EVENTS

Steve Landers currently serves as a member of the advisory board of RLJ-McLarty-Landers Automotive.

In 1989, Mr. Landers purchased the Jeep, GMC and Oldsmobile dealerships in Benton. Within two years, Chrysler awarded Mr. Landers the Chrysler and Dodge franchises. Under his management, the stores flourished, and his Chrysler dealership became the world’s largest for several consecutive years, selling over 10,000 vehicles annually and setting the standard all other Chrysler dealers measured their success against. In addition to the significant sales volume, the Chrysler dealership earned the Gold Level Recognition for customer satisfaction from Chrysler each year. In 1995, Mr. Landers sold his dealerships to publicly traded United Auto Group, the second-largest automotive retailer in the United States.

Recognizing his management excellence, Roger Penske of United Auto Group hired Mr. Landers as President of their South Central Region, where he was responsible for all of UAG’s operations in Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi. Mr. Landers oversaw the acquisition of an additional 21 dealerships in his region for UAG. Under his leadership, the South Central Region became UAG’s most profitable, earning in excess of $40 million annually.

In 2003, Mr. Landers left UAG and reentered the independent dealership business, purchasing a Toyota franchise in Little Rock, Arkansas, with his two sons, Steve Landers, Jr. and Scott Landers. In 2004, Mr. Landers formed McLarty-Landers Automotive with Mack McLarty and joined the company as President. As President of McLarty-Landers, Mr. Landers oversaw the acquisition of the company’s first two stores — Landers Dodge in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Landers-McLarty Ford/Jeep in Bentonville, Arkansas.

In 2012, Mr. Landers retired as president of McLarty-Landers Automotive and became a member of the advisory board. From 2012 to 2014 Landers reunited with his sons to grow and build new and existing family dealerships. In June 2014, Mr. Landers sold his remaining shares in the Steve Landers Toyota and Steve Landers Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealerships to Minnesota based Luther Automotive Group. Today, the dealerships remain under operational control of his son, Scott Landers, while Steve Landers has turned his focus on a variety of new venture opportunities.