Corporate Governance

Mr. Thorpe joined AutoCanada Inc. in the role of President, Canadian Operations in April 2022.

Previously, Mr. Thorpe was with AutoNation, the largest automotive retailer in North America for 24 years. He most recently held the position of Market President at AutoNation and was responsible for operations in multiple U.S. Markets and providing direct leadership over automotive dealership operations in Colorado, Minnesota, Chicago, Cleveland, Northern California, and Los Angeles. Mr. Thorpe has established himself as an effective leader that builds and mentors strong teams and people. Over his extensive tenure at AutoNation, Mr. Thorpe became well known in the industry for cultivating multiple dozen General Managers and senior leaders within the automotive ecosystem.

Mr. Thorpe and his family are relocating from Denver, Colorado to Edmonton, Alberta.

Mr. Feldman joined AutoCanada as Senior Vice President, Operations and Disruptive Technologies in April 2022.

Mr. Feldman has a proven track record of success over his 18 years of experience with AutoNation where he most recently held the position of Senior Director of Sales, overseeing national sales processes and pricing.

He previously held Senior Director roles at AutoNation responsible for Wholesale Parts Sales, Operations Strategy, and eCommerce Retail Operations. Over his time at AutoNation, Mr. Feldman developed subject matter expertise and revolutionized sales, marketing, training, and business development at a scale larger than can be found in the Canadian marketplace.

In his most recent role as the Senior Director of Sales, Mr. Feldman oversaw national sales processes, new inventory, and retail pricing. He managed all eCommerce, phone, and equity mining sales which represented over two million customer leads and 200,000 vehicle sales per year. Additionally, he created and facilitated national training curriculums including eCommerce Manager University, Introduction to eCommerce Sales and Advanced eCommerce Sale for sales consultants and managers.

Mr. Wittick joined AutoCanada in April 2022 in the capacity of Senior Vice President, Operations & OEM Relations.

Mr. Wittick has over 33 years of experience in the automotive industry and has spent the last 15 years with the Humberview Group in Toronto, Ontario, where he most recently held the position of Managing Partner at Applewood Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC and Mississauga Kia. In addition to his role at the dealerships, he assisted the Humberview Group in various aspects including Leadership Development, Customer Experience, Group Rewards Referral Program, and Group Marketing. Mr. Wittick and the Applewood Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC team grew the dealership to become one of Canada’s top-performing dealerships.

Prior to joining the Humberview Group, Mr. Wittick was the founder and creator of Trade Tracker which was one of the first online appraisal tools offered across Canada.

Mr. Wittick lives in Ontario with his wife and two children.

Peter was previously a senior partner with Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP and is one of Canada’s leading M&A and securities lawyers. He has over 20 years of experience dealing with some of Canada’s most complex M&A, securities and finance transactions, and advising public companies and their boards on strategic and governance matters.

Mr. Borys joined AutoCanada Inc. in the role of Chief Financial Officer in August 2019.

Previously he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at PTW Energy Services Ltd. where he was responsible for strategic planning, all accounting and financial reporting, information systems, business planning, tax and treasury, and shared services functions.

Prior to that, and in a similar capacity, Mr. Borys was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Newalta Corporation for nine years where he was also responsible for Investor Relations.

Mr. Borys is a senior finance executive and Chartered Accountant with over 35 years of experience, in both public and private enterprises, who has a strong results oriented, bottom line focus. Mike is a strategic thinker who provides a general management perspective beyond finance and has a proven ability to develop and drive team performance within an entrepreneurial, fast paced growth environment. He is guided by a mandate to drive and coordinate both the strategic and tactical priorities of AutoCanada.

Originally from Montreal, Mr. Borys is married and has an adult son.

Casey Charleson joined AutoCanada Inc. in the role of Vice President, Finance in March 2021. Mr. Charleson is a leader in our Finance, Financial Reporting, and Corporate Accounting functions. Previously he was a Director in the assurance services group at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Casey has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Capilano University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA).

Mr. Charleson resides in Edmonton with his wife and children.

• CPA, CA Designation
• Bachelor of Commerce Degree from University of Alberta

Robert has over 12 years automotive industry experience and joined AutoCanada in 2006. He has held various positions including Controller, Group Controller and Director of Acquisitions, where he developed an acquisition team and was responsible $0.5B in acquisitions and divestatures at that capacity. In 2018, Robert was promoted to Vice-President of Asia Brand Platform, from Director of Sales Operations, a role he had occupied since 2015.

Prior to joining the automotive industry, Robert articled at the accounting firm, KRP LLP, in Edmonton where he obtained his Chartered Accountant designation.

• Bachelor’s of Commerce Honours Business Administration
• Computer Science from University of Windsor.

Derrick started his career in the automotive industry working on the assembly line building Dodge Caravans in Windsor, Ontario, while attending University. After graduating commenced his professional career with Chrysler Financial and over four years worked in various roles that supported both the customers and FCA dealer network. In 2009 Derrick joined Chrysler Canada as a District Sales Manager where he was responsible for maximizing retail sales, inventory management and providing consultation to improve operational excellence for 20-25 dealerships. During his time with Chrysler Canada he had the opportunity to build strong working relationships with several AutoCanada dealerships in western Canada and wanted to become a part of the team, so he joined AutoCanada in 2013. Derrick has worked his way up through several positions within Sales Operations Team at AutoCanada and in April 2018 was promoted to Vice President, Brand Platform FCA where he motivates and leads the General Managers to higher levels of performance.

Before joining AutoCanada in 2018 as Vice President, Special Finance, Jonathan already had 12 years of experience in the auto industry, starting his career in 2006 selling cars until the summer of 2010 where he transitioned his career to focus on special finance. Jonathan successfully built a special finance department that was one of the biggest in the country. Along with the success in sales he also helped build an entire brand and focus around special finance.

Jonathan’s leadership and knowledge has been instrumental in tripling growth in a three-year span and he is an expert in understanding how the banks operate and buy special finance paper. He also has very strong relationships with the banks and looks forward to graduating the special finance portfolio to prime customers for the AutoCanada dealer network.

• CA, CPA designation
• Bachelor of Commerce Honors from the University of Manitoba.

Mikel has 10 years’ of experience in the retail and insurance industries. Prior to joining AutoCanada in 2018 in the capacity of Vice President, Finance & Insurance, Mikel served as the Director of Finance & Risk Management of the F&I department of a large Canadian auto group. Mikel was successful in leading the growth of this department for five consecutive years.

In early 2017, Mikel transitioned into the Special Finance department of the same auto group, acting as Director of Finance and Risk Management where he was responsible for developing and administering the finance, accounting and lending policies, collections, and back-office systems. Mikel’s exceptional leadership and team work abilities helped the company triple it’s growth in just one year.

Prior to joining the automotive industry, Mikel articled with the international accounting firm Deloitte, where he earned his Chartered Accountant designation. During his time at Deloitte, Mikel specialized in the insurance and retail sectors of the firms’ audit practice, working on a number of high-profile public company audits, as well as serving private company clients in the retail automotive sector.

• Lean six sigma black belt from York University – Schulich School of Business
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bishop’s University
• Marketing diploma from Mohawk College.

Arthur has 17 years experience combined in the car rental, MRO (maintenance, safety and operation supplies) distribution and collision industries.
Arthur began his career with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, last serving as an District Manager. During his tenure of nine years, he achieved the most profitable district in Canada. In the summer of 2010, Arthur transitioned to Acklands Grainger serving as a senior manager in the Manitoba region. There, he managed the team to record high sales.

Prior to joining AutoCanada, Arthur was with a large Canadian automotive retail group, operating as Director of Collision Centres. He managed the day-to-day operations and overall direction of each facility, which are recognized as a top revenue generating multi-store operation in Canada (Collision Repair Magazine). During his tenure, Arthur led a major modernization of the collision centre operations, successfully implementing industry best practices.

Patrycja Kujawa has spent over 20 years in multiple sectors mobilizing, analyzing and communicating information to support organizational growth. She is most passionate about unleashing the potential of team members to deliver business value through data and technology. Patrycja has been with AutoCanada since early 2020, initially as the Director of Business Intelligence and now as Vice President of Information Management.

Patrycja’s diverse portfolio of experience includes leading multi-disciplinary teams, working her trade as an economist through modeling, analysis and market research and conducting international business development. She has always strived for excellence and received awards and accolades in her capacity as a writer, researcher, editor and business development manager.

Patrycja has an MSc in Natural Resource Economics from the University of Alberta, a double BA from the University of Saskatchewan in Economics and Political Science, a Data Management and Business Intelligence certificate from NAIT and a journalism diploma from Grant MacEwan University.

CPA, CA Designation
Bachelor of Commerce Honors from the University of Manitoba

David joined AutoCanada in early 2017 as a Dealership Controller and shortly thereafter moved into the role of Chief Controller with the Domestic Brands Platform.

In 2021, David advanced into the role of Director, Acquisition Operations with the Acquisition & Integration team, which is responsible for the onboarding and full Operational transition of Dealership and Collision Center acquisition targets. In the first year in this capacity, he formed the team, developed the Acquisition Integration framework, and was responsible for the closing and integration of 15 Dealerships and Collision Centres. In 2022, David was promoted to Vice-President, Acquisition Operations.

Prior to joining the automotive industry, David articled with the international accounting firm Deloitte, where he earned his Chartered Accountant designation. During his time at Deloitte, David served clients in several different industries, including retail automotive within the private company sector, as well as high-profile public company clients where he worked on the audit of a few large acquisitions.

Andrew leads AutoCanada’s cross border used vehicle wholesale division, Gateway Leasing. Since 2018, he has assisted AutoCanada’s dealer network by providing market intelligence and buying strategy. This direction includes batch wholesale buying from large fleets, advice on wholesale purchasing at auction, and appraisal support for inventory at AutoCanada dealerships.

Prior to joining AutoCanada Andrew led a large automotive group’s used vehicle wholesale activity with involvement and coaching in used car inventory strategy, buying vehicles for the dealership network and disposing of the group’s wholesale vehicles.

Andrew has a B.Comm (Hons.) from the University of Manitoba and resides in Winnipeg, MB.

Darnelle has been leading software development teams for 8 years and building software applications for more than 13. After creating a one-of-a-kind F&I application for a large dealer group, he led his team through acquisition of the software by one of the largest Canadian insurance companies in 2017.

In 2018 Darnelle left the automotive sector to successfully build and take to market a digital retail insurance application before joining AutoCanada in 2022

Darnelle has a Diploma of Information Services Technology from Red River College Polytech.