New senior leadership team at Ally Financial

Leading auto lender Ally Financial has announced key leadership changes to its auto finance, insurance and risk management organizations, with president Tim Russi stepping down after a decade in the driving seat.

Doug Timmerman has been named president of auto finance and will assume responsibility for driving the strategy and performance of the business going forward.

Timmerman (pictured above) has more than 30 years of auto finance and insurance experience, and had been president of Ally’s insurance business since 2014.

Prior to that Timmerman was vice-president of auto finance, responsible for sales, risk management and portfolio management for the southeast region.

Since joining Ally in 1986, he has held a variety of leadership roles in commercial lending, consumer lending, collections, sales and marketing.

Jeffrey Brown, chief executive officer at Ally, said: “I am thrilled for Doug to lead our auto finance business in its next chapter, and am confident that he will continue to grow and evolve the business in new and exciting ways, while adding value for our customers and keeping outstanding service at the forefront of everything we do.”

Russi will remain with the company as vice-chairman of auto finance until October 1, to manage the transition to new leadership.

Under Russi’s leadership, the auto finance business achieved $328 billion in originations and added 8,000 dealer relationships.

Brown said: “I am extremely thankful to Tim for his dedication, and for the many successes and accomplishments he achieved over the years.

“It’s due in part to his hard work and leadership that Ally is in the position of strength we hold today, and I am proud that he was able to build a team of smart, dedicated professionals that will continue his track record of success.”

David Shevsky has been named chief operating officer of auto finance at Ally. In this newly-created role, Shevsky will oversee consumer risk and operations, commercial risk and credit administration, collections and loss mitigation activities, and business systems.

Previously, Shevsky was chief risk officer for Ally, a role he held since 2015.

Succeeding Shevsky, Jason Schugel has been named chief risk officer of Ally. Schugel was previously deputy chief risk officer for the company, leading various risk-management activities.

As Timmerman moves to lead the auto finance business, Mark Manzo has been named president of Ally’s insurance business.

Manzo was previously senior vice-president of the central region and strategic alliances for the auto finance business and successfully developed relationships with key dealers and digital providers that helped to expand and diversify the business.

In his new role, Manzo will lead key business development and diversification initiatives for Ally’s insurance business, with a focus on creating new relationships with dealers and digital marketplaces.