Retail 2024: GEOFFREY POHANKA

Pohanka’s family has been selling cars since Frank Pohanka opened a Washington, D.C., dealership in 1919. Today, the family’s business, headed by Frank’s grandson Geoffrey, has 20 locations in Virginia, Maryland and Texas, and is the third largest Virginia-based auto dealership. It had revenue of $1.8 billion and more than 1,400 employees in 2023.

Geoffrey’s children now work in the business, too — marking the dealership’s fourth generation. Automotive News ranked Pohanka Automotive Group at No. 36 on its list of the nation’s top 150 dealerships in 2024.

Pohanka was the 2023 chair of the board of directors of National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), ending his term in February. During his term, Pohanka said the Biden White House was moving too fast to encourage Americans to purchase electric vehicles, adding that he held concerns about Chinese manufacturers of electric cars.

Pohanka sits on the board of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank. In February, he and his wife purchased a penthouse condo in Arlington County for $5.95 million, setting a record for Virginia’s priciest condo sale, according to media reports.