JM Family taps Burns as CEO
Brent Burns has been named CEO of Deerfield Beach-based JM Family Enterprises starting July 1. He replaces current CEO and Chairman Colin Brown, the company said Monday.
Burns, 58, became president last year of the $15.1 billion diversified automotive company that includes Southeast Toyota. He steps in as CEO as JM Family embarks on a $150 million renovation and expansion of their Deerfield Beach campus.
“Now is the perfect time for Brent to transition into this role,” said Brown, who will continue as chairman of the board. “He gives it fresh eyes and new blood, and I think any organization periodically needs new leadership.”
Burns said JM Family is “in a marketplace that’s changing very rapidly.” So JM Family will continue to listen to customers, he said, to innovate products and services to provide a “seamless experience.”
“We will do as much or as little online as they want,” he said.
Joining the company in 2000, Burns has come up through JM Family’s leadership ranks. In 2014, Burns was promoted to chief operating officer. He was chief financial officer for six years and president of the subsidiary World Omni Financial Corp. for seven years.
Meanwhile, Brown, 69, has been with JM Family for 26 years, and was the
first non-Moran family member to hold the titles of president and CEO. In 2017, Brown was appointed chairman.
Brown said by continuing as chairman, he will be able to guide Burns, the same as founder Jim Moran did when he named Brown CEO in 2003. Moran died in 2007.
Brown said JM Family, a private company, is in the “strongest financial position” in its 50 years. It employs more than 4,200 people, including 1,700 in South Florida.
“I am abundantly confident in the direction JM Family is headed,” Brown said.