Management

DENNIS J. HELFMAN

Senior Legal Counsel

Dennis Helfman has spent over 30 years on the legal side of the automotive industry. He served as the first General Counsel of the BMW Group Companies in North America. He assisted in the creation of BMW Manufacturing Corp. (the South Carolina manufacturing plant), Designworks (the California based design company), BMW Financial Services (the captive finance company), Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA (distributor of Rolls-Royce motorcars) and the factory owned retail stores. As President of BMW Operations (owner and lessor of Gulfstream aircraft operated by the parent company), he negotiated the purchase of corporate aircraft and coordinated administrative filings.

Mr. Helfman was primarily responsible for all legal matters, including state affairs and retail audit for BMW of North America, the distributor of BMW and MINI vehicles. He supervised all legal matters associated with establishing distribution networks for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles, MINI Division and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA. Mr. Helfman worked with outside counsel to maximize state incentives for the manufacturing plant in South Carolina and encouraged an "issue-free" work place. On June 30, 2008, Mr. Helfman retired after 18 years with the BMW Group. Previously, Mr. Helfman held the position of Transportation Counsel for General Motors Corp. and Divisional Counsel for the Cadillac Division of General Motors Corporation (1977-1991).