OPENLANE Promotes COO Will Mitchell to Lead AFC

OPENLANE, Inc. recently promoted Will Mitchell to president of AFC, the digital auction company’s auto finance arm, starting April 1.

Mitchell has served as chief operating officer since April 2021. In his expanded role, Mitchell will oversee the vision, strategy, and all operations for Automotive Finance Corporation (AFC), including business development, sales, field, and commercial operations. Mitchell will also become a member of OPENLANE’s executive leadership team and report to OPENLANE CEO Peter Kelly.

A seasoned operator, Mitchell brings 20 years of experience spanning strategy, planning, business development and operations — including more than eight years with AFC. Since joining the company in 2015, Mitchell has held roles of progressive leadership and responsibility, culminating most recently with his promotion to COO in 2021.

Under his watch, AFC has grown market share, launched new flexible financing solutions for independent dealers and advanced the company’s digital transformation while continuing to deliver best-in-class customer experience.

Before AFC, Mitchell held business development and strategy roles at companies in the energy and other industries. He also served for eight years in the Army National Guard.

“Will is an experienced and forward-thinking leader with a bold vision for AFC,” said Peter Kelly, CEO of OPENLANE, in a Feb. 13 news release. “Couple that with his accountability mindset and proven track-record delivering results for both our customers and our company — and Will is well-positioned to lead AFC into the future. His unmatched understanding of our business and deep customer and employee relationships will help ensure a seamless transition of management responsibilities.”

“Together, we’ve built an industry-leading offering — and together, we’ll continue innovating and delivering the very best service and products to help our customers be more successful,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell will succeed outgoing AFC president Jim Money, whose planned retirement was announced in December.

AFC serves independent dealers by providing financing for used vehicle inventory. Across the US and Canada, AFC works with more than 14,000 dealers in the retail and wholesale automotive space as well as RV, power sports, and commercial truck dealers, salvage buyers and daily rental operators and is accepted as a form of dealer payment at over 1,400 auction sources.

Originally posted on Automotive Fleet