Sometimes when you work in the auto industry, you just can’t seem to escape it. It grabs you.
Michael McGhee, the new Senior Vice-President and Head of TD Auto Finance Canada is back in the role for a second go-round.
“I’ve been away for just over two years and it’s amazing how much it’s evolved with EVs, competing dealership models, and changing consumer preferences,” said McGhee in an interview with Canadian auto dealer.
McGhee was previously in the role for more than seven years and now takes over the reins from Gino Caputo, who is moving on to another role within the bank leading the Real Estate Secured Lending Business.
“I missed the people — the business is exciting. Being back in a client-facing role is exciting for me,” said McGhee.
McGhee, who has been with the bank for more than 35 years, said he always enjoyed his time working with dealers and appreciates the business-savvy it takes to run successful dealerships.
“Dealers are running large scale sophisticated retail operations. They need to be knowledgeable about consumer demands, factory requirements, and government regulations. They are a very astute group of individuals,” he said.
He added that, although the challenges might have changed for dealers, the bank’s objective remains the same. “Our long-term goal hasn’t changed. We want to be the number one lender on the commercial and retail side.”
To achieve that, McGhee said his team members have to be “in the trenches” and really know the industry to add value to their dealer clients.
“That’s something I’m going to continue to make a priority,” he said, adding the bank likes to support industry events, like the CADA Summit and CADEX that bring dealers and experts together to stay on top of the latest trends in the industry.
“A lot of our people on our teams think they are in the auto business, not the banking business. You see that in our industry — I think it’s powerful in terms of bringing people together to share their perspectives. It’s powerful for the individuals to understand the forces in the industry,” he said.
McGhee said his field reps, what the bank calls Dealer Relationship Managers or DRMs, do their best to stay on top of the issues so they can have knowledgeable and informed conversations with dealers.
In terms of things we can expect to see, he said the bank is looking at ways new technologies can assist their operations, including tools like generative AI. They are looking at ways to help more credit challenged Canadians, along with those who are new to Canada and don’t have an established credit record here.
