General Manager - Santa Monica, CA

GENERAL MANAGER - LUXURY FRANCHISE DEALERSHIP

Turnaround Role with Equity Participation

Santa Monica, United States | Posted on 08/04/2026

Location: Santa Monica, CA

Brand: Luxury Franchise - disclosed after introduction to Platform VP

Compensation: Base + percentage of dealership net + equity participation

READ THIS PART FIRST

This store is underperforming. We are not going to dress that up.

Volume is off pace against the market, the Luxury CSI/SSI has fallen below regional average, fixed absorption is under 60 percent, and management turnover in the last 24 months has cost the store its bench. The facility is good. The market is good. The brand equity is good. The operation is not.

Ownership has stopped trying to solve this with another caretaker GM. They are looking for an operator who has personally taken a broken luxury store and rebuilt it, and they are willing to pay that operator like a partner rather than an employee.

If you are currently running a healthy store and want a lateral move to another healthy store, this is not your opportunity. If you have been waiting for a situation where the upside actually belongs to you, keep reading.

WHAT YOU OWN

• Full P&L authority. Variable, fixed, F&I, and administration. You set the pay plans, you build the org chart, you make the personnel calls.
• Rebuilding the management team. You will inherit some talent worth keeping and some that isn't. You decide which is which in your first 90 days.
• Fixed operations recovery. Technician retention, effective labor rate, hours per RO, and a service drive that has to become the profit engine again.
• Factory relationship. Direct ownership of the [Brand] relationship, including standards compliance, allocation, incentive capture, and the CSI/SSI recovery plan.
• Inventory discipline. Aged units, days supply, acquisition strategy, and reconditioning cycle time.
• Culture. The reason good people left is fixable. Fixing it is the job.

Ownership is not absentee, and it is not going to run the store over your shoulder. You get the authority. You carry the number.

COMPENSATION AND EQUITY

• Base salary: $120,000 base with budget bonus until profitability turnaround is achieved. Competitive for a luxury rooftop in this market and structured to keep you whole while the store recovers. Total all in compensation $360,000+.
• Performance compensation: [X] percent of dealership net profit, with an accelerator above the recovery target so the turnaround pays you disproportionately when it works.
• Equity participation: A defined ownership stake earned over [X] years, tied to performance milestones rather than tenure alone. Structure and vesting are discussed openly in the second conversation, including what happens on a sale of the store.
• Standard package: Health, dental, vision, 401(k) with match, demo, and relocation assistance.

This is the part most GM searches don't offer, so we will be direct about it. Ownership wants the operator who fixes this store to hold real economic interest in the outcome. The specifics are documented, review-able by your own attorney and CPA, and not contingent on a handshake.

WHAT THE FIRST TWELVE MONTHS LOOK LIKE

• New and used volume: from 125 units per month to 150 units per month
• Fixed absorption: from 70 percent to 85 percent or better
• CSI/SSI: from below regional average to at or above regional average
• Gross per unit retailed: from $4100 to $5300
• Management turnover: stabilized bench with internal successors identified

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Five or more years as a GM at a franchise dealership, with at least one documented turnaround you can walk through in detail: what you found, what you changed, what the numbers did, and how long it took.
• Luxury or premium brand experience. The clientele, the factory standards, and the service expectations are different, and this store cannot afford a learning curve on that.
• Real fixed operations depth. GMs who grew up purely on the variable side struggle here. The recovery runs through the service drive.
• A track record of building managers, not just hiring them. The bench is the deliverable.
• Financial fluency. You read a financial statement line by line and know which lines are lying to you.

WHO THIS IS NOT FOR

• Anyone who needs a clean store, a full staff, a cooperative factory rep, and a quiet first quarter. None of those are included.

Element Partners is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. Employment is contingent on background check, MVR, and drug screen.