Automotive retail company AutoCanada has elevated Cynthia Hill to general counsel as part of a round of senior leadership appointments.
Hill will manage the company’s legal, compliance, and risk functions. She started with AutoCanada in 2020 and has advised the firm on complex transactions, corporate governance, and sustainability initiatives.
AutoCanada’s interim chief executive officer and chief financial officer, Samuel Cochrane, praised Hill’s “unwavering professionalism” in guiding the company’s legal and governance functions.
As a private practitioner, she spent eight years with Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg. She concentrated on issues involving corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets.
She started as an associate and made partner in January 2019, according to LinkedIn.
Other leadership appointments
AutoCanada also promoted Mikel Pestrak to interim president of dealership operations and Art Crawford to collision operations president.
Pestrak will supervise all dealership operations. He began his tenure with the company in 2018 and has worked in automotive retail and insurance industries for over 18 years.
Crawford also started with AutoCanada in 2018. He has worked in the automotive industry for over 20 years, handling rental, MRO distribution, and collision repair.
Cochrane highlighted Pestrak’s finance and insurance dealership work and Crawford’s building of the company’s collision platform “from the ground up.”
Ex-Canadian operations president Jeff Thorpe and former chief operating officer Brian Feldman have vacated their roles and will advise Cochrane until January 1, 2026 to facilitate a smooth transition.
The new appointments took effect immediately.
AutoCanada runs 64 franchised dealerships in eight Canadian provinces through its Canadian operations segment. It sells Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan, Porsche, Ram, Subaru, and Volkswagen branded vehicles.
The Canadian operations segments also runs three independent used dealerships and 15 stand-alone collision centers within its group of 32 collision centers.