Axis Appoints Paul Stoyan as Chairman of the Board

TORONTO, May 17, 2018 /CNW/ - Axis Auto Finance Inc. ("Axis" or the "Company"), (TSXV: AXIS) a non-prime lender servicing the Canadian used vehicle market, announced today that Paul Stoyan will be joining its Board of Directors effective today. Mr. Stoyan will take on the role of Chairman of the Board.

"I am excited to join the Axis Board and feel that I can make meaningful contributions to the Company's development," said Mr. Stoyan. "Next to organic growth, there is a clearly identified opportunity for a roll-up strategy in the Canadian non-prime finance market, a strategy I am well familiar with," he added.

Mr. Stoyan is the Chairman of Gardiner Roberts LLP, a Canadian business law firm.  Mr. Stoyan practices business law with a special emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and corporate governance. Mr. Stoyan has worked extensively with various companies in the technology sector and has assisted such companies in various cross-border transactions, in going public and establishing corporate governance regimes. Mr. Stoyan presently serves on the board of directors of ECN Capital Corporation and Enghouse Systems Limited, both publicly-traded companies listed on the TSX.  Mr. Stoyan is also Past Chair of the Business Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association. Mr. Stoyan has previously served as a director of Open Text Corporation, a publicly-traded software company listed on the NASDAQ and TSX and as a director of Element Financial Corporation, listed on the TSX.  Mr. Stoyan holds a bachelor of laws from the University of Toronto and a bachelor of arts from the University of Toronto, where Mr. Stoyan was the Gold Medalist. Mr. Stoyan has earned the professional independent director designation (ICD.D) from the Institute of Corporate Directors and the University of Toronto'sRotman School of Management.

"We are excited to welcome Mr. Stoyan to our Board," said Todd Hudson, CEO of Axis. "His decades of experience in M&A, corporate finance and corporate governance, will be very valuable as we continue to grow Axis organically and through additional acquisitions," he added.

Todd Hudson, CEO of Axis, is joining the Board of Directors concurrently with Mr. Stoyan. Mr. Hudson has more than 25 years of sales and operations management experience in the Canadian alternative lending industry. Prior to joining Axis in March 2018, he was Chief Operating Officer of ECN Capital (TSX: ECN), having previously been Executive Vice President of Originations at Element Financial Corporation. Prior to joining Element Financial, Mr. Hudson was the President of Hathway Financial, a financial services company that specialized in small to mid-sized commercial credits in the transportation, construction and industrial equipment markets. Before founding Hathway Financial in 2003, Mr. Hudson held key roles at Newcourt and CIT Group and was responsible for national vendor programs in the transportation, construction and automotive verticals.

Simultaneously with the appointment of Mr. Stoyan and Mr. Hudson, Josh Arbuckle and Robert Howe have resigned their positions on the Board of Axis. Mr. Arbuckle and Mr. Howe have served on the Board since 2014 and 2015, respectively.  

"We would like to thank Mr. Arbuckle and Mr. Howe for their valuable contributions as members of the Board," said Ilja Troitschanski, President of Axis. "Their strategic leadership in the early stages of our development contributed greatly to what Axis has become," he added.

About Axis Auto Finance

Axis provides non-standard financing options targeting roughly 30% of Canadians (Source: Equifax) that do not qualify for traditional bank-type financing for their used vehicle purchase. Through personalized service and a commitment to building strong, long-lasting relationships with dealer partners, Axis continues to be one of Canada's fastest-growing auto-financing companies.

Further information on the Company can be found at www.axisautofinance.com.

The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Axis Auto Finance Inc.