Asbury Automotive Group Inc. is once again filling the top finance job with a candidate from outside the auto industry.
Patrick Guido, 47, has been appointed senior vice president and CFO, Asbury said in a government filing Friday. He will start May 11.
Guido joins one of the nation’s largest auto retailers from athletic apparel company Lululemon Athletica Inc., where he was CFO since April 2018. He also spent seven years at VF Corp., a lifestyle company that includes brands The North Face, Timberland and Icebreaker, serving as treasurer and vice president of corporate development.
Guido replaces Sean Goodman, who departed Asbury after two years to join AMC Entertainment. Before his time as Asbury’s CFO, Goodman held positions with several companies in various fields, including Home Depot Inc., Morgan Stanley Inc. in London and Deloitte & Touche in New York.
Asbury CEO David Hult told Automotive News on Friday that Guido had interviewed for the CFO job before Goodman came on board.
“He was someone we always kept on our radar because I really liked him,” Hult said, though added Asbury considered executives from larger brands before ultimately deciding on Guido.
Hult said in a statement that Guido is an “operations-focused CFO with broad experience in well-known, guest-focused retail businesses.”
“This is a great combination for Asbury as we continue to pursue our vision to be the most guest-centric company in the automotive industry,” Hult said.
Coronavirus concerns
Guido comes to the retailer amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has halted auto sales and shuttered stores across the country. Public retailers, including Asbury, have slashed executive salaries and furloughed thousands of employees to mitigate losses in sales and service business during stay-at-home orders.
“In light of the current economic environment and consistent with the other executive officers of the company, Mr. Guido has agreed to assume a temporary reduction in pay of 20 percent of his annual base salary” of $650,000, Asbury said in the filing.
Guido will also receive a one-time signing bonus of $250,000 and a relocation allowance of $150,000, and he can expect an award of restricted share units valued at $600,000 once he starts at the company.
Guido relieves William Stax, Asbury’s vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer, who has been interim CFO since Goodman’s departure in November.
Asbury, of Duluth, Ga., has not yet scheduled a date to report first-quarter 2020 earnings.
Asbury ranks No. 7 on Automotive News’ list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with retail sales of 105,243 new vehicles in 2019.