Carl’s more than 25 years of experience in wholesale, retail and training positions in the auto industry give him the ideal background to identify with the wide variety of automotive professionals in AFG Training Academy classes.

Carl worked his way up from the bottom, first pulling fenders, changing oil and eventually selling cars at his father’s Chrysler dealership in Atlanta. While a student at Northwood University, Carl worked as a service advisor for dealerships selling Pontiac, Rolls Royce and Maserati automobiles, and he sold cars in a Ford dealership.

Following graduation, with degrees in management and marketing, Carl joined Ford Motor Company as a college trainee, and he rapidly advanced to Metro Zone Manager. This experience in wholesale provides Carl with a deep understanding of the programs and pressures dealers experience in their daily relations with manufactures.

Following that, Carl launched his own training consultancy, The Driver’s Seat. Over the next six years his projects included XL2000, XLA, Standards: Process Improvement, QCM and ATW.

Building on the skills he developed with Ford Motor Company Training, Carl returned to the retail environment at one of the nation’s largest Ford dealerships. During his time there, the dealership produced the largest sales volumes of all dealerships, all brands in the state of Texas, won multiple awards for superior customer satisfaction and was one of the first dealerships to become Blue Oval Certified.

Carl built on that success to become a Dealer/General Manager for a metropolitan Lincoln/Mercury/Mazda franchise in Dallas-Fort Worth, Tex., Metroplex.

No stranger to the spotlight, Carl has shared his knowledge and training skills with thousands of automotive professionals, from one-on-one settings to crowds of hundreds in assembly halls.

Carl lives in the Dallas area with his wife, Kathy, and sons Carson and Kevin.

Automotive Experience

• Dealer/General Manager, Prestige Lincoln-Mercury, Prestige Mazda, Dallas, Tex.
• Operations Manager/Sales Manager, Prestige Ford, Garland Tex.
• Consultant/Trainer/Owner, The Driver’s Seat Dallas, Tex.
• Sales Manager/Trainer, Prestige Ford/Park Cities Ford, Dallas, Tex.
• Zone Manager, Lincoln Mercury Division, Detroit, Mich.

Education

• Northwood University B.B.A. Marketing/Management
• Northwood University A.A. Automotive Marketing