Twenty-year Capital One Auto Finance vet pivots to Prestige Financial CFO role

Dive Brief:

Capital One Auto Finance VP and CFO Pepo Tsvetanov will leave the company after nearly twenty years of service to take on the top financial seat for Prestige Financial Services, according to a Thursday press release by the latter company. Prestige, a provider of consumer financial solutions for both franchised and independent auto dealerships, is part of the portfolio for the Larry H. Miller Company.
Tsvetanov will replace Prestige CFO Eric Bennett, who will move to take on the top financial seat for fellow LHM Company portfolio firm Advanced Health Care Corporation, per the company’s press release. Prestige ultimately selected Tsvetanov for the role for a number of key reasons, including tapping his expertise to fulfill their 2022 vision, Prestige Financial President Rich Hyde said in an interview.
“Our 2022 vision includes customer journey, our employee journey and growth as one of the primary targets and Pepo, the expertise in pricing, cash and the broader market strategies that he's gained over 18 plus years at Capital One will add and build another layer upon our already strong foundation,” Hyde said.

Dive Insight:

Tsvetanov served as VP and CFO for Capital One Auto Finance for six years beginning in January 2016, according to his LinkedIn profile. He oversaw the company’s Auto Navigator product, which enables customers to search and find potential new vehicles, according to Prestige’s recent press release.

During his 19-year tenure at the organization, he also served as Senior Director, financial management for 12 years starting in August 2003. He has also worked as a commodities trader for companies located in his native Bulgaria. Tsvetanov will oversee finance functions and drive strategy developments for the organization, according to the release.

The Salt Lake City, Utah-based player is excited for what Tsvetanov’s experience at a larger player such as Capital One will bring to the company, which is a “little more niche in subprime,” Hyde said, but the company “has lots of room to build and grow in different directions, and [Tsvetanov’s] experience will help us understand which ways might be better.”

For his part, moving into Prestige allows Tsvetanov the opportunity to watch the smaller company grow, Hyde said.

“He becomes the primary person, the point with us...[that] will work with the board along with me as president in devising what our strategies are for the future and accomplishing those goals over the next several years,” he said.

Bennett, Tsvetanov’s predecessor in the role, served as Prestige’s CFO for a period of four years beginning in April 2018, per his LinkedIn profile. He also previously acted as the VP of Treasury for the LHM Management Corporation before transitioning to the financial head role at Prestige. Hyde has served as Prestige’s President for 20 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The LHM Company is a portfolio of both companies and investments ranging across the real estate, healthcare and sports and entertainment sectors as well as financial services, per its website, including Miller Family Real Estate and the Advanced Health Care Corporation.

The LHM dealerships as well as other automotive properties including insurance service Total Care Auto were acquired by automotive retail and service group Asbury Automotive for $3.2 billion in December 2021, according to a Sept. 2021 Asbury Automotive presentation. The acquisition included 54 new vehicle dealerships, seven used vehicle dealerships and 11 collision centers.

The sale was unrelated to Prestige’s operations, but the “upside for us is that infusion of capital from the sale of those entities gives us greater opportunity to grow with our own funding without going out and borrowing or doing something else,” Hyde said.

“So that's part of our growth strategy,” he said. “We have a solid foundation with the Larry Miller group to help us move forward and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.”

Tsvetanov is not the only banking executive shifting to a new position in recent months. Financial institution Truist announced insider Mike Maguire would become the bank’s next CFO effective Sept. 15, according to a recent report by Banking Dive.

Maguire, who previously served as the bank’s chief consumer finance and payments officer, will replace Truist CFO Daryl Bible following his retirement, though Bible will stay on for a transition period.