For the head of Anderson Automotive Group, the key to success is maintaining a personal connection.
“My goal is to continue to grow the company,” said Michael Anderson, who serves as the president and CEO. “To grow while making sure it continues to feel like a family business.”
Anderson’s grandfather, W.H. “Andy” Anderson, opened the family’s first car dealership in Creedmoor, North Carolina, in 1955. With the recent acquisition of Bradshaw Automotive Group’s assets in the Upstate, Anderson Automotive Group now has expanded to 13 dealerships, 12 brands, and 1,361 associates across North and South Carolina. Last year, AAG sold more than 33,000 vehicles. The company is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.
“A lot of what I do is to create alignment across the company,” Anderson said. “Make sure people understand our culture and how we want to operate.”
For Anderson, that means doing “the right thing” by respecting employees, empowering localized leadership and engaging directly with the communities AAG serves.
“As I was coming up in the company, I pretty quickly figured out I couldn’t do it all on my own,” Anderson said. “And so about seven years ago, I went to work building out a larger leadership team. I found people that were used to running bigger organizations — people that knew how to set up systems, how to communicate and how to do things to scale — but who also understood our family-business culture.”
With systems in place, Anderson can focus on people.
“We hire the right people and develop them,” Anderson said. “We’ve really doubled down on training. Two years ago, we started (a) leadership academy. We bring in professors and outside speakers. It’s a great development opportunity for employees.”
Leadership training focuses on soft skills, such as communication, adaptability and interpersonal communication.Developing employees also builds loyalty and improves retention. In this way, company growth begins from within and expands outward.
“People want to be a part of a company that’s growing,” Anderson said. “Growth creates more opportunities. It keeps you sharp. It keeps you energized. It’s a healthy state to be in.”
AAG’s acquisition of the Bradshaw Automotive group started with a love of the Upstate — Anderson’s mother grew up in Greenville — and an abiding respect for the Bradshaw family.
“The Bradshaw legacy is huge here in Greenville,” Anderson said. “Bradshaw Automotive is a great company. They performed well. They were really involved in the community. They really cared about their people. So, it just made it easier to pick up where the Bradshaws left off and build upon their successes.”
That means, among other things, retaining Bradshaw staff.
“Many of them have been there for 30 or 40 years,” Anderson said. “That’s irreplaceable. We can hit the ground running.”
Like his grandfather and father before him, Michael Anderson is committed to community engagement. Through their companywide Drive for a Difference initiative, each of the 13 dealerships strives to raise $5,000 per month for three months. The money goes directly to local charities. AAG historically supports causes focused on women, children and mental health.
“My grandfather was a small-town Chevrolet dealer,” Anderson said. “He used to say to me, ‘Even if I’m the last man standing in this building, we’re going to do things the right way.’ He was passionate about doing things the right way, and so am I.”
