Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: 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, run by Frank’s grandson Geoffrey, has 18 locations in Virginia, Maryland and Texas, and is the third largest Virginia-based auto dealership.

Geoffrey’s children now work in the business, too — marking the dealership’s fourth generation. Automotive News ranked Pohanka Automotive Group at No. 44 on its list of the nation’s top 150 dealerships.

In January, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) elected Pohanka chair of its board of directors. He has been involved with the organization for more than two decades, having served on the board for two terms, most recently as vice chairman. In his first major address as NADA chair in February, Pohanka pushed for greater understanding between dealers and vehicle manufacturers, which have sometimes come to loggerheads as automakers have tried running their own dealerships, leaving franchise dealers out in the cold.

Along with his work with NADA, Pohanka sits on the boards of the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association. He is a graduate of Colgate University.