IRVING, Texas — Exeter Finance Corp. announced that Steve Zemaitis has joined the company as executive vice president of strategy and planning. The finance company also announced that it has appointed A.J. Wagner to its board of directors, increasing the total number of directors to seven. Wagner will serve as an independent director along with Susan McFarland, who was appointed to the Board in April 2013.

“We are pleased to have these three highly regarded financial services industry veterans as part of the Exeter team,” said Mark Floyd, the company’s CEO. “Their invaluable experience and unique perspectives will play a key role in our future success and continued growth.”

Zemaitis brings approximately 20 years of experience in the subprime auto finance industry. He joins Exeter from Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., where he held several executive positions, including chief credit officer and executive vice president of pricing and analytics. In those roles, he was directly responsible for pricing, credit policy, loss forecasting and scorecard development for retail, lease and personal unsecured loans. 

Zemaitis played an instrumental role in developing new channels of business for Santander and also led several key business and portfolio acquisitions. At Exeter, he will play a key role in developing strategies to maximize profitability, enhance market position, and evaluate new growth opportunities. Additionally, he will assume direct oversight for the existing credit, pricing and risk management functions at the company. 

McFarland previously served as the CFO of Fannie Mae from 2011 until her retirement in 2013. During her time at Fannie Mae, she played an instrumental role in returning the institution to profitability — a feat that earned her recognition from Fortune magazine as one of the 50 most powerful women CFOs. McFarland’s career in the consumer and retail financial services industry spans more than 25 years and includes leadership roles at Capital One Financial Corp, Capital One Bank, Bank One Corp., and Deloitte & Touche.

Wagner also is a veteran of Ford Motor Co., where he held multiple positions over a 33-year career before retiring in 2007. Just prior to his retirement, he served as vice president of Ford Motor Co., and as president of Ford Motor Credit North America. Wagner is currently president and CEO of AJ Wagner & Associates LLC, a financial services consultancy company. He also serves on the Board of Walter Energy, as well as on the board of directors for ChannelNet and Inilex, two privately held companies serving the financial services industry.