Though he hasn't made the Georgia GC compensation survey since 2015, returning this year at No. 7 on the list is George Villasana, SVP, GC and secretary at Duluth-based Asbury Automotive Group. Villasana earned a base salary of $519,231 and nonequity compensation of $381,938 for a total cash payout of $901,169. He also earned stock awards of nearly $525,000.

Villasana joined the automotive retailer in April 2012 after holding the position of SVP and GC at Swisher Hygiene Inc. Prior to joining Swisher, he served as EVP and GC at Pet DRx Corp., which he helped take public and later sold to VCA Antech Inc.

Previously, he served for seven years as senior corporate counsel at AutoNation Inc., the nation's largest automotive retailer, where he focused on M&A, SEC reporting, corporate governance and franchise law matters for the company.

Earlier in his career, Villasana was a corporate attorney with Holland & Knight and Shutts & Bowen in Miami, and prior to that a staff attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C.