Leadership

Larry Morgan is the Chairman of Morgan Family Ventures, a high growth group of companies spanning multiple industries.

From humble beginnings on a farm in Northeast Missouri, Mr. Morgan worked his way to and through the University of Missouri where he graduated with a BS in Business Administration. After graduating, he served, was honorably discharged from the US Army, and accepted a position with The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company where he flourished until 1972. For the next 18 years Mr. Morgan built a small 7 store tire dealership into a 137 store chain. In 1990 he developed his own tire company, Tires Plus. Within a 10 year period, Mr. Morgan built his business to 603 locations in multiple states. He was inducted as a Member of the Tire Industry Association’s Hall of Fame in 2008. He also served as President of The Tire Industry Association.

In 2000 Mr. Morgan sold his Tires Plus business and began dabbling in the automotive industry with a 50% interest in a dual Honda/Volkswagen dealership. Embracing this industry, Mr. Morgan began building his automotive empire with the purchase of Toyota of Tampa Bay in 2005. To date he has amassed 20 franchised dealerships under the Morgan Auto Group umbrella located from Lake City to Sarasota selling Honda, BMW, Ford, Lincoln, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Lamborghini, Mini, Buick, GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac, KIA, Volkswagen, and Mercedes Benz car lines. In September 2015, a KIA store was added in Columbia, Missouri. Recent acquisitions include Sun Toyota in New Port Richey, FL in February 2016, the Rountree Moore dealerships in June 2016 which include five locations in Lake City, FL, Mercedes Benz of Gainesville in December 2016 and Naples Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram and Mazda in February of 2017. Highly recognized in the automotive industry, Mr. Morgan was named Florida’s 2009 TIME Dealer of the Year by the Florida Automobile Dealers Association. His stores have been separately honored as well for their individual positive performance.

Morgan Family Ventures also owns Morgan Construction Mgmt Services, a building contractor; Beth Ingram & Associates, Inc. and Integrity Therapy Solutions which are large therapy providers; Compark 75, a warehouse and office Commerce Park; Creative Sign Designs, Inc.; and HR Hernando, LLLP, real estate holding entity. Mr. Morgan serves as a member of the Board of Directors of USAmeriBank and is a Board Member of SunTrust Bank of Tampa Bay. He has been honored by the Tampa Bay CEO Magazine as CEO of the Year and 100 Most Influential Business Leaders. In 2004 he was inducted into the Tampa Business Hall of Fame, in 2012 received the Golden Flame of Philanthropy Award and in 2014 won the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Mr. Morgan takes an active part in our community and is past Chairman of the Board of Directors of BayCare Health Systems, Inc. and The Florida Automobile Dealers Association. He is the Past Chairman of the Board for Morton Plant Mease Health Care where he also contributed 5 million dollars to build the new Morgan Heart Hospital. He is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Council on Economic Education, past Chairman of The Valspar Championship, the annual PGA golf tournament played at Innisbrook each year for the benefit of area charities and is a member of the Pasco Economic Development Commission.

Mr. Morgan’s hobbies include golf, travel and philanthropic activities. He has two children, Brett and Lauren and lives in Clearwater Beach.

Brett Morgan has been involved in the automotive industry from his youth when he worked summers as a staff member of Tires Plus.

After receiving a BS in Business Administration at the University of Richmond in 2001 Brett was able to try out a passion working in radio for Clear Channel’s Richmond cluster. As the Executive Producer of “Richmond’s Morning News” at Newsradio 1140 WRVA, Brett became experienced in all facets of broadcast journalism and was able to report and produce segments during the 9/11 disaster and the Beltway Sniper. Under his helm the show won the Virginia Association of Broadcasters “Morning Show of the Year.”

In 2004 he began working in the family’s newly acquired dealerships and after two years in sales at Kuhn Honda/Volkswagen in Tampa transitioned to Toyota of Tampa Bay. At Toyota of Tampa Bay Brett flourished at every level of retail management. During his tenure in Tampa Brett was acknowledged by the Tampa Bay Business Journal as “30 under 30” to watch in the area. In 2009 he took his first General Management position over the group’s struggling Wade Raulerson Buick GMC store (now Gainesville Buick GMC) in Gainesville, FL with great results.  Comparing the store’s previous 15 months to Brett’s first 15 months, net profit experienced a $1.4 million swing into profitability.  In 2010 expenses were cut 6% and gross increased 112% on fewer vehicle sales during the recession. The dealership also received GMC’s Mark of Excellence Award for CSI/Sales for the first time in seven years.  Brett currently serves as CEO for Morgan Auto Group and is part owner of 20 plus dealership franchises in Florida.

Brett went to high school in the Tampa Bay area where he graduated in 1997 from Berkeley Preparatory School. Brett received varsity letters in baseball and football all the while holding the seat of Class Officer three of his four years. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from the University of Richmond in Richmond, VA and also completed the yearlong NADA Dealer Academy program in 2009.

In 2013 Brett founded an internal Social Media division inside of MAG known as “whitehat three60” and received Automotive News “40 under 40” designation at the age of 33. In 2015 Brett served as the President of the Tampa Bay Area New Auto Dealers Association and was also active in the Pinellas County Chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters. Brett is also a part of the Copperheads, the charitable driver of the PGA’s Valspar Championship held at Innisbrook Country Club each year. In 2016 Brett became a board member of the Gasparilla Music Festival, a local non-profit music event held annually at Tampa’s Curtis Hixon waterfront park. Brett resides with his wife Ashlee and daughter Tegan in St. Petersburg, FL. In his free time Brett enjoys playing his guitar and hanging out with his two dogs. He is avid supporter of the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Tampa Bay Rays. In 2013 Morgan founded “Top Off The Trop” an event that drives awareness to the Tampa Bay Rays attendance challenge through a discounted group ticket offer. He is also a fan of London based soccer club Fulham FC owned by Jacksonville based entrepreneur Shahid Kahn (also with automotive industry ties).

Kelly Ross began her career in the auto industry in 1985 as the nighttime receptionist of a Maryland dealership. Within months, she was training sales departments nationally with a nationally recognized automotive consulting corporation.

In 1988, she became an Accounting Supervisor, and then earned her first controller position in 1992 at Langdale Ford in Valdosta, Georgia. Her controller skills took her to AutoNation for 4 years until she was recruited by Morgan Auto Group in 2005.She earned the position of CFO for Morgan Auto Group in 2009 when the company had 6 dealerships and has been an integral part of its growth to 23 dealerships, a construction company, and an insurance company.

Kelly is an active member of many industry and community organizations. She is a current member of the Florida Automotive Dealer Association, National Automotive Dealer Association and is a past member of the South East Toyota Controllers Association. She also volunteers for the Children’s Cancer Center, the Helping Hands Fund and the Charity Polo Classic. Kelly holds leadership roles with these organizations as the Chairman of the Board for The Charity Polo Classic and a Board Member Nominee for the Children’s Cancer Center. She also won the 2012 Children’s Cancer Center Volunteer Award. She was the Chairperson of the 2015 & 2016 Charity Polo Classic and now serves as President of the not for Profit.

Her skills have not gone unnoticed by her peers. Since starting with Morgan Auto Group in 2005, Toyota has recognized her department with 100% financial statement accuracy award. They have also received the same award from Honda since 2006, GM since 2007, and BMW since 2010. She’s earned the 95% financial statement accuracy award for BMW 2009-2010 Industry records show that less than 5 % of the 17,540 franchised dealers nationally are of this distention.

When she is not at work (which is rare!) Kelly spends time with her family, Mother Dottie, Dad Carl and son Dean and her best friend and partner in crime… Andrew. They too are proud of her accomplishments. In addition to being a raving FSU and Washington Redskins fan, Kelly loves to travel. And above all, she enjoys her work and treasures opportunities to encourage her colleagues to be their best!

Bennett is the General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Legal for the Morgan Auto Group. He is responsible for all legal matters and regulatory compliance inside of the organization. Prior to joining Morgan Auto Group, he practiced with Hill Ward Henderson in Tampa and focused primarily on automotive law. As outside counsel, he represented dealerships throughout Florida and the country—including the Morgan Auto Group. He is actively involved in the National Association of Dealer Counsel and the Florida Automobile Dealers Association.

Bob Murray currently services as the  VP of Operations for Morgan Automotive Group, Tampa, FL. Bob has been in the automotive industry since 1989. Bob started his career as a F&I specialist with Pat Ryan and associates traveling across the US helping set up and train dealerships with finance and Insurance revenue opportunities. Bob was immediately hooked and knew this would be his career in selling, servicing, and satisfying customers.

During his 28-year automotive career, Bob has held every dealership variable operation position. He has always performed at a high level in both high volume domestic dealerships and low volume luxury dealerships and while operating these dealerships was able to achieve outstanding ESI and CSI rankings, among the best in the industry. Below you can review Bob’s professional automotive career:

Previously Bob was the Executive General Manager Mercedes-Benz of Tampa January 2011 – Sept 15, 2016.

The dealership’s 2016 national sales ranking through August achieved the following: 6th for New Vehicles, 6th for Pre-Owned and 4th for CPO sales. For the 2015 year, New, Used and CPO vehicle sales ranked in the top 10 in the USA / Southern Region. Bob also received several Top performance awards from Asbury Automotive Group including #1 most profitable dealership for 2012 2013 2014 2015 and as a winner for Gross Profit increase, Fixed Operations Net Profit increase and YOY Total Net Profit. The dealership was awarded the prestigious Mercedes Benz top dealer award, Best of the Best, in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and is tracking as winner as of July 2016.

Before leading MB of Tampa Bay Bob spent time as the Director of Operational Marketing with the Asbury Automotive Group (ABG) managing over $60 million in traditional and online advertising SEO / SEM and Social marketing for 87 dealerships across the USA, as well as overseeing all website CRM and DMS conversions and integrations. Bob assisted in the development and implementation of technology to simplify customer touch points. He also helped develop ways for Asbury Automotive Group’s 87 dealerships to communicate / advertise in the most cost effective method that fits each OEM requirement utilizing DMS/CRM tools while keeping ahead of customer and employee lifestyle needs and wants.

Bob joined Asbury Automotive Group in 2008 as General Manager of Infiniti of Tampa, He was the recipient of many awards during his management roll at Infiniti of Tampa as a top performing dealer for 2008 2009 2010 achieving Infiniti’s highest award given The Circle of Excellence 3 years in a row. Bob was Awarded Best in Class by Infiniti USA during his 20 Group leadership meeting in 2009. Bob also received Asbury’s top performing dealership for YOY net profit increase in 2009.

Bob currently serves on several boards for charities in and around the Tampa Bay community. He is the father of 3 children (Nicholas Connor and Ally) and has been married to his wife Ann since 1994. Bob graduated from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I with a BS degree in Hospitality Management. He has resided in Palm Harbor, FL since 2000.

Tom Moore was born in Williamson, WV, served in the United States Air Force until his honorable discharge in 1977, after which he immediately began a career in the retail automotive industry. After nearly 40 years, Tom has held nearly every position within a dealership from a Sales Consultant to Dealer Principal as well as corporate positions such as Director of Variable Operations with Coggin Automotive Group, which later became the public company Asbury Automotive Group. Over the years Tom has represented 12 OEM brands. Tom’s success can be contributed to his in-depth knowledge of the industry and his uncanny ability to adapt to the ever changing industry that continues to re-innovate itself as more advanced technology is created. Tom currently serves as Senior Vice President for the Morgan Auto Group, overseeing operations for eleven dealerships located from Ocala, FL to Lake City, FL.

Joerg started his career working at a gas station while attending Lincoln Technical Institute for Automotive and Diesel Technology. Upon graduation Joe’s dealership career began and 38 years later it continues as the Vice President of Fixed operations for the Morgan Auto Group to include Service, Parts and Collision center businesses.

Joe has worked in all service department positions and prides himself on training and coaching his team mates to be equally successful in their careers. Joe spends much of his time visiting with students in Automotive technical training facilities promoting their career paths and opportunities.

Joe enjoys his personal time with his wife Sue and his kids, Jake and Anya (a Golden Retriever and Chesapeake Bay Retriever). He is a classic car enthusiast and enjoys fishing, golfing and the outdoors.

As co-owner and managing partner of both Brandon Honda http://www.brandonhonda.com/ and Sun Toyota http://www.suntoyota.com/, I live in Tampa, FL. I’ve spent a lifetime in automotive sales and service and have achieved success just by being extraordinarily dialed in to my customers’ needs. I’ve always tried to live my life in such a way as to be a man of my word and treat others with the utmost respect and integrity.

I grew up in South Jersey but have lived all of my adult life in Florida, working in auto dealerships. I started at the age of 12 washing cars for my father, Joseph B. Marazzi, Sr., before trying my hand at sales at age 17. I moved to Florida in 1987 and began selling cars at Toyota of Clearwater. I joined Larry Morgan and Brett Morgan of Morgan Auto Group when Brandon Honda was acquired in 2011 and before the Sun Toyota acquisition in 2016.

Along my journey in auto dealerships, my teams at Ft. Myers Toyota, John Marazzi Nissan, Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover Fort Myers, Brandon Honda, and Sun Toyota have successfully set many local, regional and national sales, service and customer satisfaction records. Yet, what is most important to me is that so many Floridians have come to know and trust me to deliver an extraordinary buying experience that they can depend on, year after year.

I’m not an “ivory tower” kind of guy—but a down-to-earth, hands-on leader with a clear vision. I have a passion for building strong relationships with my customers by caring about them and providing extraordinary services with transparency and integrity.

There are a lot of things in life that I’m passionate about, such as my family, giving back to the community, helping rescue deserving dogs, the awesome benefits of books and a good education, eating right, and staying fit.

Tanner Boyle is the Chief Information Officer for the Morgan Auto Group. Tanner is a graduate of the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL with a degree in accounting. Fresh out of college Tanner began his automotive career working for the Lockhart Automotive Group in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 2010 Tanner had an opportunity to return to the state of Florida and began working with the Morgan Auto Group as a Senior Accountant. Tanner is an essential teammate who does a great deal of custom benchmarking and reports for the Group. He takes the lead in general financial analysis and dealership budgeting.

In his spare time Tanner is an avid Gator fan and has a burgeoning career as a regional musician. Tanner has played many venues in the Tampa Bay area both solo or with his band “Statler and the Waldorfs.” Tanner has recently relocated to St. Petersburg, FL with his wife Traci and their various furry children.

Timothy Desmond is the Vice President of Human Resources for Morgan Auto Group. As a member of the Executive team, Timothy leads the HR function including compensation and benefits, talent acquisition, inclusion and diversity, corporate culture, community outreach and Federal and State compliance across the Groups more than 19 dealerships in two states. He has 15+ years of experience in Human Resources, with over 10 of those years in the automotive industry.

During his career, Timothy has led Human Resources and Dealership Compliance Programs for several notable automotive groups including Lehman Dealership Enterprises, World Ford, Rick Case and Potamkin Mazda. Prior to that, he managed staffing and recruiting for financial organizations including CoreStates Bank, Citibank, First USA Bank and ING Direct where he was brought in specifically to implement and run the bank’s new US Human Resources function, a critical part of their strategy to establish their presence in the US.

Timothy is a graduate of Florida Southern College with a BA in Communications and Advertising. He is very active in community outreach and corporate citizenship and has created and launched numerous programs including Community in Schools Student Mentoring Program that received recognition from Miami Dade County Schools and the National Community Schools Program.

Jason Hillman was born in Tampa, Florida, He went to work for TECO Ocean Shipping for 13 years before starting his career in the Automotive Business with Morgan Auto Group. Jason’s success can be contributed to his in-depth knowledge of the industry and his uncanny ability to adapt to the ever changing industry that continues to re-innovate itself as more advanced technology is created. Jason currently serves as the Human Resources Director for the Morgan Auto Group, which has 20 locations throughout the State of FL from Naples to Lake City, FL and one in Missouri.