Celebrating Over 30 Years in Business
Since 1989, AAC has specialized in automobile financial services for consumers with all types of credit. Whether you need to improve your credit or have maintained good credit all along, AAC is a great choice for all your automobile financing and insurance needs. When it comes to financing, we care more about where you’re headed than where you’ve been. Our goal is to provide you with financing that’s right for you and at an amount you can afford.
Our services are delivered in two ways:
- Indirect Lending – AAC partners with over 1,000 franchise and independent dealers to finance the vehicle needs of qualified consumers.
- Direct Lending – AAC offers consumer loans from $500 to $50,000 at any one of our 1800NewDeal locations throughout Georgia.
Mission Statement
AAC is founded on the fundamental principal of offering valuable financial products and services delivered with the highest ethical standards to meet the needs of all our consumers.
Company Vision
Continuously innovate industry best practices that drive employee development, customer satisfaction and corporate performance to make AAC one of the most respected auto finance companies in the U.S.
When it comes to financing,
we care more about where you’re headed than where you’ve been.
Core Values
When it comes to financing, we care more about where you’re headed than where you’ve been.
Customer Commitment
We develop relationships that make a positive difference for our customers.
Quality
We offer products and services that are valuable and fairly priced.
Continuous Improvement
We strive to improve our systems, process and policies daily.
Personal Accountability
We are personally accountable for delivering on our promises and commitments in a timely manner.
Empathy
We show that we care for our employees and customers by praising and thanking them for work well done and keeping commitments.
Teamwork
We collaborate in a positive, constructive manner to advance outcomes that better our customers, employees and company.
Career Development
We give everyone the opportunity to succeed and grow through training, coaching and mentoring.
Leadership Team
-
Robert L. Culver
Chief Executive Officer
-
Darrell Ake
Chief Operating Officer
-
Paul Dacus
Chief Risk Officer
-
Patrick Durkin
Indirect Regional Sales Manager
-
Crystal Fortson
Indirect Lending Manager
-
Keanna Dodson
Indirect Servicing Manager
-
Andrew Peacock
Direct Lending Manager
-
Donna Lee
Accounting Manager
Robert L. Culver
Chief Executive Officer
Since 1991, Mr. Culver and has served in all areas of the company including finance, accounting, underwriting and account servicing. Under his leadership, AAC has expanded from primarily a captive finance company for a group of Atlanta-based automobile dealerships to a regional direct and indirect lender serving states throughout the southeast and mid-west.
Prior to coming onboard with AAC he worked for SunTrust Corporate Finance where his responsibilities included merger & acquisition consulting and marketing private placements of structured debt and equity investments. Mr. Culver also worked in the consulting division of Arthur Andersen & Co. He is a Certified Public Accountant and is a graduate of the University of Kentucky where he earned a BA in Economics and an MBA with a concentration in Finance.
16398Darrell Ake
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Ake joined AAC as the Indirect Lending Manager in 2002 and was promoted to COO in 2007. He has responsibility for all corporate vendor relationships, consumer litigation & deficiency collections, credit reporting and consumer dispute resolution. Mr. Ake also oversees all aspects of the Direct Loan channel including advertising, underwriting and loan servicing.
Mr. Ake has extensive experience in non-prime indirect lending for manufactured home and automobile finance companies. He managed the servicing activities for a $1B+ real estate portfolio for four years as well as oversaw day to day operations of all branch locations for a multi-state automobile finance company.
16539Paul Dacus
Chief Risk Officer
Joining AAC in 2013, Mr. Dacus oversees product management, marketing, underwriting, funding, collections and recovery operations for AAC’s Indirect Lending channel. He is also responsible for all score card development, analytics and credit risk management.
Mr. Dacus has served as Senior Vice President of risk management for Auto One Acceptance, a division of California Federal Bank/CitiGroup, Senior Vice President of risk management for Triad Financial Corporation and as an executive at USAA serving as a chairman of the model governance committee. Mr. Dacus completed postgraduate work at UT, UTD and Texas Tech, as well as a BS and MS in Mathematics and Statistics from Texas Tech University. Mr. Dacus is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM-GARP), and a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).
16540Patrick Durkin
Indirect Regional Sales Manager
Since joining AAC in 2017, Mr. Durkin has received increased responsibility for indirect sales and business development and in 2019 was promoted to Regional Sales Manager. He leads the strategies to identify, engage and maintain dealer relationships in all states served by the company. Mr. Durkin oversees the management and marketing efforts of AAC’s team of Area Sales Managers in the field.
Mr. Durkin has spent over 25 years in the auto finance industry contributing to sales, marketing and credit operations at sub-prime lenders as well as serving in various F&I management roles at franchise dealerships.
16542Crystal Fortson
Indirect Lending Manager
Ms. Fortson has extensive experience with AAC in credit, underwriting and funding operations on both the Indirect and Direct Lending channels. She served as the Indirect Funding Manager for three years before being promoted to the Director of Indirect Lending in 2018. Ms. Fortson manages a team of loan officers and funding specialists while maintaining AAC’s indirect lending policies for all new contract volume.
Ms. Fortson’s previous experience includes nine years in management roles at Temple Inland Mortgage Corporation. The last three years at TIMC were dedicated to managing the operations of a branch office for the company.
16543Keanna Dodson
Indirect Servicing Manager
Ms. Dodson joined AAC in 2008 and served as an Indirect Servicing Supervisor for 10 years before being promoted to Indirect Servicing Manager in 2019. She leads the Indirect Servicing team’s efforts in delivering the highest levels of customer service and engagement. Ms. Dodson monitors all aspects of portfolio performance including collections, delinquency, asset recovery and charge offs, as well as ensuring compliance with company and regulatory policies.
Prior to joining our team, Ms. Dodson worked for DriveTime for two years where her duties included planning, evaluating, implementing and continuously improving all aspects of loan servicing and compliance.
16665Andrew Peacock
Direct Lending Manager
Mr. Peacock has worked exclusively in the Direct Lending channel for his entire tenure with AAC. He has led the development of AAC’s direct loan business plan including marketing strategies and product development. Mr. Peacock manages the day to day operations of all direct loan branches including new business development, underwriting and account servicing.
Prior to joining AAC in 2008, Mr. Peacock worked for Auto Credit of Atlanta for 16 years where his responsibilities included branch management overseeing underwriting, collections, loan originations, and dealer development. He is a graduate of Auburn University where he earned a BA in Finance.
16545Donna Lee
Accounting Manager
Ms. Lee joined the company in 2002 and has worked in all areas of the accounting department including, accounts payable, payroll, general ledger, and cash management as a Senior Accountant. In 2020, she was promoted to Accounting Manager where she manages a team of accountants and oversees financial statement preparation, payroll/HR, and treasury functions.
Before joining AAC, Ms. Lee was most recently a staff accountant with the CPA practice of Gross Duke Nelson & Co PC. She earned a BA in Accounting in 1999 from DeVry University and a MA in Accounting and Financial Management in 2002 from the Keller Graduate School of Management.
17105Affiliations
