NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dave Cantin Group, one of the largest firms specializing in automotive dealership mergers and acquisitions in the U.S., is opening new regional offices in California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas.

Five senior auto executives have been appointed managing directors for the regional offices which will be located in Chicago, Dallas, Irvine (California), the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area and New York City.

Dave Cantin Group (DCG) regional managing directors are:

• Mark Dwyer, Midwest regional director – Chicago. Dwyer has more than 35 years of wholesale and retail automotive experience as an executive at Ford Motor Company and as a dealership principal.
• Tony Karabon, Midsouth regional director – Dallas. Karabon has more than 25 years of dealership experience, including work as general counsel for RFJ Auto Partners, a Top 25 Dealer Group, and The Boucher Group, a Top 75 Dealer Group.
• George Pero, West regional director – Irvine, California. The founder of “Auctions in Motion,” a successful on-site mobile auction company, Pero also has had more than 26 years of retail and wholesale automotive experience.
• Dan Simonson, Southeast regional director – Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area. With more than 20 years of wholesale and retail auto experience, Simonson has held management positions with Ford Motor Credit, Ford Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors.
• William “Woody” Woodward, Northeast regional director – New York City. Prior to joining DCG, Woodward worked at the Prestige Automotive Group where he was responsible for opening new dealerships and the turnaround of underperforming dealerships. He has more than 37 years of automotive retail experience.

“Our growth over the last 12 months has been significant and has allowed us to expand our team of M&A professionals to include a group of highly effective managing directors at five regional locations throughout the U.S.,” said Dave Cantin, DCG’s founder and CEO. “This is the most experienced team of M&A experts in the country – a team with considerable expertise on both the retail and wholesale sides of the business.”

Cantin noted that DCG plans to expand its network of regional offices even further in 2019 and already has started to interview candidates for new positions both regionally and at its headquarters in New York.

The Dave Cantin Group (DCG) is a full-service M&A firm that manages the sale and purchase of automotive dealerships throughout the United States. DCG maintains extensive relationships with manufacturers, automotive attorneys, accountants and lenders, as well investor groups, private equity firms, investment funds and family-controlled or private wealth-management advisory firms.

The group’s successful partnership approach to the buy-and-sell process is coupled with a firm commitment to community service and charitable giving. Dave Cantin personally has helped raise more than $150 million in the fight against pediatric cancer and DCG is committed to donating a percentage of its revenue to the cause. Additional information about DCG is available at www.davecantingroup.com.