Copart Announces Hiring of New Chief Financial Officer and Chief Legal Officer

Copart, inc. (NASDAQ: CPRT) announced the addition of two new members to its leadership team today: Chief Financial Officer Leah Stearns and Chief Legal Officer Paul Kirkpatrick.

Leah Stearns, Chief Financial Officer
Leah will lead Copart's finance and accounting functions to help enable the company's continuing profitable growth. She is a seasoned Fortune 500 executive, serving most recently as chief financial officer of CBRE, a global leader in commercial real estate services and investments, and previously in financial and operational leadership roles at American Tower. She holds an MBA from Boston College's Carroll School of Management and a bachelor's degree in finance from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University.

Paul Kirkpatrick, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
Paul will lead Copart's legal department and help guide the company in areas of corporate law, transactions, commercial contracts, real estate, compliance, litigation, and government affairs. Paul has extensive experience as a general counsel and chief legal officer, most recently at BayoTech Hydrogen, Omnitracs (including through its recent acquisition by Solera Global Holdings), and a decade at Commercial Metals Company. Kirkpatrick holds a law degree from the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University and a bachelor's degree in History from Baylor University.

Paul succeeds Gregory DePasquale, who recently announced his intentions to retire as Chief Legal Officer and Secretary after nearly 25 years with the Company.

Jeff Liaw, Copart Co-Chief Executive Officer: "Greg has been an instrumental contributor to Copart's growth and prosperity for a substantial portion of our history – during his tenure, our market capitalization has grown over 100-fold. From our transformation to a purely online auction, to expanding our auction and real estate footprint across the globe, to our entry into new business lines and markets, Greg has been a trusted strategic counselor and invaluable colleague. We wish him all the best in his well-earned retirement."

Both new executives will begin their duties with Copart on Dec. 5.