Auto loans and retail installment contracts are often referred to by industry executives as paper. When Craig Paterson began his career in automotive, many of the tasks he had to complete were done on paper, too.

Much has changed in collections and other parts of auto finance since Paterson began with World Omni Finance in 1986. Now as senior vice president of specialty operations at GM Financial, Paterson is using some of the most sophisticated technology any lender has available.

Whether it’s with plain paper or artificial intelligence, Paterson has flourished, which is why he is Cherokee Media Group’s 2025 Loss Mitigation Executive of the Year, presented by Bell and Williams Associates. Patterson will receive his award during Used Car Week, which starts on Nov. 17 in Las Vegas.

“From his beginnings at AmeriCredit to his tenure at GM Financial, Craig has built a legacy of excellence, integrity, and unwavering commitment to people,” Bell and Williams Associates CEO Sal Bellia. “He is a leader who not only drives results but also empowers others — whether team members, vendor partners, or industry peers — by sharing his knowledge, encouraging independent thinking, and creating space to grow through challenges.

“Craig’s leadership exemplifies the very best of our profession: vision, integrity, and a deep belief in the power of people. It is with great honor that we recognize him with the Loss Mitigation Executive of the Year award as a testament to his extraordinary career and lasting contributions,” Bellia went on to say.

Earlier this fall, Cherokee Media Group spent some time with Paterson to ask him about his career, the state of the industry and more. Here are the highlights of that conversation.

Nick Zulovich: What have been some of the most notable changes within auto finance and servicing during your career? Which ones have helped you most and/or impacted your job responsibilities?

Craig Paterson: I started out at World Omni when they were just beginning. And we were literally doing it on pads of paper. That’s how we built our collections and delinquencies and all that kind of stuff. So, I’ve seen a lot of change.

Technology has obviously influenced this whole industry tremendously, as I think it has all over. So as I said, the changes are huge. You know, being able to pull up data quickly versus researching it over multiple days; those type of things. License plate recognition, getting the industry to take pictures of the license plates as they go down the street. Those things were unthinkable way back when.

NZ: Who have been the people who have influenced you most during your career? (co-workers, mentors, people outside the industry?) And how have they helped you?

CP: I would start with Mr. Moran at JM Family. He started JM Family, Southeast Toyota, World Omni, all of that. He was an example of a leader that you could meet with, you could walk down the sidewalk. If he was there he’d start a conversation. And it didn’t matter if you were a vice president or a team member.

You know, I can remember running into him as a collector down there in Deerfield Beach and he was just the nicest gentleman, but equally smart, ran the business well, understood the business fully.

Dan Berce was the other one who, as you know, was instrumental in starting AmeriCredit and eventually GM Financial. He was so very much the same way. Never had a bad word to say about anybody and just was a pleasure to work with. But you knew he ran the ship and he had the insight to move us forward, to take advantage of the technologies and all that to make us better. And I think he got GM Financial to where it is now.

NZ: At this juncture of your career, what elements of your position do enjoy? And how much do you have the opportunity to groom up-and-coming executives?

CP: When I first took this position, all of the people who worked for me were in our Arlington Operations Center. I was in an office downtown and I went to my boss and I said, I need to be out with the team. So being near the team and with your team is I think very important.

They see me every day. We’re limited in how often we come in. But when I’m here, I stop o the floor and just try to emulate what I’ve learned is to talk to everyone, to be able to find out what’s going on and try to make sure it’s the proper work environment, that we’re doing the things that we should be doing and staying away from the things that we shouldn’t be doing, frankly.

I love working with the team and seeing them achieve more. It’s easy to say, oh, I can’t make that stretch goal. But then when they make it, they’re just elated. And that, to me, that’s what keeps me coming in.

NZ: If given the chance, what changes would you make to auto financing that might benefit the entire industry?

CP: Obviously, all the finance companies do things differently. There are many different aspects of this business. We deal with insurance companies, repo agents, auctions, payment vendors, all that. And I spent a good part of my career on the vendor side, working with the vendors.

So, making sure that those business relationships and those technologies are taken advantage of in all areas, I think, is the key.  So I don’t pretend to be the expert on how to print a letter or send an email or send a text. We should rely on those business partners and those throughout our company who have that expertise and working together as teams. That’s the biggest part.

NZ: What does it mean to you to be chosen as the Loss Mitigation Executive of the Year?

CP: I’m honored, but any award like this, you certainly don’t do it yourself. It’s the people that you have around you and the interactions that you have and the experience that you employ based on how you’ve come through the business.