An executive from another provider of vehicle service contracts, who also spent several years running franchised dealerships, now is with AUL Corp.

AUL president and chief executive officer Jimmy Atkinson on Thursday appointed automotive veteran Paul McCarthy to the position of vice president of national sales. The company highlighted McCarthy brings more than two decades of retail automotive experience to his new role and chose AUL to provide focused leadership to the firm’s outreach to large opportunities in the franchised automotive dealer space.

“Paul allows us to expand our bandwidth and diversify our sales approach by placing key verticals under the leadership of our industry experts,” Atkinson said. “Paul complements Bryan Nieves, our vice president of national accounts, whose outreach centers primarily on lenders and reinsurance, and Jason Garner, senior vice president of sales and business development, whose group is focused on agent growth.

“As a team, they provide AUL with superior depth, allowing for a higher degree of personal interaction and attention to detail,” Atkinson went on to say.

Most recently, McCarthy was vice president of sales at Warranty Solutions, another national provider, dealer warranties, auto finance and insurance products to dealerships.

Prior to Warranty Solutions, McCarthy spent nearly 20 years with the Stevenson Automotive Group, one of the largest automotive dealer groups in North Carolina as its corporate general Manager. During his tenure, the group experienced unprecedented growth, adding 10 dealerships and seven franchises. He managed corporate operations for 14 dealerships including daily operations for eight, earning the organization the designation as a Top 125 Dealer Group from 2008 through 2014.

McCarthy further mentored and coached employees resulting in a 200-percent increase in sales and F&I productivity.

“When you combine Paul’s exceptional experience in dealership management and F&I sales with his personal approach and team building skills, our sales teams have a proven foundation from which to succeed,” Atkinson said.