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General Manager
Region Midwest /
Industry Marine, Powersports
Position ID 3216
Our client is seeking a proven, high-impact General Manager to lead a $40M+ marine and powersports dealership operation. This is a true leadership role responsible for bringing structure, accountability, and strategic direction to an already profitable but currently under-optimized operation. This leader will oversee a team of 40+ employees (with approximately 25–30 direct operational staff), including sales, service, parts, and F&I, with full P&L responsibility. The ideal candidate will be a strong, sales-driven executive who has grown through the front-end of the business but possesses full dealership operational understanding. This individual must be equally capable of driving revenue growth, leading people, and instilling disciplined operational processes across a large-scale organization.
General Manager – Marine & Powersports
Our Client:
Our client is a premier, multi-location marine and powersports dealership group headquartered in the Upper Midwest, representing some of the most sought-after OEM brands in the industry such as Yamaha, Honda, Polaris, BRP, Cobalt, Bennington, Chris Craft, ALUMAcraft and more. The organization operates a flagship location generating approximately $40M in total annual revenue, with a strong foundation of profitability and one of the most established fixed operations departments in the region.
This location is part of a larger multi-rooftop organization with centralized support functions including accounting, HR, IT, and marketing—allowing dealership leadership to focus on performance, people, and customer experience rather than administrative burden.
With a reputation for premium brands, operational excellence, and a passionate customer base, the organization is well-positioned for continued growth across both marine and powersports segments.
The Opportunity:
Our client is seeking a proven, high-impact General Manager to lead a $40M+ marine and powersports dealership operation. This is a true leadership role responsible for bringing structure, accountability, and strategic direction to an already profitable but currently under-optimized operation.
The dealership is not a turnaround—it is a strong business with solid fixed operations performance—but requires a seasoned GM to eliminate operational “chaos,” unify departments, and drive scalable growth.
This leader will oversee a team of 40+ employees (with approximately 25–30 direct operational staff), including sales, service, parts, and F&I, with full P&L responsibility. The GM will step into a traditional leadership structure where all department heads report directly into the role.
The ideal candidate will be a strong, sales-driven executive who has grown through the front-end of the business but possesses full dealership operational understanding. This individual must be equally capable of driving revenue growth, leading people, and instilling disciplined operational processes across a large-scale organization.
Benefits:
- Base Salary: Mid Six Figure
- Total Compensation Potential: $225,000 to $300,000+ tied to dealership profitability
- Performance-based incentive plan aligned with overall net profit
- Comprehensive benefits package including healthcare and retirement options
- Relocation assistance available (case-by-case basis)
- Access to centralized corporate support (HR, Marketing, Accounting, IT)
- Professional development including Spader Total Management training
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Lead all dealership operations across sales, service, parts, and F&I
- Establish structure and operational discipline across departments
- Promote department collaboration
- Drive revenue growth with emphasis on sales and F&I performance
- Oversee and develop department managers with KPI accountability
- Recruit, develop, and retain top talent; implement training, coaching, and succession planning to build a sustainable high-performing, customer-obsessed team
- Champion a “First Class Experience” culture, ensuring exceptional customer service, strong CSI, and long-term customer loyalty across showroom, dock, yard, and digital touchpoints
- Manage full dealership P&L and optimize profitability
- Leverage strong fixed operations foundation
- Strengthen OEM relationships
- Build a high-performance culture
- Utilize centralized corporate resources
- Drive long-term strategic initiatives
- Ensure compliance with all marine and powersports industry regulations, environmental and safety standards, and internal dealership policies and procedures
Qualifications:
- General Manager or senior leadership experience in a $30M+ dealership operation
- Strong sales leadership and F&I background/experience
- Comprehensive understanding of dealership operations
- Experience leading teams of 25+ employees
- Strong financial acumen and P&L experience
- Marine experience preferred; powersports or RV will be considered
- Passion for boating/powersports lifestyle
- Spader training preferred or willingness to complete
- Tech-savvy, forward-thinking leadership style
- Strong financial acumen, including experience with budgeting, forecasting, gross margin management, and KPI-driven decision making
- Excellent communication, negotiation, leadership, and relationship-building skills with customers, employees, OEMs, and vendor partners
- Experience with Lightspeed or a comparable dealership management system preferred
