Car-Mart names new CFO, chief accounting officer

Rogers-based America’s Car-Mart Inc. has appointed former Walmart executive Jonathan Collins as chief financial officer, succeeding Vickie Judy who will transition to chief accounting officer, the company announced Thursday (May 8).

Collins starts in the role Monday (May 12), the release shows. The transition is part of the company’s “continued focus on building a robust foundation to support long-term growth.”

“Since joining the company in 2010, Vickie has played a critical role in driving growth and shaping our success highlighted by a 450+% increase in the size of our loan portfolio,” Car-Mart CEO Doug Campbell said. “I am grateful for her continued leadership as she transitions into the CAO role. Since becoming CEO in October 2023, I have emphasized our commitment to strengthening operations and attracting talent to support a larger, more complex business,” Campbell said.

Collins said he’s “honored to be appointed CFO and join Car-Mart’s leadership team. As a differentiated automotive retailer, I believe Car-Mart is positioned to grow, innovate and capture significant market opportunities. I look forward to working with the team to build on the company’s solid foundation and advance our purpose of keeping customers on the road.”

Collins has global financial leadership experience and most recently served as chief financial officer of Walmart’s Africa retail operations, where he led all finance and real estate operations across more than 300 stores in eight African countries. Some of his other leadership roles while working for the Bentonville-based retailer include chief accounting officer and controller, financial planning and analysis, and internal audit across various assignments in the United States, Canada, India and South Africa.

Before Walmart, Collins was a management consultant at KPMG, working in China, the United States and Australia. He provided chief financial officer advisory services, supporting clients on financial value creation, transformation initiatives, and finance automation and digitization.

Collins previously was a software developer for Alltel Information Systems and was the chief architect of its enterprise resource planning system.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Kennesaw State University, a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Western Governors University, and a master’s degree in accounting and master’s degree in business administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He’s also a certified public accountant.

“It has been a privilege to be part of Car-Mart’s evolution and growth over the past 15 years,” Judy said. “In my new role as CAO, I am excited to continue supporting the company’s success and to work closely with Jonathan to expand our financial capabilities and take Car-Mart to the next level.”

Shares of Car-Mart (NASDAQ: CRMT) closed Thursday at $49.61, up $2.90 or 6.21%. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has ranged between $36.40 and $72.26.