Pendragon has appointed Bill Berman as its new chief executive with immediate effect.

Berman joined Pendragon as a non-executive director in April 2019, and since October 2019, has performed the role of interim executive chairman.

He will continue to perform the role of chairman on an interim basis while the process for the recruitment of a permanent non-executive chairman continues.

Pendragon has been on the search for a permanent CEO since June last year when Mark Herbert left after just three months in the role.

Prior to joining Pendragon, Berman served as president and chief operating officer of AutoNation, the largest automotive retailer in America, where he was responsible for AutoNation’s 26,000 associates and the operational performance of the company’s 300+ new vehicle franchises, including new and used vehicle sales and aftersales.  He has over 30 years’ experience in automotive retail.

Berman said: “In my relatively short time with the business, it is already clear to me that Pendragon is a company with great potential and a talented team.

“As CEO, I look forward to building on strong relationships with our team members, customers, suppliers, our OEM partners and investors as we move forward together in a period of rapid change and innovation in the automotive retail sector.”

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