Ally Financial Names Jeffrey J. Brown Chief Executive Officer, Succeeding Michael A. Carpenter

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Feb 02, 2015, 05:45 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) today announced that Jeffrey J. Brown has been named chief executive officer, effective immediately. Brown, who most recently served as president and CEO of Ally's Dealer Financial Services business, has also joined Ally's Board of Directors. Brown succeeds Michael A. Carpenter who is retiring as chief executive and from the Board. Ally Chairman Franklin "Fritz" Hobbs will work closely with Brown on all areas of the business.

Jeffrey J. Brown has been named chief executive officer, Ally Financial

Said Hobbs, "Jeff Brown is an extraordinarily talented executive with deep financial and operational experience and a strong vision of how to take Ally forward into the future. Jeff joined the company in 2009 as corporate treasurer. In 2011, he became executive vice president of finance and corporate planning, where he oversaw the company's finance, treasury and corporate strategy activities. And, in March 2014, he was named CEO of Ally's Dealer Financial Services business. The breadth of experience Jeff has gained during these transformational years at Ally has prepared him fully to take on leadership of the company as it enters its next chapter."

Commenting on Carpenter, Hobbs continued, "Michael Carpenter has done an outstanding job as CEO and as a Board member since joining us at an especially difficult and pivotal time in 2009. Among many other accomplishments, he led our rebranding as Ally; strengthened our financial and market position; restructured a former captive finance company to be the premier, independent auto finance provider; and made Ally a leader in the growing direct banking space. He also successfully completed our initial public offering (IPO) in 2014 and positioned the company to exit this past December from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which we had entered in 2008." Noting that the U.S. taxpayers made $2.4 billion on their investment in Ally, Hobbs added, "Mike stepped in when we needed him most. Ally is a stronger and more focused financial services company today because of him, and it has a great future thanks to his tireless leadership over the past five years. I am particularly pleased that Mike has agreed to serve as a consultant to the Board. On behalf of the entire Board, I thank him for his many contributions and wish him well for the future."

Said Carpenter, "Ally is a tremendous success story on many levels, and I am proud to have been part of it, working alongside so many tremendously talented people as we built what is today the country's leading auto finance provider, powered by a growing direct bank. Having completed our IPO last April and exited TARP in December with a strong balance sheet and a market leading position, it is the right time for me to step aside to hand the baton to the next generation of leadership. I have been working with the Board for several months on succession planning, and I am pleased that Jeff Brown, who was my recommended successor, has been chosen as Ally's next CEO. I have great confidence in Ally's future and believe it will continue to grow from strength to strength."

Said Brown, "I am honored to be Ally's new CEO. We are one of the country's largest providers of automotive financing products and services, combined with the consensus premier direct banking franchise in the country. We are absolutely committed to continue serving our millions of retail customers and nearly 17,000 auto dealers with market-driven, innovative products and services supported by 7,000 dedicated Ally employees. We have the focus, resources and capability to take advantage of opportunities. We are well positioned to meet the challenges of the evolving OEM market, meet our origination goals, serve our customers better than ever and improve returns for shareholders."

Steve Feinberg, chief executive officer of Cerberus Capital Management, said, "Both as a director and the representative of one of Ally's largest shareholders, I am extremely enthusiastic about Jeff Brown's assuming leadership of the company. He brings energy, experience and strategic rigor to the job. Having observed Fritz Hobbs' leadership of Ally's board for the past five years, I am particularly pleased that Fritz and Jeff will be working closely together guiding this company for many years to come."

Jeffrey J. Brown Biography
Jeffrey Brown served most recently as president and CEO of Ally's Dealer Financial Services business beginning in March 2014. In that role, he was responsible for the company's automotive finance, insurance and auto servicing operations. He was senior executive vice president of Finance and Corporate Planning from June 2011 to March 2014, and before that was Ally's corporate treasurer.

Prior to joining Ally, Brown was the corporate treasurer for Bank of America, where he had responsibility for the core treasury functions, including funding and managing interest rate risk. Brown spent 10 years at Bank of America, beginning his career in finance and later joining the Balance Sheet Management Division. During his tenure at Bank of America, he also served as the bank's deputy treasurer and oversaw balance sheet management and the company's corporate funding division. He was also a member of the company's Asset/Liability Management Committee.

Brown received a bachelor's degree in economics from Clemson University and an executive master's degree in business from Queens University in Charlotte. He serves on the Trevillian Cabinet of the College of Business and Behavioral Sciences at Clemson University and chairs the board of advisors for the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte.

Conference Call/Webcast Information
Ally will host a conference call and webcast at 9:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015. The dial-in number for the conference call is 877-299-4454 (U.S.) or +1-617-597-5447 (International). Please dial in at least 10 minutes prior to the start time and enter the participant code 22667943. You may also access the conference call via webcast at www.ally.com under the Events and Presentations section of the Investor Relations tab.

Archive: A taped replay of this call will be made available from 1:00 p.m. EST on Feb. 5, 2015, until Feb. 12, 2015. Please dial 888-286-8010 (or +1-617-801-6888 for international access) and enter participant code 24075464 to access the taped replay. A replay of the webcast will also be made available on the Ally Investor Relations website.

About Ally Financial Inc.
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading automotive financial services company powered by a top direct banking franchise. Ally's automotive services business offers a full spectrum of financial products and services, including new and used vehicle inventory and consumer financing, leasing, vehicle service contracts, commercial loans and vehicle remarketing services, as well as a variety of insurance offerings, including inventory insurance, insurance consultative services for dealers and other ancillary products. Ally Bank, the company's direct banking subsidiary and member FDIC, offers an array of deposit products, including certificates of deposit, savings accounts, money market accounts, IRA deposit products and interest checking. Ally's Corporate Finance unit provides financing to middle-market companies across a broad range of industries.

With approximately $151.8 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2014, Ally operates as a financial holding company. For more information, visit the Ally media site at http://media.ally.com or follow Ally on Twitter: @Ally.

Forward-Looking Statements
In this press release and in any related comments by Ally Financial Inc. ("Ally") management, the use of the words "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "forecast," "initiative," "objective," "plan," "goal," "project," "outlook," "priorities," "target," "explore," "positions," "intend," "evaluate," "pursue," "seek," "may," "would," "could," "should," "believe," "potential," "continue," or the negative of any of those words or similar expressions is intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements herein and in related charts and management comments, other than statements of historical fact, including without limitation, statements about future events and financial performance, are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties.

While these statements represent our current judgment on what the future may hold, and we believe these judgments are reasonable, these statements are not guarantees of any events or financial results, and Ally's actual results may differ materially due to numerous important factors that are described in the most recent reports on SEC Forms 10-K and 10-Q for Ally, each of which may be revised or supplemented in subsequent reports filed with the SEC. Such factors include, among others, the following: maintaining the mutually beneficial relationship between Ally and General Motors ("GM"), and Ally and Chrysler Group LLC ("Chrysler"), and our ability to further diversify our business; our ability to maintain relationships with automotive dealers; the significant regulation and restrictions that we are subject to as a bank holding company and financial holding company; the potential for deterioration in the residual value of off-lease vehicles; disruptions in the market in which we fund our operations, with resulting negative impact on our liquidity; changes in our accounting assumptions that may require or that result from changes in the accounting rules or their application, which could result in an impact on earnings; changes in our credit ratings; changes in economic conditions, currency exchange rates or political stability in the markets in which we operate; and changes in the existing or the adoption of new laws, regulations, policies or other activities of governments, agencies and similar organizations (including as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act and Basel III).

Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Ally undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors that affect the subject of these statements, except where expressly required by law.

Contact:
Gina Proia
646-781-2692
[email protected]

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SOURCE Ally Financial