Pub. 55 2014-2015 Issue 2

14 How did you become a car dealer? Did you always aspire to be part of the automotive industry? My Dad was a dealer so I always en- joyed being around the dealership when I was young. I always worked around the dealership in the summers growing up. I really enjoyed that more than going to school so I couldn’t wait to graduate from college and do it full time. Do you have family members in the auto industry, any children that work with you or have dealerships? I do. My brother Bill is in Austin at our Jaguar Land Rover dealership there andmy son Jimmy is working with me in our Dal- las Land Rover dealership and is currently enrolled in the NADA Dealer Academy. Describe your education background. What did you study? Have you always lived in Texas? I graduated from SMU in 1979 with a degree in Business and started selling Buicks for my Dad the very next day. That’s when my education really began. I not only learned a lot about the car busi- ness in those days but also a lot about the people business. Are there any specific individuals that had a major impact on your career? Without a doubt, my Dad had the big- gest impact on my career. He taught me that there is no substitute for honesty and hard work. He always told me to pay at- tention to the details, treat our employees and customers with respect and never compromise your integrity and you’ll do just fine. What’s the most rewarding part of your career? Working together daily with the great team that we have. Being a family busi- ness, we have quite a few team members who have been with us for over 20 years and even a few for more than 30 years. It’s been fun to watch their careers grow alongside mine. The great team that we have built over the years is probably the thing that I am most proud of. What do you see as the dominant trends for the industry in the next 5-10 years? That’s a tough one. Change is com- ing at us pretty fast. I think that we will continue to see more alternative fuel vehicles come into the market – electric, hybrid, CNG, hydrogen cell and maybe even something we haven’t even heard of yet. Fuel economy and greenhouse gasses will continue to have a big effect on our business. The technology in our vehicles and dealerships will continue to move with lightning speed. What’s new and innovative today will look really outdated in 5-10 years. Unfortunately, I think our industry will see a lot more regulation in the next decade too. That’s one of the areas where the help of TADA will be so invaluable to dealers.