ramonat
Executive Vice President Central Operations and Financial Services
Mr. Ramonat, 46, has served as an Executive Vice President since May 2005.
Upon joining PAG in October 1999, Mr. Ramonat served as Senior Vice President Manufacturer Relations until November 2003. From December 2003 until December 2005 Mr. Ramonat managed the Brand Team with PAG's OEM partners as Senior Vice President Manufacturer Relations. In May 2005, Mr. Ramonat was promoted to Executive Vice President Penske Automotive Group, and in December of the same year, Mr. Ramonat assumed the responsibility for PAG's Central Region, in addition to his brand responsibilities. In January 2007, Mr. Ramonat assumed responsibility for the Financial Services Division of Penske Automotive in addition to his Central Region duties.
From 1986 to 1999, Mr. Ramonat was employed with Nissan North America, where he held various sales and marketing positions, including Director, Sales Operations for Nissan Division, and Director, Business Planning for Nissan North America.
Bernie Wolfe
Executive Vice President East Operations
Bernie Wolfe, 54, has been promoted to the position of Executive Vice President of the Eastern Region, effective March 31, 2008. Most recently, Bernie had been the Area Vice President responsible for the company's Southern California businesses. Mr. Wolfe has served in various capacities with PAG since 1999 after a 25-year career with Toyota Motors USA.
Anthony R. Pordon
Senior Vice President
Mr. Pordon, 44, is Senior Vice-President of Penske Automotive Group. Mr. Pordon's primary responsibilities include Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, where he is responsible for establishing, directing and maintaining Penske Automotive's communication strategies and representation on Wall Street with the buy-side and sell-side analyst community.
Mr. Pordon has 18 years of experience in fields related to the automotive industry. He joined PAG in 2001 to start a small-cap investor relations program. Since joining PAG, the market capitalization has more than doubled to over $1.8 billion, and currently 13 sell-side research firms actively provide research coverage on Penske Automotive Group.
Prior to entering the retail automobile business, Mr. Pordon served in various capacities at Detroit Diesel Corporation, a $2 billion manufacturer of heavy-duty diesel engines. Prior to Detroit Diesel, Mr. Pordon was an auditor for five years at Deloitte & Touche LLP.
Shane M. Spradlin
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Mr. Spradlin, 39, has served as our Senior Vice President and General Counsel since December 2007 and our Corporate Secretary since March 2004. Mr. Spradlin joined our Company in March 2003 as Corporate Counsel. From 1999 to 2003, he served as Corporate Counsel to Nextel Communications in Reston, Virginia. From 1995 through 1999, Mr. Spradlin was an associate with the New York and Washington, D.C. offices of Latham & Watkins, specializing in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions.