General Manager

Swickard Palo Alto II, LLC d/b/a Mercedes-Benz of Palo Alto•Palo Alto, CA

About The Position

Lead a Flagship Luxury Operation | Full P&L Ownership | High-Performance Culture | Executive Impact = Compensation: Guaranteed Base Salary with commissions based off NET profitability The General Manager is fully accountable for the performance, culture, and guest experience of Mercedes-Benz of Palo Alto. You will lead all dealership operations—Sales, F&I, Fixed Operations, and Administration—with a focus on profitability, team development, and an exceptional, hospitality-driven guest experience. This role requires a hands-on, high-standards leader who can operate at scale, develop strong leaders, and deliver consistent results in a luxury environment. Mercedes-Benz of Palo Alto represents one of the most respected luxury brands in the world—serving a discerning, high-expectation guest base in one of the most competitive automotive markets in the country. This is a flagship leadership role for an operator who knows how to blend luxury retail excellence, disciplined execution, and servant leadership. At Swickard Automotive Group, we’re a hospitality company that happens to sell cars. We operate premium automotive brands across the West Coast, Alaska, and Hawaii, and we scale success through clear standards, strong systems, and people-first leadership.

Requirements

7+ years of progressive automotive leadership experience
Prior General Manager or Senior Director-level experience strongly preferred
Proven success leading luxury or high-line dealerships (Mercedes-Benz experience a plus)
Demonstrated track record of profitability, team development, and guest satisfaction
Strong financial acumen with deep understanding of dealership KPIs
Ability to lead through standards, systems, and coaching—not chaos
Executive-level communication skills and professional presence
High integrity with a servant-leader mindset
Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-expectation luxury environment

Nice To Haves

Prior General Manager or Senior Director-level experience strongly preferred
Proven success leading luxury or high-line dealerships (Mercedes-Benz experience a plus)

Responsibilities

Own full P&L accountability for Mercedes-Benz of Palo Alto, driving revenue growth, gross profit, expense discipline, and overall financial performance across all departments.
Lead the guest experience end-to-end, ensuring every interaction reflects Mercedes-Benz brand standards and Swickard’s hospitality-first values, with consistent focus on CSI, NPS, and reputation.
Build, develop, and retain high-performing leadership teams across Sales, F&I, Fixed Operations, and Administration through coaching, accountability, and clear expectations.
Drive operational excellence through systems and standards, ensuring consistent execution of Swickard SOPs, strong cross-department collaboration, and data-driven decision-making using CRM, DMS, and KPI reporting.
Serve as the strategic leader and external face of the dealership, partnering with OEM leadership, corporate teams, and community stakeholders while supporting enterprise initiatives across the Swickard platform.