Earl Hesterberg is a 45 year veteran of the automotive industry with extensive experience in the OEM and retail sectors. He currently serves as President and CEO of Group 1 Automotive, Inc., a Houston-based Fortune 500 specialty retailer and a top five-dealer group in the U. S. market. In Houston, Group 1 is the parent company for the Sterling McCall and Advantage BMW dealerships.

Prior to joining Group 1, he held leadership positions at Ford and Nissan in both North America and Europe. Earl was also the former President and CEO of Gulf States Toyota, the independent distributor responsible for Toyota's operations through 150 dealers in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas.

Since joining Group 1, he has led an organizational restructuring that has streamlined the operating model. In 2006 Group 1 was recognized by Morgan Stanley as the top performing stock in the automotive retail sector. Under Hesterberg's leadership Group 1 has become one of the true global automotive retailers by expanding into the UK and Brazilian markets. Mr. Hesterberg lettered in football and received a B.A. degree in Psychology from Davidson College and an M.B.A. in Marketing from Xavier University.