Retail/Wholesale: GEOFFREY POHANKA

Pohanka is a third-generation auto dealer and head of Pohanka Automotive Group, which has 18 locations in Virginia, Maryland and Texas. The second largest Virginia-based auto dealership, it ranked 34th in Automotive News’ 2021 list of the nation’s top 150 dealership groups, with 24,142 new vehicles sold and $1.64 billion in revenue last year.

Pohanka’s grandfather, Frank S. Pohanka, opened the family’s first dealership in Washington, D.C., in 1919. He sold Chevrolets for a few years before switching to Oldsmobiles. In 1958, Pohanka’s dad, John, took over the family business, where Geoffrey began working summers in 1973.

In October 2021, the National Automobile Dealers Association elected Pohanka as vice chair of its board of directors, putting him on track to serve as chair.

A graduate of Colgate University, Pohanka sits on the board of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Additionally, Pohanka, a climate change skeptic, frequently writes about energy issues for RealClearEnergy and maintains a website, isthereglobalcooling.com. There, Pohanka writes, “I have been watching the issue of climate change now for two decades and have found it is not what many say it is.”