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Thomas Gilman

Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration

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Thomas F. Gilman was nominated by President Donald J. Trump to be the Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in January 2019.

In that capacity, Mr. Gilman holds a dual role overseeing all financial and management functions for the multi-billion-dollar budget as well as the administrative and personnel functions for its approximately 47,000 employees.

Prior to joining the government, Mr. Gilman had a 40+ year career as a senior executive and entrepreneur within the global automotive industry. Mr. Gilman has unique experience having worked in automotive manufacturing, automotive retailing, automotive financial services and automotive supply.

Mr. Gilman spent 22 years at Chrysler Corporation and 5 years at Chrysler Financial where he served as CFO. During that time, Chrysler Financial achieved four years of double-digit growth and 16 consecutive quarters of record profits. In 1998, Mr. Gilman helped lead the Daimler-Benz/Chrysler Corporation merger.

Following the merger, Mr. Gilman joined the Asbury Automotive Group in 2001, where he oversaw their Initial Public Offering on the NYSE in 2002.

In 2006, Mr. Gilman joined Cerberus Capital Management as a Senior Advisor, where he oversaw multiple deals and operations in the automotive finance industry, including the acquisitions of GMAC, Chrysler Financial and Chrysler. Upon completion of the Chrysler acquisition, Mr. Gilman returned to Chrysler Financial and became the Chairman and CEO.

Mr. Gilman successfully navigated Chrysler Financial through the TARP government program, ultimately repaying its 1.5-billion-dollar obligation to the Treasury Department with interest and within six months.

In 2011, Mr. Gilman helped manage the sale of Chrysler Financial to TD Bank Group. Mr. Gilman created a North American auto lending platform, TD Auto Finance, and became its President and CEO and an Executive Vice President of TD Bank Group in Toronto, Canada.

In 2014, Mr. Gilman founded Automotive Capital Services, which financed automotive dealership inventories. ACS was sold in January 2018.

Mr. Gilman speaks four languages, has lived in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and has conducted business in 21 countries.

He holds a B.S. Degree in Finance from Villanova University.