Lithia Motors has named a chief operating officer.

Promoted to the position is Chris Holzshu, who was most recently executive vice president, where he led regional platforms and operations teams.

Holzshu was Lithia’s chief financial officer from 2010 to 2016.

His tenure with the group also includes time as chief human resources officer.

 “Throughout his 17 years with Lithia, Chris has demonstrated a broad understanding of store operations, integrating acquisitions and growing platforms in step with our strategic aspirations,” Lithia president and chief executive officer Bryan DeBoer said in a news release.

“His leadership will help us better leverage our talented operations team and will enable us to capture potential faster,” DeBoer said.

The dealer group said the move is part of its “redesign to further accelerate Lithia’s growth while also realizing the substantial earnings potential in its existing store base.”

Lithia's most recent COO was DeBoer, who became chief executive in 2012, a spokesperson said via email. Since then, Lithia has not used a specific COO title.