Pub. 2 2014 Issue 4

12 San Diego Dealer After the bell rang, I stayed after class to talk to him further. I asked him if I could contact him after I graduated and he gave me his card. I remember floating out of that classroom on cloud nine. When I spoke to him on the phone a few weeks later, he offered to give me a one- hour tour of all his dealerships. He ended up driving me around in his Jaguar to all his dealerships then took me to lunch. One hour turned into three, and during that time, he offered me an opportunity to join their team in the sales department. I told him the offer sounded interesting, but I’d really want to be a general manager at some point in time. What?! Really??..... So I had this super successful man in the auto industry spending all this time with me; I was just a 22-year-old kid, a week out of college, telling Steve Knappenberger I wanted to be general manager?? I vividly remember the pit forming in my stomach. Did I really just say that to him? He looked at me and said, “David, I’d love to help you achieve your goals.”My jaw hit the table. I went home that afternoon, quit the Real Estate training program I was supposed to start the next day, and began my career with Steve’s team at Scotts- dale Lexus on July 1, 1993. Do you have family members in the auto industry? My brother is the sales director for Longo Lexus in Los Angeles, the #1 volume Lexus dealership in the Western U.S. and is part of the Penske Motor Group organization. My dad recently came out of retirement to take a position with BMW North Scottsdale as a service drive greeter which is part of the Penske Automotive Group. As you can see, work- ing for a Penske related business runs in the family. Describe your education background. What did you study in col- lege? Have you always lived in California? I have a Bachelor’s degree in business management and a minor in finance from Arizona State University. I’m originally from Boston, and multiple generations of my family are from there too. I then lived 18 years in Arizona and have now been in Southern California for 15 years. Are there any specific individuals that had a major impact on your career? There are countless team members over my 21 years in the automo- tive business that have helped me develop as a better dealer and a better person, and there are two specific individuals that have had a major impact on my career. Someone I mentioned earlier, Steve Knap- penberger, who inspired me to get into the car business. The second individual would be Roger Penske of Penske Automotive Group. He has been very influential over the second portion of my career, and has given me many opportunities in his company to be successful. What’s the most rewarding part of your career? That one’s really easy. Growing and developing talent, and then seeing those people become leaders in our industry. Over 21 years, I’ve seen many examples and I feel very fortunate to have been a part of their rise to success. What do you think makes NCDA membership invaluable? Being able to make a positive impact in our community through the NCDA to charitable organizations. The NCDA also strives to inform the community on the effect dealerships have on employment and tax revenue which is not always easily recognizable. What keeps you involved in NCDA?What inspired you to serve as a leader in the Association? The opportunity to be involved in a different capacity with my peers in this city and this industry. I was asked to be a leader and I happily volunteered. An Interview with Incoming NCDA Chairman David Wolfson of Lexus San Diego H ow did you come into the car business? I was pre-hired out of college to go into real estate and it was two weeks before I gradu- ated that Steve Knappenberger (a Scottsdale, Arizona multi-franchise car dealer) came to speak in one of my classes. I could have listened to him all day; I found him so inspiring and I really identified with everything he was saying.