CARY, N.C. -

Two captive finance companies and a commercial bank all made changes to their top executive teams this week.

Beginning with Ford Motor Credit, the Blue Oval’s captive named Joy Falotico as chief operating officer. The OEM also elected Falotico as a corporate officer.

Currently, Falotico, is executive vice president, Ford Credit Marketing, Sales, Americas and Strategic Planning. She has led marketing, sales and the Americas since 2013, with strategic planning responsibilities added in January.

Falotico takes her post as COO on Jan. 1.

At Ford Credit since 1989, Falotico has served in a number of senior-level positions, including an assignment as executive vice president of Ford Credit North America, responsible for the company’s business in the U.S. and Canada, its largest regional operation.

She has served as vice president of U.S. Sales Operations and as vice president of global Marketing. Before that, Falotico had pan-European responsibility for customer and dealer service operations and risk management for Ford Credit Europe.

Falotico serves on the American Financial Services Association board of directors and executive committee. She has been chair of the AFSA Vehicle Finance Division Board since January 2014.

Falotico holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Truman State University and a master’s degree in business finance from DePaul University.

VW Credit elevates exec to be president & CEO

Volkswagen Group of America elevated one of its executives at VW Credit this week to be president and chief executive officer of the captive finance company.

Taking on the role effective Jan. 1 is Horst Meima, who most recently served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of VCI. Meima brings with him more than 20 years of experience within the company, including the roles of president and CEO of former Volkswagen Bank USA, vice president of sales and marketing and president and ceo of VW Credit Canada.

In this new role, the company indicated Meima will oversee all functions of VW Credit, the captive finance company which services Volkswagen, Audi and Ducati customers, authorized dealers and their affiliated stores as Volkswagen Credit and Audi Financial Services. He will also serve as chairman of the board for VW Credit Canada.

Meima holds an MBA degree from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Colorado State University.

Meima succeeds Christian Dahlheim, who will take on the role of board member for sales and marketing of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, in Braunschweig, Germany, effective Jan. 1.

Huntington names Wirth as auto finance product and strategy director

On Thursday, Huntington Bank appointed Tom Wirth to the position of auto finance product and strategy director. The bank indicated Wirth will lead a team of 40 colleagues across product, strategy, underwriting and risk management with accountability for strengthening Huntington's dealer outreach and product and service innovation.

“Tom has earned tremendous respect across the industry and dealer community alike,” Huntington auto finance director Rich Porrello said.

“We are thrilled to have him on the team to help drive our continued expansion. He has a proven strategic vision for delivering excellent customer service and aligning systems and processes essential for elevating performance and driving strategic growth,” Porrello continued.

Wirth joins Huntington with more than 25 years of experience in auto finance, most recently as senior vice president, indirect line of business manager and national retail executive at U.S. Bank where, during the last 16 years, he helped grow auto finance assets under management to $25 billion.

His previous experience also included serving as vice president, regional manager at Bank One Credit Co. in Milwaukee.

“Huntington is renowned for customer-focused relationships and ingenuity,” Wirth said. “Expect that to continue, as we concentrate on helping a growing portion of the dealer community embrace a full suite of financial strategies that help their businesses perform.”

Wirth served as vice chairman of the Consumer Bankers Association auto finance committee. He has also been involved with the Association of Consumer Vehicle Lessors legal committee and is a past member of the National Vehicle Leasing Association.

Wirth graduated from the Consumer Bankers Association Graduate School of Bank Management and earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Augustana College. He also is a certified leasing executive by the National Vehicle Leasing Association.

Wirth resides in Mason, Ohio, where he is active in the coaching and mentoring of student athletes with Kingdom Vision Outreach, and he serves on the Marshall High School Advisory Board.