Ryan Rohrman became the third-generation leader of his family’s namesake Rohrman Automotive Group in April 2018. After spending about 18 months visiting the group’s then-26 stores monthly, he knew something had to change.
For context: Rohrman realized a couple truths during his travels: He found that the dealerships, even ones on the same roads, often operated in a silo, and that he couldn’t be everywhere at once. “I realized we are missing out on growth, because I can't be everything for everyone,” Rohrman told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D’Arc and Uli De’ Martino.
Between the lines: Rohrman spent the next 18 months or so matching his best people with director roles.
He went from having just one director at the CFO role to 12 and those same 12 are still there today, Rohrman shared.
During that era, he also started using a KPI system centered around a philosophy called the “infinite mindset” that focuses more on progress toward unified goals rather than instant wins.
All the departments have their own KPI systems. “The directors are there to support it
way more than I can be there,” Rohrman said. “I'm still in stores, but I can't do it at the level of consistency that they can.”
OUTSMART THE CAR MARKET IN 5 MINUTES A WEEK
Get insights trusted by 55,000+ car dealers. Free, fast, and built for automotive leaders.
Nuts and bolts: Rohrman and his teams also track performance by looking at key categories. “I love breaking down a dealership into five profit silos,” Rohrman said. “Your parts, your service, your new/used car sales and finance.”
If any of the silos don’t show YoY growth, they tackle it and change it. In 2025, he didn’t love the used car numbers, so they’re fixing it.
“We changed some KPIs, changed some of our methodologies, and what we will and won’t do, and we soft-launched it in December,” Rohrman said.
The changes led to a 25% increase in sales for that month and Rohrman said he’s bullish the success will continue this year.
Legacy matters: Rohrman compared his leadership style with that of his grandfather, company founder Bob Rohrman.
Bob Rohrman was more of a “wheel and hub guy” making him the prime contact point. Ryan Rohrman, who got to work with his grandfather for 15 years, tried it his elder’s way at first before deciding the executive team approach fit him better.
The bottom line: Dealership success can be difficult to replicate from generation to generation. But as Ryan Rohrman’s story shows, sometimes being a leader means making the bold move and deviating from tradition.
A quick word from our partner
OPENLANE is bringing easy, intelligent, wholesale to Las Vegas for NADA 2026.
You already know OPENLANE has the industry’s best inventory selection - but now they’re going bigger.
Meet with the OPENLANE team to talk about their new Predictive Pricing feature, take home a pair of AirPods and be entered to win incredible prizes - like destination vacations, sports tickets and more!
See why dealers once again voted OPENLANE their most preferred digital wholesale marketplace.
