Finbarr O'Neill is an American automobile industry executive. He is currently chairman of APCO Holdings and former CEO of J.D. Power. He also served as the chief executive of

Hyundai Motor America Hyundai Motor America, doing business as Hyundai Motor North America is the operating subsidiary that oversees all operations of Hyundai Motor Company in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Along with Hyundai's USA manufacturing plant in Mont ...

and

Mitsubishi Motors North America Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. is the U.S. operation of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, overseeing sales and research and development functions. The company manufactures and sells Mitsubishi brand cars and sport utility vehicles through a ne ...

Biography

O'Neill was born on a farm in

Cookstown Cookstown (, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth-largest town in the county and had a population of 12,546 in the 2021 census. It, along with Magherafelt and Dungannon, is one of the main towns in the Mid-Ulster ...

in Northern Ireland. He emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 10 years old and grew up in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. He attended St. Nicholas of Tolentine High School, received his B.A. in political science from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and his J.D. from

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. According to Fordham University School of Law's ABA- ...

. He also earned an MBA from

California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

. O'Neill worked as an associate at

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (known as Skadden) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm comprises approximately 1,700 lawyers and is the fourth highest ...

after law school. He then served as senior counsel at Toyota Motor Sales, USA, before joining

Hyundai Motor Company Hyundai Motor Company, often referred to as Hyundai Motors, ( ) and commonly known as Hyundai (), is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, which ...

as general counsel in 1985. He became president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America in 1998 after serving as the company's chief legal officer for 13 years. As president, he instituted a 10-year, 10,000-mile warranty, among the most generous in the industry, and changed the company's lineup and introduced new models such as the

Hyundai Santa Fe The Hyundai Santa Fe () is an automobile nameplate used by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai since 2000, specifically for a series of crossover SUVs. It is named after the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and was introduced for the 2001 model ...

, causing sales to surge 82 percent in its first year and 49 percent in 2000. During his tenure, sales rose from 90,000 in 1998 to more than 360,000 in 2002. He was credited for transforming the company from near extinction to a significant challenger in the market for lower-priced vehicles. In 2003, O'Neill became president and CEO of

before stepping down in 2005 to become CEO of dealership-management software provider Reynolds & Reynolds. He joined J.D. Power in 2008 as senior vice president and general manager of international operations. In November 2008, he became president of J.D. Power. He served as CEO for 10 years and retired in March 2018. O'Neill joined the board and became Chairman of APCO Holdings, LLC in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Finbarr Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Columbia College (New York) alumni Fordham University School of Law alumni American businesspeople American chief executives California State University, Dominguez Hills alumni Hyundai people Mitsubishi Motors people Emigrants from Northern Ireland to the United States American people of Irish descent People from County Tyrone Corporate executives in the automobile industry