Ally Financial names an interim CEO

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Ally Financial has named an interim CEO three months after current CEO Jeffrey Brown made public his plans to step down at the end of January 2024.

On Friday, the Detroit-based bank announced that Douglas Timmerman, the president of dealer financial services, would take over for Brown on Feb. 1. Ally had previously said that Brown would stay with the company until Jan. 31 or an earlier date determined "to help ensure a smooth leadership transition."

Brown surprised analysts when he announced his departure in October 2023, with no immediate successor lined up, amid other turmoil in Ally's leadership and job cuts across the company. 

Goldman Sachs executive Russell Hutchinson joined the company in July as chief financial officer, following the previous CFO's departure in October 2022. The next month, the $196 billion-asset bank announced that Diane Morais, president of Ally's consumer and commercial banking — and considered one potential successor to Brown — would leave in July to "pursue new opportunities," according to a filing. In December, Chief Legal Officer Scott Stengel left Ally to take on the same role at Truist Financial. 

Timmerman has spent more than 30 years at Ally, with leadership roles in the auto finance and insurance business.

"Doug's long tenure at Ally and expertise in auto finance is extraordinarily well respected both inside and outside of Ally," said Franklin W. Hobbs, Ally's chairman of the board, in a press release. "I know he will ensure a seamless transition as the Board continues working with a leading search firm to identify the next permanent CEO." 

Brown was named Banker of the Year by American Banker in 2022.