Executive Leaving to Run Dealership, Mitsubishi Says

Rick Lepley, senior vice president for franchise development at Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America Inc., is leaving to run a dealership in the Southeast, the company said.

The Japanese car company said Lepley’s job--developing new dealerships for the subsidiary--will now be done by a general manager, a post equivalent to that of an assistant vice president.

Mitsubishi America did not hire a new senior vice president because it likes to promote employees from within to senior management, CEO Dick Recchia said. But with Lepley’s unexpected departure, the company was not ready to move up the next person in line, he said.

The new general manager is Art Meissner, who has worked for Toyota and Hyundai. Meissner will share Lepley’s duties with Kevin Ormes, vice president for sales and franchise development, Recchia said. Meissner will report to Ormes, Recchia said.

Lepley, who was not in the office Wednesday, is considering opening a Mitsubishi dealership in one of several places in the Southeast, Recchia said.

It is not uncommon, he said, for executives of car companies--”factory guys,” as they are called in the car business--to leave and run dealerships.