DeBoer, the grandson of Lithia’s founder, is the visionary who sees the company’s possibilities and sets the direction for the organization. His curiosity, optimism and relentless enthusiasm evoke former Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally moreso than, say, Jim Lentz, the soft-spoken but fantastically successful former Toyota executive who serves on Lithia’s board.
DeBoer is also Lithia’s closer, which is important for a company that buys about a store a week. At that volume, he has great confidence in what’s a fair price. And his personal attention and infectious good vibes, M&A experts have told me, put sellers at ease and make closings go smoothly. DeBoer boasts a 99.2 percent closing rate once an asset purchase agreement is signed.
“Bryan usually works with the seller up front,” Holzshu said. “And as soon as we get through that piece, then usually I’m taking over from there with our ops team.”
Integration of newly acquired stores is a significant part of the job for Holzshu and the regional presidents who report to him. That means not only getting their management data in line with Lithia’s practices, but winning over the people who might be anxious about a big publicly held company taking over.
“We have everybody gather in the shop — all employees — and then I give them a spiel about growth powered by people, our mission and values, what’s going to happen over the next 45-60 days, and then open it up to Q&A,” he said. “I have 30 minutes, basically, to encourage the team to feel really good about what’s happening next.”
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