Customer Spotlight
Damon Lester
Nissan of Bowie, Maryland
From advocacy to ownership, Damon Lester’s career has been driven by a passion for creating more opportunities in the automotive industry.
Starting out in public accounting, Lester left that field in 2002 to become Vice President of Operations for the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD), an organization that advocates for greater diversity and inclusion in the automotive industry, emphasizing growing the number of minority-owned auto dealers.
He became President of NAMAD in 2006 and led the organization until retiring from the position in October of 2022. He continues to help guide the association, recently becoming Chairman of the Board. Lester’s tenure at NAMAD immersed him in a legacy of challenges for minority groups trying to break into the industry.
“I really got an understanding not just of the history of the association, but also the history of the plight of dealers — especially minority dealers, as we largely weren’t allowed to become franchised auto dealers until after the Civil Rights movement,” Lester said. “ I learned that in the late 60s and early 70s, dealer development programs like the ones at Ford, GM and Chrysler had to be created to give access and opportunity to minority dealers.”
While progress was made in subsequent decades, Lester had served as President of NAMAD only a couple of years when diversity among dealerships suffered a major setback with the Great Recession of 2008-2009.
“That led to a significant reduction in the growth of minority dealerships — growth that, at that point, was really less than 30 years old,” he said. “And people who had been afforded opportunities would lose them because of the [2009] bankruptcies at GM and Chrysler.”
Minority ownership, which had begun declining even prior to the recession, dropped severely. In 2002 there were 1,264 minority dealers who owned more than 2,100 stores. By 2011, that number was down to just 873 minority-owned dealerships.1 The economic crisis invigorated Lester’s work at NAMAD and he took the organization’s mission to the highest levels of government. In 2009, he testified before Congress on behalf of small dealerships impacted by the termination of franchise agreements and other fallout from manufacturer bankruptcies and bailouts. The same year, Lester and other NAMAD board members met with President Obama and Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett to discuss the urgency of helping minority dealers.
While that meeting did not secure the support package NAMAD wanted, it did set the stage for later legislation giving financial assistance to dealerships shut down in the wake of the bankruptcies.
That effort was just one of many initiatives Lester oversaw to help build back the number of minority dealerships. As the economy rebounded, those initiatives got some wind in their sails. More businesses being made aware of the benefits of diversity also helped move the needle in the right direction.
In the summer of 2023, NAMAD reported a total of 1,476 minority-owned dealership stores in the U.S., including 110 added in 2022 alone.2 While still a small percentage of total franchised dealers, this growth is historic. NAMAD’s work during Lester’s tenure played no small part in reaching that landmark.
With such achievements, it may seem surprising that Lester decided to leave the organization’s presidency, but he felt it was time to write a new chapter in his personal journey.
“Having spent over 20 years helping people get their first opportunities in the industry, I wanted to see if I could do it for myself,” he said.
So, in 2021 he purchased Nissan of Bowie, Maryland. He was a new owner, but far from an industry novice. His experience and knowledge advising aspiring dealers could now be applied to his own business. Achievements came quickly, including being among the select group of nominees for TIME’s 2024 Dealer of the Year award.
Still, Lester is pragmatic about what it takes to succeed in an industry where he isn’t simply competing one-on-one with other single-store owners and megadealers, but also with large investment firms and other groups outside the traditional dealership sector who are buying up rooftops.
“We’re in an environment where scale matters and having the ability to scale fairly quickly matters even more,” said Lester. “So, a single-point owner being around giants is a challenge, particularly for a first-generation, first-time owner versus a multi-generational dealership group. They have shared and consolidated expenses versus having all costs focused under one roof.”
One of Lester’s strategies to keep his business strong amid that competition is to grow. He plans to purchase four more stores over the next several years. He sees expansion as a necessity, but he’s approaching it cautiously.
“I have no choice but to grow, but I also have to focus on the store that I have, and run it right, in order for expansion to take place,” he said. “This store has to be the template for success.”
So far, Nissan of Bowie is serving as a great blueprint in that regard, as the store is the top Nissan dealership in the greater Washington D.C. area.3 But Lester measures success beyond sales figures. He’s deeply involved in the community, with a focus on military veterans and kids.
Every year, he donates an electric Nissan vehicle to a disabled or returning vet in support of the Military Warriors Support Foundation. His work on behalf of children includes sponsoring a Leadership Youth Council started by Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (elected to the Senate in November), as well as giving kids hands-on experience at his dealership. He says the time spent with youth at his workplace is among the most rewarding things he has done.
“We had a couple of techs stay late and train them how to take a tire off, how to check the oil, how to open a hood. These things aren’t taught in school anymore.” Lester said.
“I explained to these young folks that there’s a track if you don’t choose to go to college and decide to become a dealership technician. You’ll not only earn a significant, good living, but you’re now an engineer; an electrical engineer that specializes in auto. And we provide that training for you.”
Lester at a vehicle
donation event
Lester pointed out that supporting people is also at the core of his business transactions. Dealerships, he emphasized, don’t just sell vehicles; they help facilitate an essential for most people’s lives: personal transportation.
“If you’re challenged with credit, you need someone to advocate for you and that’s one of the benefits we provide to customers,” he said. “Dealerships are the best advocates to present a customer’s case to the bank.”
That’s why Lester knows that, despite amazing, beneficial leaps in technology, person-to-person interaction at the dealership will always be needed.
“The models where you just deal with an algorithm — yes or no — only present the opportunity to own to a finite group of people who have excellent credit. What we provide, being in the community and our customers knowing they have a person to talk to, email or text - there’s real value in that.”
- Banks, Cliff. “Damon Lester – Mission Accomplished After 20 Years at NAMAD.” The Banks Report. 11 October 2022.
- Hurley, Kimberly. “The U.S. retail automotive industry added 110 minority-owned stores in 2022, NAMAD data shows.” CBT News. 11 August 2023.
- Based on 11/23 northeast region sales results for #1 Nissan Dealer in the Washington D.C. area.
“Protecting the quarterback”:
Damon Lester on working with Zurich
A relatively new dealership, Nissan of Bowie has only been a Zurich F&I customer since 2022, but in that time, Damon Lester has already seen the benefits of what he calls a “good full-circle relationship.” For him, Zurich’s F&I products and services come with an added value.
“Zurich’s product lineup has a ‘why’ to it,” Lester explained. “These aren’t ‘just because’ offerings to customers. Zurich’s team does an excellent job of training and explaining the ‘why’ to our folks at the dealership: Why this product is important. Zurich has done an amazing job of explaining ‘Here’s why this package works’ in terms of benefits and how it needs to be presented.”
Zurich’s full view of our customers’ financial strength has also impressed Lester.
“Zurich has helped me grow, not just in the day-to-day business of being a dealer, but in the ‘sub-business’ of how I can grow my portfolio, and ways I can increase revenue for both me personally and my store.”
“From a compliance perspective, Zurich ‘protects the quarterback’ — me, their customer,” Lester added. “They give me the opportunity to know where I need to be on defense and offense by providing detailed insights on compliance.”
