IRVING, Texas -

Jason Grubb conveyed a similar message not only to the board of directors that hired him to be the chief executive officer of Exeter Finance, but also the workforce of nearly 1,000 employees that he became entrusted with overseeing about a month ago.

During an exclusive phone conversation with SubPrime Auto Finance News on Tuesday, Grubb explained that he focused on three main points, including:

— His experience with a wide array of finance companies that spans more than 25 years

— Where he sees Exeter currently standing in terms of growth and development

— The value in Exeter’s relationship with Blackstone, the investment firm that purchased the company nearly five years ago

“I truly believe Exeter is in a prime position to become one of the premier subprime lenders in the industry,” Grubb said. “One thing I’ve emphasized that we definitely need to continue is to access our organization and areas of opportunity. We have to become scalable.

“At the same time given the regulatory environment we have to make sure we mitigate our regulatory risk as well as our reputational risk,” he continued. “I believe we have a strong capital structure in place. We have an extremely high level of talent within our workforce.

“I also told everyone I was excited to be a part of the Exeter family and that I look forward to our journey together,” Grubb went on to say.

Grubb’s journey to this point included stops with Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., WFS Financial and most recently with Santander Consumer USA where he departed after 11 years and served in leadership roles including president and chief operating officer of originations.

“I’ve been very fortunate to work for successful companies throughout my career,” Grubb said. “They were all very different companies structurally as well as culturally. I really believe that diversity of experience is going to benefit me greatly as CEO of Exeter.”

Grubb made special mention of Thomas Dundon, who was CEO of SCUSA for nine years before departing last summer.

“The education I got from Tom definitely was invaluable. He’s quite a unique individual,” Grubb said.

A month ago, Exeter chose Grubb to lead the company and replace Mark Floyd, who returned on an interim basis to be CEO for the second time. With Grubb in place, Floyd went back to his position as a member of Exeter’s board.

“He continues to impart his experience and knowledge. He has a real passion for Exeter. He exited retirement twice to help build this company through amazing growth,” Grubb said about Floyd leadership that helped Exeter build a $3 billion portfolio and become the third-largest subprime auto ABS issuer.

“Personally I’m eternally grateful that through Mark’s accomplishments while at Exeter, he set the table nicely for me,” Grubb said. “He definitely made the transition easy. He was very gracious during the meetings we had. I couldn’t be more pleased and honored to know the man.”

Now at the controls of Exeter, Grubb explained that his attention turns to what he described as the company’s two primary constituents — its network of dealerships and the consumers who hold vehicle installment contracts.

“If we’re able to take care of both of those groups, I believe the rest will take care of itself,” Grubb said.

“On a higher level as far as reputation, I’d want us to be known for a company that strives to have exemplary customer service for both the dealers and customers,” he continued. “I also believe it’s important for the organization to be known for its consistency as well as transparency.”

Along with being named CEO at Exeter, Grubb also was chosen to be on the board of directors for the American Financial Services Association, which will host its 20th annual Vehicle Finance Conference later this month in Las Vegas.

When participating in industry-wide endeavors such as what AFSA looks to accomplish, Grubb said, “I treat everything as a learning experience.

“Obviously the individuals who are on the board and the constituents of AFSA are accomplished,” he continued. “As a participant, I will definitely go in listening first and talking second. I would love to hear others’ opinions about what they’re seeing. Then hopefully I would be able to convey some of my experiences and hopefully they would find value in that so we can learn together and collaborate on solutions that will impact the industry.

“AFSA is vital to the auto industry,” he added. “There’s a lot going on and I know people look to AFSA for knowledge and education. I’m just honored to be a part of it.”

When SubPrime Auto Finance News asked Grubb to project the situation when he reaches his first anniversary with Exeter, he focused the finance company’s dealer network similar to what Floyd did when he took the CEO reins just before 2015 closed.

“If we’re talking specifically to our dealer base, I’d want them to recognize the value that Exeter provides as a subprime lender by funding incremental loans and that they hopefully enjoy conducting business with us due to our transparency and consistency,” Grubb said.

“A year from now, I would want there to be ample evidence that we value our dealer feedback,” he went on to say. “I believe that by working together with our dealers to continually improve our program, we both prosper.”