ARLINGTON, Texas — Ken Burke, chief executive officer of Southside Financial Group, which was recently founded to specialize in acquiring auto portfolios, announced the name of the company's president.

Taking on the position is Gary Perdue, a 30-year auto finance veteran. He most recently served as chief operating officer of Wolters Kluwer/AppOne.

Prior to his time with AppOne, Perdue held leadership positions at Capital One, DealerTrack and CitiFinancial Auto.

"Gary brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our company," said Burke. "His distinguished career and record of leadership makes him an outstanding selection to fill the position of president at Southside Financial Group."

A founding member of the National Auto Finance Association, Perdue has served as the organization's president and board chairman.

In fact, at the recent NAF Association's Non-Prime Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, Perdue showed his continued involvement with the association by being named as a board member representing Southside Financial.

Discussing his new position, Perdue told SubPrime Auto Finance News this week, "I am excited to join the Southside team. I am looking forward to working with and helping sellers of paper reach their objectives"

Burke will continue in the role as CEO of Southside Financial Group, which is a subsidiary of Southside Bank.

According to officials, the company was created in 2007 by the same executive behind FSB Financial, which was subsequently sold to Regional Acceptance Corp.

"Southside Financial Group maintains its own servicing staff to enable it to service the accounts acquired on its in-house servicing system," executives reported. "The operation is fully self-contained."

Moreover, officials indicated, "The company is actively managed by the principal officers who combined have almost a century of experience in sales and financing of automotive products.

"They have actively been buying portfolios since the mid 1990s. Although the company is short on time in business, it is very long on experience," executives highlighted.

For more information on the company, visit www.southsidefg.com.