Founder of Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. has left the Dallas-based company that has grown into one of the largest subprime auto lenders of the country.

Departure of Thomas G. Dundon was announced after the market-closed on Thursday. Deutsche Bank analyst described the move as 'little surprising' in its timing.

Thomas was immediately replaced as CEO by Jason Kulas, the company's president and chief financial officer.

The company even stated that it will buy back Dundon's 10 % stake in Santander Consumer, which was worth about $928 million at the close of Thursday's trading. Santander Consumer is owned by Santander Holdings USA, a unit of the Spanish bank, Banco Santander.

Dundon founded the company in 1995 and had been the CEO of the company since 2006. It even served as the chairman of the company since 2013.

The company was made public last year in the largest IPO in North Texas. Dundon will continue to serve on its board of directors as a senior adviser to the firm.

Kulas in response to a question from a Credit Suisse analyst during a conference call following the announcement, said, "To a certain extent, this is part of a natural progression of things. You have an entrepreneur who founds a company and grows that company, and at some point, decides to monetize his interest in the company".

Dundon entrepreneurial background starting from a failed hamburger restaurateur to auto finance czar was profiled by the Wall Street Journal when Santander Consumer went public in January 2014.

Kulas told analysts that Dundon's departure is unrelated to the company's performance and regulatory standing. Santander Consumer was one of several subprime auto lenders to receive subpoenas last year from federal investigators regarding loan underwriting and securitization practices.