Pub. 3 2021-2022 Issue 1

12 Getting to KnowYour CNCDA Chairman, Mark Normandin I’m a car guy. I love cars. I love the muscle cars of the 70s, the small sports cars. Right now, I am driving a Ram truck, which I love — so I bet my sales team will sell it any day. How did you become a car dealer? Did you always aspire to be part of the automotive industry? I am a fifth-generation dealer. Our store’s roots date back to 1875, and I think we’re the fifth oldest dealership in the nation. So, my path was pretty much set — I worked at the dealership pulling weeds and washing cars in the summer during school, and I sold cars through college. That being said, I have a passion for this business. Going into the family business was always a plan for me. My great-great-grandfather, Amable Normandin, started the business two decades before the U.S. auto industry was an industry. He was a blacksmith and sleigh maker from Montreal, and he opened our store originally as a buggy-making shop. In 1906 we expanded into “horseless carriages.” In 1915, we became a franchise for Franklin. We’ve been in San Jose since the beginning and in this location since 1969. Do you have family members in the auto industry? My brother, Paul, is my business partner, and my two sons work here as well. Scott is the used car manager, and Matt is our finance manager. So, we have the fifth and the sixth generations working here now. Matt and Scott both recently graduated from the NADA dealer academy. Describe your educational background. What did you study? I went to St. Mary’s College, and I have a B.S. in business management.