Liebert USAA named head of the country's largest car dealership chain

Carl Liebert, chief operating officer of USAA, once considered a possible candidate for leadership of the San Antonio Financial Services Company, is on the right track.

Liebert has been appointed General Manager and President of AutoNation Inc., the largest chain of auto dealers in the country, in Fort Lauderdale. It starts on March 11th.

In the United States, Liebert was responsible for the overall business strategy of the company and the customer experience. The bank, the insurance of persons, the insurance of persons, the real estate company and the experimental activities of its members were reported to him.

A spokeswoman for USAA did not comment immediately on who could replace Liebert.

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Liebert joined USAA as president of USAA Capital Corp in 2013. The following year, he became chief operating officer when Stuart Parker was promoted to the position of CEO and President. Parker took over from Joe Robles Jr., who retired early 2015.

At the time of the Robles retirement announcement, some current and former USAA employees considered Liebert as one of the best candidates for corporate leadership.

As head of USAA Capital, he oversaw the company's banking, investment and insurance activities.

Liebert will replace Mike Jackson, a former Mercedes-Benz executive, at the head of AutoNation.

"AutoNation has a clear strategy that sets it apart from the auto retail sector and diversifies its typical business model," Liebert said in a statement. "The opportunities that AutoNation has to offer are enormous and the ability to lead this chapter is deeply humbling and exciting."

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AutoNation has 325 stores and sold 12 million vehicles. It generated net income of $ 396 million, or $ 4.34 per share, for approximately $ 21.4 billion of revenue last year.

Prior to joining USAA, Liebert was President and CEO of 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide and served on the USAA Board of Directors. He was also Executive Vice President of Home Depot, where he was responsible for international operations.

USAA serves members of the military, veterans and their families. It has nearly 13 million customers.

Patrick Danner is a San Antonio-based editor who covers banking and civil courts. Read it on our free website, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | [email protected] | Twitter: @AlamoPD