Executive Leadership

Mr. David W. Hult serves as President, Chief Executive Officer, and member of the board of directors. Mr. Hult joined Asbury as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in November 2014. He is responsible for Asbury's overall strategy and resources. David also is the senior liaison to Asbury's board, investors and manufacturing relationships. In his role as CEO, he will remain hands-on working with operations leadership in developing strategic policies and programs to drive profitable stable-growth across the company. After serving our country in the US Army, David started his career as a retail sales associate and his success led to rapid advances within the industry.

David has been an operator at the General Manager level as well as the regional level for a number of large dealership groups. In addition to his most recent position as Chief Operating Officer at RLJ McLarty Landers, David has extensive experience in multiple aspects of the industry including fixed operations, marketing and all levels of variable operations. His experience includes time with both large private organizations as well as a number of years with public automotive retail companies including Group 1 Automotive and Penske Automotive Group.

Dan Clara serves as Senior Vice President of Operations. Mr. Clara joined Asbury in July 2002 as a Client Advisor in the Management in Training program at Crown BMW. In his 18 years at Asbury, Mr. Clara has had a long career in multiple leadership roles as sales advisor, F&I manager, new car manager, used car manager, general sales manager, general manager, market director and VP of Market Operations. He is responsible for developing and implementing programs for operational excellence to support Asbury's business strategy, and he leads initiatives to drive profitable returns through increased sales and service while delivering exceptional guest experiences.

Mr. Clara received his bachelor's degree in International Business from Northwood University and found his passion for the automotive industry while launching a student-run auto show.

Michael Welch serves as Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Welch joined Asbury in August 2021 after holding the position of Vice President and Corporate Controller at Group 1 Automotive, Inc. “GPI” since June 2019. From June 2000 until June 2019.

Mr. Welch held various other positions with GPI of increasing responsibility, where he gained extensive experience in treasury, financial reporting, financial planning and analysis and internal audit. Mr. Welch began his career at Price Waterhouse. Mr. Welch received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Oklahoma Baptist University, and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas.

Mr. George A. Villasana serves as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary. Since joining Asbury in April 2012, Mr. Villasana has overseen the legal affairs of the company and served as chief legal advisor to the Board. As Chief Legal Officer, Mr. Villasana provides counsel to the senior management team and others across the company on a variety of matters, including corporate governance, automotive franchise laws, mergers and acquisitions, securities, financings, human resources, real estate, litigation, and compliance matters. In addition to serving as Chief Legal Officer, Mr. Villasana oversaw the corporate development and real estate department from July 2018 through March 2019.

Prior to joining Asbury, Mr. Villasana held leadership positions with several public companies, including AutoNation, Inc. where he focused on mergers and acquisitions, SEC reporting, corporate governance, automotive franchise laws and compliance matters. Earlier in his career, he worked as a corporate lawyer for an AmLaw 50 law firm in Miami, Florida. Mr. Villasana began his career as an attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Mr. Villasana holds a LL.M. Tax from Georgetown University Law Center, a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law, a Master of Accounting from Florida International University and a B.S. in Accounting from The Pennsylvania State University.

Mr. Jed M. Milstein serves as our Chief Human Resources Officer. Mr. Milstein joined Asbury in July 2016 from Americold where he was Chief Human Resources Officer. His HR experience includes specialist, generalist and shared services roles in public and private companies spanning the retail, third party logistics, data services, healthcare and manufacturing industries. Earlier in his career, Mr. Milstein served as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of New Jersey prior to joining the labor and employment law practice at Carpenter, Bennett and Morrissey in Newark, New Jersey. Mr. Milstein holds a JD from George Washington University Law School and a BBA from the University of Michigan.

Miran Maric serves as the Senior Vice-President of Strategy & Innovation for the company. Miran started with Asbury in November of 2015, and serves in multiple capacities across marketing, technology, and digital sales operations. Prior to Asbury, Miran served as the Vice-President of Digital Strategy for Larry H. Miller Dealerships, installing the companies first digital marketing department within Miller Automotive Operations. He received his Bachelor's of Science from the University of Arizona.