Randy Cohen
Cohen Partners, US
Chicago,IL
Summary
Auto industry marketing, sales, and operations professional leveraging nearly two decades of experience working at a managerial/director level, supervising multiple dealerships/companies, and managing a range of employees with annual operating budgets exceeding 24 million. EXPERT LEVEL IN Marketing/Advertising, Sales, Sales Management, Dealership Operations, Customer Service CSI Performance, Client Acquisition Strategies, Inventory Management, Social Media, Digital Marketing, Talent Development, Incentive Structures, Strategic Planning, Lean Management, Fixed Operations, EV Certified.
Work History
Managing Partner
3 Years 5 Months- Randy Cohen, managing partner of Cohen Partners US, has over 30 years of experience in the automotive retail space, in addition to many other automotive sectors, including auto recycling, used parts, and service centers. We help dealerships with evaluations, strategic planning, and implementation. We also identify challenges and roadblocks and compare a dealership's performance to similar competitors to ensure that we keep you at the front of the race. We pride ourselves on the expert guidance of our clients by guaranteeing their businesses are running at maximum efficiency. From consulting with all facets of back-end operations to driving in new customers with customized lead programs, Cohen Partners has an experienced team to deliver results.
- Inventory Management, new and used
- F&I
- Compliance
- BDC
- Employee recruitment and training
- Sales training
- Advertising and marketing
- In-house lead-generation programs
- 3rd-party product management
- Lot Management
- Reputation Management.
Director of Dealership Operations • General Manager
4 Years- Initially recruited by World Hyundai (within the World Automotive Group) to serve as general manager of a well-performing dealership with the challenge of bringing it to peak performance. Implemented strategic changes within the first 45 days, resulting in a leap to one of the top two dealers in the district based on sales and CSI scores. Due to exemplary performance, promoted to Director of Dealership Operations 4 months later, responsible for ensuring store profitability.
- Performance and related customer service levels are achieved over fixed and variable operations at both World Hyundai and World KIA. Responsibility with the owner for all day-to-day decision-making, ensuring stores react quickly to the market and customers. Development and execution of the store's strategic plan; forecasted results and present performance metrics to ownership.
- Worked with HR directors to hire, train, coach, and motivate staff, providing direction and support to managers, sales consultants, F&I professionals, and fixed operations associates.
- Oversaw management styles to ensure the team was enthusiastic, productive, and accountable. Lead by example to ensure company core values were maintained.
- Created and maintained good working relationships with lending institutions and vendors.
- Daily monitoring of all departments to maintain excellent CSI scores through ongoing engagement and communication. Applied valuable lesson to every aspect of daily management learned from current owner, “Inspect what you expect.” EV transition: Hyundai/Kia EV emerging market certification. Educating customers on new vehicles being offered from manufacturing along with continuous updates on federal and state EV purchasing incentives.
General Manager
6 Years- Midway Dodge/Ram was seeking a change in strategy due to slumping sales and low CSI scores. Onboarded as Director of Dealership Operations, charged with assembling a new team of core managers, boosting morale, and handling day-to-day operations of the entire dealership (sales, service, and parts).
- Implemented a novel CRM system to better manage the customer database for all facets of the dealership.
- Constructed the internet sales/digital department and was awarded Chrysler’s Digital Excellence Award, one of the first in the Illinois market.
- Built a robust social media presence, acquiring an average 4.8-star rating (out of 5) on all social media sites with roughly 365 5-star reviews for the dealership.
- Meticulously controlled a proper mix of new and pre-owned inventory, keeping supply below 90 days, which was accomplished via the use of internal turnover rate and external market analyses in conjunction with strategic negotiation with factory representatives on a monthly basis. Developed and maintained an in-house financing program for subprime buyers. Increased units sold from 60 per month to consistently over 100 units, with a mix of 60 percent pre-driven and 40 percent new, per the owner's objectives.
Director of Sales, Marketing & Advertising Director
1 Year- After successfully building Robbins Auto Salvage into one of the largest salvage yards in Chicago, I transitioned to a role 100 percent focused on marketing and advertising sales with Again Auto Recyclers, the largest self-serve automobile recycling facility in the greater Chicago area. Spearheaded sales and marketing programs and ramped up the sales department to roughly $1.9M in the first 12 months of operations.
- Established a new customer attendance record—106,000 in the first 12 months.
- Solely responsible for online/traditional advertising strategies and budgets over the first year.
General Manager
5 Years- Recruited by Chicago’s largest-volume, full-service auto salvage facility to run firm-wide operations over 2 strategic locations.
- Increased sales from $3.4M to $5.1M over a 5-year period via the successful implementation of innovative sales/marketing strategies.
- Implemented efficiency programs designed to increase profits while minimizing costs by way of streamlined operating procedures across an employee base of 74.
Founder and Managing Partner
- A full-service advertising and marketing agency with a statewide and national reach, the business's focus spanned a multitude of industries with a focus on the automotive industry. Spearheaded a range of custom, niche campaigns and sponsorship programs, providing clients maximum exposure and highly sought-after commercial positions. Successfully established a customer media division that created and operated over ten custom magazines, radio, and television shows. Increased billings (year on year) by an average of 26% over a 10-year period. Successfully built the agency from start-up to annual revenue of 8 million within ten years of operation, at which time the business was sold to the current management structure.
Education
B.A. - Communications/Advertising
Skills
Familiar with many automotive industry standard software
including but not limited to DealerTrack
VinSolutions
Dealer.com
Xtime
and ASR Pro. Reynolds & Reynolds and Axcessa
Hollander
and YardSmart Car-Part are familiar with most DMS and CRM industry programs.
Budget planning
Financial leadership
Employee coaching
Relationship and team building
Business development expertise
Social media strategy
Employee motivation and performance
Cost reduction
Sales growth
Regulatory compliance
Marketing and advertising
Certification
- Auto Recycling Certification - Automotive Recycling University - 2011 - 2025
- Automotive Fixed Operations Certification – NCM Associates - 2019, 2024, 2025
- EV Automotive Certification - Delft University of Technology - 2021, 2023, 2025
- Lean Dealership Certification, Sigma 6, ASC University - 2023, 2025
- Google Digital Marketing and Data Analytics Certificate - Coursera 2025
- Reasonable Suspicions Certification—CTS 2025
- Meta Certification in Facebook Marketplace and YouTube—Skillup 2025
- Google Analytics GA4 Certification