Five Questions … Leslie Wims Morris of Chase Auto

Leslie Wims MorrisPresident of Private Brand Captive Finance chase autolooking for growth opportunities Chase’s Automotive Business With high interest rates, supply chain disruptions and overall macroeconomic uncertainty impacting the current automotive market,

“What’s particularly exciting about cars at this time is the complexity and opportunity of the market,” said Wims Morris. auto finance news“Despite the overall challenging environment post-pandemic, we see great opportunities to continue growing our business and developing innovative solutions for all of our partners.”

Wims Morris is JP Morgan Chase He joined in June 2018 and is responsible for strategic business development for payments and banking.she moved to the side of the car tracking Last month, she said of what she saw as an opportunity to “do business in a very dynamic industry.” AFNMore.

Wims Morris will leverage her experience in technology, M&A, banking and business development to manage and grow Chase’s automotive division partnerships.

auto finance newsWe spoke to Wims Morris about her career, her approach to leadership, and her thoughts on trends in the auto finance industry. Below is an edited version of the conversation.

auto finance news: Describe Chase’s goal in 10 words or less. 

Leslie Wims Morris: Our goal is to enable customers to buy vehicles at affordable prices, enable dealers to grow their businesses and support manufacturers with customized financing solutions.

AFNMore: What do you think are the most undervalued lending trends?

LWMs: Consumer buying behavior has changed significantly over the last few years, resulting in a declining percentage of customers choosing to lease their own vehicles. I think an underrated approach to auto financing is leasing in the sense that it remains an incredibly powerful financing tool that benefits the entire ecosystem of customers, partners and dealers.

Customers who lease a car are more likely to purchase another from the same brand, and the relationship allows partners to continue communicating with their customers and offer them a unique experience. industry.

cox auto Recent research shows that 80% of leasing customers in the market today are repeat leasing customers. As interest rates rise, I think leasing will become more attractive because it makes less sense to buy depreciating assets at higher rates. … the market recovers and inventory levels recover. We want to be able to maintain that deep customer relationship, and the role leasing plays as a financing mechanism to achieve that is very important in the industry.

AFNMore: Who has had the biggest impact on your career?

LWMs: I think the person who has had the biggest impact on my career is my father. He is officially the chairman of my personal board of directors. Professionally, he works with his CEO and board as an advisor, and I have not only learned by watching him act, but I have also had the opportunity to get advice directly from him. In fact, I spoke with one of our partners last night on the drive home after meeting him in Southern New Jersey. We asked him for his views and how he handled the situation.

AFNMore: What’s your favorite piece of leadership advice you’ve ever received? 

LWMs: I told one leader that people don’t always remember what you said, but they do remember how you made them feel. Bringing that to the table as a senior leader is really important. Given the complexity of the difficult problems we are dealing with in the marketplace, we have been able to bring people together to collaborate effectively and collaborate on very complex problems in a way that makes people feel good along the way. You need the ability to work. This is one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received as a leader and I try to put it into practice every day.

AFNMore: What surprises your employees to find out about you?

LWMs: People will be surprised to know that I am a musician at heart. Music was my number one activity as a kid and in high school. I played the flute. I participated in numerous orchestras and chamber music ensembles. As a child, he was a member of the handbell choir, playing music seven days a week. I come from a very musical background and grew up in a very musical environment. I think part of that was influenced by his uncle who was a jazz musician. My love for music, and love for all kinds of music, including jazz, came from my uncle.

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