Chuck Bonanno, Executive Vice President

Chuck Bonanno is Executive Vice President at Leedom and Associates, LLC. He is an Independent Dealer Twenty Group Moderator. He moderates twenty groups whose members are involved in the Buy Here-Pay Here and Automotive Finance industry. He is a nationally recognized Buy-here Pay-here trainer and conducts workshops and seminars for dealers and their staff. He is also an industry expert and consults with many of the top Buy-Here pay-Here dealers in the country. He has been a speaker at the NIADA National Convention and he writes articles for several industry trade publications.

Chuck began his automotive career over ten years ago as a Senior Officer for a BHPH dealer in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 1991, his dealer was chosen NIADA National Quality Dealer of the Year. Chuck was instrumental in the profitable growth of that operation to a size of four BHPH locations and one conventional location by the end of 1996. He was responsible for a loan portfolio of over $7.0 million. He was also instrumental in securing one of the first Lines-of-Credit made available to BHPH dealers by FINOVA Capital Corporation in 1994.

In 1996, Chuck’s organization merged with three other large independent dealers to create a publicly held company known as Smart Choice Automotive Group. Chuck was given the responsibility of managing and profitably growing the loan portfolio achieving the position of Executive Vice President. He grew that loan portfolio from $15.0 million at inception to over $130.0 million in just three years. He was responsible for a staff of ninety people including a team of fifty collectors. He was also responsible for a $100.0 million Line of Credit and a $4.0 million Floor Plan. Chuck consistently exceeded industry standards for charge off and delinquency.

Chuck resides in Sarasota, Florida with his wife, Chase and daughter, Chandler. You may reach him at 800.966.8733 or via email by clicking here.