Navis Auto Partners — Dealer Leadership Playbook

$20B

Est. Annual Cost of
US Dealer Turnover
Industry-Wide · NADA/Cox Auto

The State of the Industry

Your Bays
Are Running.
Are Your Leaders?

"The role of general manager has become exponentially more complex. Modern GMs manage 100+ employees across multiple departments while juggling OEM programs that change weekly, inventory challenges, and ownership expectations."

In 2026, every dealer principal knows the feeling. A seat opens at the wrong time. The wrong hire gets made under pressure. Twelve months later, the damage is real — in gross, in culture, in CSI, and in the cost of running it all back.

The dealerships that win aren't just advertising better. They have the right people in the right seats. And the right people aren't applying. They're running someone else's operation.

64%

Service Managers
Report Being
Understaffed

46%

Dealership-Wide
Turnover
All Departments

3×

Minimum Cost of
A Failed Senior
Hire

Our Story

Built From
Inside The
Industry.

We don't hire generalist recruiters and brief them on your world. Our team has lived it. We've sat in 20 Groups. We understand variable ops and fixed ops. We know the difference between a GSM who can close deals and one who can build a sales culture. We know what a great Service Director does for absorption rate — and what a wrong one costs.

Navis Auto Partners is a retained executive search firm built exclusively for automotive dealer groups, commercial truck dealerships, and heavy equipment operations across North America. We built the relationships before you called. When we reach out to a candidate, they take the call.

🏎️

Decades of Direct Automotive Operations

Not a staffing firm that learned the industry. Operators who built inside it — multi-location management, OEM relations, and the daily pressure of P&L accountability.

🤝

A Network Built Over Years, Not Algorithms

Our candidates take the call because they know us. The best GM in your market isn't on Indeed. They are already employed — and we know who they are.

🎯

91% Retention at 12 Months

More than double the automotive industry average for externally placed senior leaders. We don't just fill the seat. We protect it.

🌎

US & Canada. All Three Sectors.

Franchise automotive, commercial truck, and heavy equipment. Every leadership level from shop floor to dealer principal.

From Boardroom to Shop Floor

The People
Who Move
Your Numbers

We recruit across the full leadership spectrum of your dealership — from the Dealer Principal who sets the vision to the Shop Foreman who executes it on the floor. Every seat matters. Every wrong hire costs you. We understand both.

Strategic Leadership — Senior & Executive

Executive

Dealer Principal

Group Level · Ownership

The operator who sets culture, strategy, and accountability across every rooftop. This hire shapes the identity of your entire organization. Not one we take lightly.

Executive

General Manager

Senior Leadership · Rooftop

The most consequential hire in any dealership. The GM owns the P&L, the culture, the customer experience, and the team. One wrong hire here and you spend the next two years recovering.

Operations

Branch Manager

Senior Leadership · Location

For multi-location groups and commercial dealer networks. Leaders who run their location like an owner but execute like an operator — without constant oversight.

Variable Operations — Front End

Sales

General Sales Manager

Senior · Variable Ops

Front-end gross, inventory turn, desk management, and team development. The GSM is where new vehicle margins are made or destroyed.

Sales

Pre-Owned Sales Manager

Senior · Used Vehicle

Used vehicle profitability, appraisal accuracy, aged inventory management, and digital retailing readiness. The pre-owned department is where margins hide or compound.

Finance

Finance Manager

Senior · F&I

F&I penetration, per-unit gross, VSC and ancillary product performance, and full compliance accountability. High-trust, high-stakes, high-scrutiny.

People

Human Resources Manager

Senior · People & Culture

In a sector running 42% annual turnover, HR leadership is no longer optional. The leader who builds systems to retain people pays for themselves within 90 days.

Fixed Operations — Service, Parts & Shop Floor

Fixed Ops

Fixed Operations Director

Senior · Service + Parts

Service absorption, RO count, effective labor rate, CSI, and parts turn — all live or die with this hire. The rarest and most impactful leader in your building.

Fixed Ops

Service Manager

Senior · Service Drive

The service drive is your dealership's most reliable profit engine. A great Service Manager builds daily effective labor rate, reduces advisor turnover, and runs a team the technicians respect.

Fixed Ops

Parts Manager

Senior · Parts Operations

Inventory control, fill rates, obsolescence management, and wholesale development. The parts manager who runs a tight ship directly protects service profitability.

Fleet

Fleet & Maintenance Manager

Senior · Fleet Operations

For commercial dealerships and fleet-heavy operations. Leaders who understand fleet account management, lifecycle economics, and the institutional client relationship.

Shop Floor

Shop Supervisor / Foreman

Team Lead · Production

The connective tissue between the service desk and the technicians. A strong foreman drives productivity, reduces comebacks, and maintains the quality control that protects your CSI.

Development

Technical Trainer & Instructor

Specialist · Knowledge Transfer

As ADAS complexity, EV platforms, and OEM certification requirements compound, the technical trainer has become mission-critical. The dealerships investing here are building a retention advantage.

Navigating the Talent War

This Isn't a
Hiring Problem.
It's a Growth
Problem.

"The sheer cost of high turnover can cost a dealership hundreds of thousands — in some cases, millions — in lost revenue and incalculable time in recruiting, training, and onboarding. Morale suffers and staff synergy must be rebuilt over and over."

The dealerships that are winning in 2026 haven't solved retention — they've solved selection. They get the right people in the first time. That's what we do.

The Best Leaders Are Already Employed — and Not Looking

The General Manager you need is already running someone else's store. The Fixed Ops Director who could transform your service absorption isn't on LinkedIn. They are heads-down, performing at a high level, and not submitting applications anywhere. They take calls from people they trust. We are those people.

73% of Sales Consultants leave within 12 months

Succession Plans That Never Execute — or Execute Too Late

Most principals begin the succession conversation years too late. The profile needed for a Dealer Principal successor is fundamentally different from the profile needed for a standard GM hire — and most search firms don't understand the distinction. GSMs need to learn fixed ops, OEM relations, and enterprise P&L. Service directors need to understand the front end. This transition requires someone who has navigated it firsthand.

NADA: Leadership development must now be intentional, not assumed

Fixed Ops Is Your Profit Engine — and It's Running Without the Right Driver

Service and parts are where dealer groups build durable, recession-resistant margin. Fixed ops leaders who can drive service absorption, manage technician culture in a post-ADAS world, maintain CSI while growing RO count, and execute on OEM warranty requirements — that combination is extraordinary rare. Finding it requires relationships, not job boards.

64% of service managers report being understaffed — NADA 2026

The EV Transition Is Changing What Leadership Requires

The consultative EV sales model requires a fundamentally different General Sales Manager than the traditional floor. OEM electrification programs are changing the F&I product landscape. Service departments are onboarding high-voltage systems that demand both technical certification and leadership that can manage the cultural shift. Most organizations don't know how to assess for what's coming. We do.

EV adoption + OEM pressure = redefined leadership requirements in 2026

Generalist Firms Are Briefed. We Already Know.

A firm that places accountants will brief their recruiter on what a GSM does. They will not understand why one GSM with a stronger record at a lower-volume store might outperform a candidate from a larger platform. They won't know what a 20 Group looks like or what the NCM benchmark for fixed absorption means. We do not need to be briefed. We come from inside the industry.

Same process used for accounting = applied to your GM search

The Navis Method

Find Your
Perfect Fit.
Faster.

Navis Auto Partners puts you in the driver's seat of your talent acquisition. Our process removes the friction and guesswork of hiring. A structured, repeatable method that eliminates surprises at every stage — from mandate alignment to the first 90 days in role.

The Mandate

Intelligence & Alignment

Before a single name is surfaced, we invest in understanding your operation. Not just the job description — the culture, the gap the wrong hire created, what success looks like at 24 months, and the compensation architecture that will attract the right person. We have run dealership operations. This diagnostic goes far deeper than any briefing call. We are not learning your industry. We already know it.

The Market

Network Activation & Sourcing

We do not post roles. We activate relationships. Our network spans dealer groups, OEM organizations, commercial truck networks, and heavy equipment operations across North America. We know who is performing at a high level, who is ready for a bigger stage, and who the market has overlooked. When we reach out to a candidate, they take the call — because they know us. That access is not something a generalist firm can replicate or purchase.

The Shortlist

Assessment & Delivery — Within 21 Days

Every candidate is evaluated against the success profile before you see their name. We assess leadership track record, cultural alignment, technical depth, and the specific demands of your operating environment. You receive three to five pre-assessed candidates within 21 days — each with our written assessment and direct rationale. You are never handed a stack of resumes. You are handed a considered opinion from people who understand your business.

The Placement

Securing, Protecting & Standing Behind It

We manage the offer process through signed acceptance. Counter-offer scenarios are anticipated before they arise. Transition planning is handled carefully for both the candidate and your organization. We stay active through the first 90 days to protect the placement and support integration. Every retained engagement includes a 12-month placement guarantee. If the placement doesn't hold, we return at no additional cost. We have never had to.

📈

Increase Retention

Our clients enjoy a 91% success rate at 12 months — more than double the automotive industry average for externally placed leaders. We don't just fill the seat. We protect it.

🛡️

Reduced Risk

Mitigate the financial and operational cost of wrong hires through a rigorous selection process built on industry depth — not resume screening. Every name on your shortlist has been assessed, not just sourced.

⏱️

Time & Cost Savings

Qualified shortlist delivered in under 21 days. Total time to accepted offer: typically 21–35 days. Speed built on relationships built over decades — not search volume built overnight.

Partnerships Built on Results

Investing In
Your Growth

Our focus on genuine partnership is what sets us apart. We're invested in your success, not just in making placements. Our commitment to lasting relationships is the reason why dealer groups, commercial truck operations, and equipment dealerships across North America trust Navis Auto Partners to fuel their leadership teams.

Three searches before Navis. None lasted. They had a shortlist in eleven days. That GM has been with us over two years and is now our strongest operator.

Founder

Multi-Location Dealer Group · Mountain West, USA

Most firms would have turned our succession mandate into a standard GM search. Navis understood the difference from the first conversation. That was enough.

Principal

Family-Owned Dealer Group · Ontario, Canada

Our network spans the organizations that define the industry — across automotive retail, commercial truck, and heavy equipment dealerships.

Porsche

Mercedes

Toyota

Ford

Audi

Cadillac

GMC

Volvo

Genesis

Peterbilt

Kenworth

John Deere

Case IH

CAT

Fix Auto

Representative network — not a client endorsement list.

Tailored Solutions

Flexible
Plans.

Every dealership's hiring needs are unique. Whether you need a quick solution for a critical role or a long-term executive advisory partner for your succession plan — Navis has a model built to match your mandate. All plans are backed by our industry-leading placement guarantee.

Contingent
Search

3 Month Guarantee

Payment only on successful placement. Best for mid-management and operational roles where speed is the driver. Full Navis network access without the retained commitment. Ideal for Shop Supervisors, Parts Managers, Service Advisors, and Sales Managers.

Network-first candidate sourcing

Pre-screening and profile review

Success-based fee structure

3-month placement guarantee

Hire With
Purpose.
Build A Better
Future.

"In today's business landscape, the color green isn't just about growth — it's about responsibility."

From boardroom to shop floor, companies are recognizing that sustainability isn't a trend — it's a necessity. This shift in values extends to every decision, including how you choose your recruitment partners.

At Navis Auto Partners, every placement we make funds the planting of 100+ trees through our reforestation partnership — contributing to global programs that restore ecosystems, support local communities, and create environmental impact that outlasts any single hire.

Partner With Us

100+

Trees Planted
Per Placement

🌍

Global Reforestation
Programs

∞

Impact That
Outlasts Any Hire

Start Your Search

Initiate A
Confidential
Mandate.

Fill out the form below and we'll be in touch within one business day. All information is strictly confidential. Required fields marked with *

Dealership Name *

Your Name *

Work Email *

Phone *

Role Needed *

Compensation *

Timeline *

Additional Notes

Search Type

Contingent Retained Executive Advisory Not Sure

All information submitted is strictly confidential. We'll respond within one business day.

Is Your
Leadership
Running At
Full Capacity?

Your Bays
Are Running.
Are Your Leaders?

Built From
Inside The
Industry.

The People
Who Move
Your Numbers

This Isn't a
Hiring Problem.
It's a Growth
Problem.

Find Your
Perfect Fit.
Faster.

Investing In
Your Growth

Flexible
Plans.

Hire With
Purpose.
Build A Better
Future.

Initiate A
Confidential
Mandate.

The Right
Leader Is
Already Out
There.

Is Your Leadership Running At Full Capacity?

Your BaysAre Running.Are Your Leaders?

Built FromInside TheIndustry.

The PeopleWho MoveYour Numbers

This Isn't aHiring Problem.It's a GrowthProblem.

Find YourPerfect Fit.Faster.

Investing InYour Growth

FlexiblePlans.

Hire WithPurpose.Build A BetterFuture.

Initiate AConfidentialMandate.

The RightLeader IsAlready OutThere.

Is Your
Leadership
Running At
Full Capacity?

Your Bays
Are Running.
Are Your Leaders?

Built From
Inside The
Industry.

The People
Who Move
Your Numbers

This Isn't a
Hiring Problem.
It's a Growth
Problem.

Find Your
Perfect Fit.
Faster.

Investing In
Your Growth

Flexible
Plans.

Hire With
Purpose.
Build A Better
Future.

Initiate A
Confidential
Mandate.

The Right
Leader Is
Already Out
There.