Asbury Automotive Group Inc.’s outgoing operations head will walk away with more than $822,000 in compensation for 2020, according to a regulatory filing.
John Hartman, who led operations at Asbury for two years, left the public dealership group last week on the heels of the company striking its largest-ever store acquisition deal. Hartman’s departure came three weeks after Asbury announced it would buy 10 dealerships in Texas from Park Place Dealerships.
Asbury said in the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that Hartman, as part of a Jan. 3 separation agreement, will receive his 2019 base salary of $600,000 as severance payable over a year and an undisclosed “lump sum bonus” for the year.
Hartman also will receive a $222,182.63 bonus, paid over a year, “as consideration for his continued cooperation and assistance to the company,” the filing said, and he is entitled to health and dental insurance for the next 12 months.
More details of Hartman’s departure will be included in the separation agreement, which Asbury says it will file in its annual report. Full-year 2019 and fourth-quarter guidance are expected sometime next month.
Hartman joined Asbury at the close of 2017, replacing David Hult as head of operations after Hult became CEO. Hartman previously was a market director for another publicly traded dealership group, Group 1 Automotive Inc.
The retailer has not yet named Hartman’s replacement.
Asbury also is searching for its next CFO after the November departure of Sean Goodman, who took that role at AMC Entertainment.
Asbury ranks No. 7 on Automotive News’ list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with retail sales of 105,275 new vehicles in 2018.