Manley expected to ensure stability at AutoNation

When the Mike Manley era at AutoNation Inc. begins Nov. 1 following a two-decade growth story under Mike Jackson, company watchers expect the new industry veteran atop the largest U.S. dealership group will study the retailer before making strategic shifts.

Many analysts see the transition of power to Manley, a soft-spoken Brit and former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO known for bolstering Jeep's product pipeline and expansion around the globe, as a move that will ensure stability for the auto retail giant that has had three CEOs in as many years.

"Mike Manley is a world-class, globally proven, day one-ready CEO," Jackson, AutoNation's outgoing chief, told Automotive News last week. "Here's the transition plan: Mike, here's the parking space. Boom. I pull out, he pulls in."

Unlike with AutoNation's last two tries at filling Jackson's shoes, the dynamic CEO, 72, will be absent when his successor takes over. He retires from the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., company and its board the same day Manley, 57, takes over.

Manley "doesn't need Mike Jackson there over his shoulder all the time," said Morningstar analyst David Whiston.

His experience in both dealership showrooms and automaker boardrooms will help Manley lead AutoNation, a $20 billion revenue company in the midst of vastly expanding its AutoNation USA used vehicle-only outlets, into the future of auto retail, analysts say. That future includes a growing focus on digital retailing and the transition to electric vehicles, which could cut into the pivotal service income driving much of dealerships' overall profitability.

Manley joins AutoNation from his role as head of the Americas for Stellantis, the company formed in January by the merger of FCA and PSA. Manley previously had been CEO of FCA from July 2018, just before the death of the automaker's longtime leader Sergio Marchionne.

Despite his long stint at the automaker and its predecessors, Manley has auto retail chops, working for 14 years in dealerships in the United Kingdom before being hired in 2000 by DaimlerChrysler.

Retired Chrysler sales chief Gary Dilts, who tapped Manley for a job in the U.S. in 2003, previously told Automotive News that Manley had a "rare balance of retail smarts and financial smarts." Manley increasingly gained responsibility as he climbed Chrysler's ranks. He was tasked with leading Jeep in 2009 and later added oversight of the Ram pickup brand.

With AutoNation among FCA's largest dealers by number of stores, Jackson has known Manley for years. In the mid-2010s, Jackson railed against the stair-step incentive programs the automaker was then known for.

He recalled Manley's strength at Marchionne's memorial in September 2018, calling his leadership at that time "extraordinary." AutoNation's incoming CEO also knows "what it takes" to sell and service vehicles one at a time, Jackson said.

"He has this wonderful combination of intelligence and expertise but at the same time is a good listener, and he's very humble," Jackson said. "He's driven to succeed, whatever the challenges are. And I think he's an inspiring leader for AutoNation. I think there's no question that he will lead this executive team and a company to new heights and new successes."

Analysts, too, predict that AutoNation may finally have its future leader on its third try.

Industry outsider Carl Liebert, hired in early 2019 as CEO, lasted just four months on the job, with Jackson serving as executive chairman. Former AutoNation CFO Cheryl Miller's tenure as CEO lasted less than a year. Miller requested medical leave in April 2020 and resigned that July. Jackson, who had filled in at the top during Miller's leave, again became CEO but announced he would leave the company by April 12, 2022, and AutoNation said it would name his replacement in early 2022.

"I think that the board finally recognized that in order to get a new CEO that was likely to stick, they probably needed to make a clean break," said Bret Jordan, an analyst with Jefferies.

AutoNation hired Manley on Sept. 9, according to a regulatory filing. He will earn an annual base salary of $1.3 million, per his three-year contract, plus receive a $1.5 million cash sign-on bonus. His compensation also includes numerous stock incentives and other bonus opportunities.

Longtime board director Rick Burdick, who became AutoNation's chairman in February, will continue as chairman after Manley comes aboard, said Marc Cannon, AutoNation's chief customer experience officer.

Upon arrival, Manley will face vehicle shortages stemming from the ongoing scarcity of microchips. AutoNation's days supply of new vehicles had dwindled to just 14 days at the end of June. The chip shortage has pushed new-vehicle gross profits to record levels, but analysts caution those won't last.

Stephens Inc. analyst Rick Nelson noted that both Jackson and Group 1 Automotive Inc. CEO Earl Hesterberg successfully transitioned from automaker roles — Jackson at Mercedes-Benz USA and Hesterberg at Ford Motor Co. — to retail leadership. But it's too early to speculate on changes Manley could bring to AutoNation, he said.

"We need to hear his vision for the business," Nelson said in an interview.

Jordan, of Jefferies, said AutoNation could "get somewhat more acquisitive" in today's hot dealership buy-sell market.

"There's a lot of M&A activity going on out there, where dealers have decided it's not a bad environment to buy, and where AutoNation decided it is and they prefer to buy their own shares," Jordan said. "My guess is that Mike Manley will probably not be any more conservative than Mike Jackson."

AutoNation is under contract to buy 11 stores and one collision center from Peacock Automotive Group of Hardeeville, S.C., its first acquisition since 2018. The transaction should close in a few weeks, Cannon said.

Under Manley, AutoNation could take a closer look at its private label parts program, Jordan said, noting AutoNation's exit from its unprofitable collision parts business at the end of last year.

"He might look at some of these various strategies and de-emphasize some of them," Jordan said. "I'm not sure a private label parts strategy and all the supply chain and inventory headaches associated with it really make a ton of sense, given how many other balls are in the air."

Jackson, meanwhile, will leave AutoNation after 22 years and said he plans to cheer on Manley "from the grandstands, fully retired, but with definitely a vested interest as a shareholder of AutoNation."