Cyndie Farrow
Cyndie Farrow joins Don Graff Automotive specializing in growing your dealership bottom line.
For over 30 years s supported the growth of BMW of North America by helping people learn, developing talent pools, improving systems and information flow, identifying and realizing cost savings, and building more effective, efficient organizations. Cyndie will lead Don Graff Automotive Performance Improvement team as Senior Advisor to Executive team and Dealer Operations Expert.
Cyndie has excelled in a broad range of management positions, starting with Information Systems where she researched and developed application systems for Finance, Dealers, after sales, and International Enterprise Planning. She successfully launched systems for 350 dealers, improved efficiencies for a $50 million Parts operation, and realized over 40% overhead cost savings by identifying synergies between domestic and international application systems.
As the University Manager for BMW of North America, Cyndie applied her business and systems background to lead and manage all aspects of dealer operations training and development, for 12,000 employees. Her responsibilities included Sales, after sales, Product, High Potential/Talent and Management training as well as product launch events and recognition/incentives for BMW dealership personnel. She was accountable to BMW headquarters and dealerships for a $28MM budget. While at the helm of the University Cyndie's team grew from 3 to 42 staff members managing programs for over 20,000 BMW Dealer employees.
To help strengthen the BMW’s headquarters and field organizations, she evaluated and implemented a leadership and management training curriculum that expanded management competencies and improved organizational effectiveness. Cyndie implemented a facilitator certification program, improving the quality and consistency of training delivery while reducing training costs by involving Canadian and Latin American subsidiaries in the process. Cyndie is also an accomplished facilitator herself, having delivered brand initiatives, management and leadership programs for over 5,000 students.
In 2003, Cyndie was honored as winner of the Tribute to Women in Industry Award for outstanding performance in leadership and exceptional talent in organization development and management.
Hugh Brennan - Director of Process Improvement
Hugh Brennan brings an exceptional record of thirty years automobile industry experience. Combining extensive line management responsibility in the retail industry with regional and national management experience in the manufacturer segment, Mr. Brennan possesses a unique perspective on the problems confronting the 21st century automotive retailer.
As a regional and district sales manager for major European importers, Mr. Brennan gained experience of a broad range of dealer operations across a broad slice of American retail. In a leadership role with national responsibility in advertising and marketing, Mr. Brennan was exposed to the formulation of product message from vehicle conception and design through national, major market, dealer group and retailer message targeting and delivery.
Functioning as GSM, new car, used car and F&I manager with decades of hands on experience, Mr. Brennan has "walked the walk", and has deep feeling for the face to face customer experience and the issues confronting salespeople, managers and BDC personnel.
With informed knowledge of the evolving technological issues and deep experience of the ongoing retail challenges, Hugh Brennan represents the Don Graff approach to today's automotive marketing environment: cutting edge, evidence based and results oriented.
John Cornell - Media Director
John brings the DGA team over 30 years of experience as a writer and producer of film, video, and multimedia programming. He is a graduate of Rutgers University, where he studied Communications. John’s automotive background includes work on the staff of the marketing communications department of Mercedes-Benz of North America, where he was part of the launch team for the American introductions of the 190 and the first E-Class models. John also oversaw marketing communications projects within the Johnson & Johnson companies. John possesses retail automotive experience as well, having sold the Audi and Porsche brands. While at Princeton Audi, his internet sales department was responsible for 37% of total sales.