Shift Announces Upcoming CEO Transition

Current President Jeff Clementz Appointed CEO and Member of the Board of Directors Effective September 1

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shift Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: SFT) and its Board of Directors announced today that Co-Founder and CEO George Arison will be stepping down as CEO effective September 1, 2022, and will be succeeded by the President of Shift, Jeff Clementz. Mr. Arison will continue in his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Arison started Shift in 2013. Since then, Shift has served over 100,000 customers and generated approximately $2 billion in cumulative revenue. In 2020, Arison became by all accounts the first ever openly gay founder-CEO to take an American company public. Since then, Shift has met or exceeded 27 of the 29 guidance metrics it has provided as a public company.

“Building your own company is an incredible journey, especially for a kid born in the USSR, where private enterprise was illegal. I am so grateful to my co-founders, investors, and team members who believed in our vision and gave it their all to bring it to fruition, and especially to my husband and children, for sharing me with Shift, which is like my first born child,” said Arison.

“Over the years, as a Board, we’ve had many conversations about what Shift needed in its next CEO,” continued Arison. “To that end, we recruited Jeff Clementz, a strong leader with deep experience in technology and retail, as our President. Jeff has played an instrumental role in driving the new business focus areas we announced today, as well as our M&A with Fair and CarLotz. He is extremely well positioned to succeed as CEO. The board is promoting Jeff with full confidence in his abilities to lead Shift to a great, profitable future.”

Of his transition, Arison said, “this is the right move at this stage in my life, and I am excited that we have the right leader at the helm, whose success I will support in every way I can.”

Jeff Clementz, current President and incoming CEO of Shift said, “I’m honored to be taking on the role of CEO during this pivotal time for Shift. I joined Shift because I believe that we are building the most customer centric car-buying and selling experience with outstanding technology, operations, and a cost-conscious retail mindset. It is an exciting time to be leading our fantastic team as we continue to execute on this vision to disrupt the used auto retail industry and provide customers with a simple, seamless way to buy and sell used cars.”