Darvish Featured as First Woman to Chair WANADA

Darvish Featured as First Woman to Chair WANADA

Tamara Darvishês first week as WANADA chairman got off to a celebrated start with two feature articles in The Washington Post and a story in Automotive News. One of the Post articles –The Benefits of Breaking with the Status Quo” was in Warren Brownês Car Culture column on Sunday, Dec. 2, followed the next day by –In Male-Dominated Industry, a Women Grabs the Wheel” in the Business section. Harry Stoffer of Automotive News featured Ms. Darvish in an article on November 26, 2007 relative to her becoming WANADAês chief elected leader and her involvement in the Washington autos show (–Dealer exec seeks to upgrade D.C. show, Darvish Will Head Washington Area Auto Association.) Appropriately, Ms. Darvish took the helm of WANADA on its 90th anniversary at the associationês Annual Meeting on Nov 27.

–WANADA, a 225-dealer member group, is a major force in terms of its political power and the nearly $12.25 billion its dealers contribute annually to the regionês economy,” said Brown. And as vice president of DARCARS, the 18th largest dealership chain in the US, with multiple stores selling multiple brands, with annual sales approaching $1 billion, he called Darvish –one of the most powerful women in the nationês auto retail business.”

The second Post article reported Darvishês rise at DARCARS, from –management boot camp” and odd jobs in the body shop and service departments to her current position as a dealer executive for the company. From there, her prominent leadership roles in the Washington Auto Show and its VIP Preview, along with chairing The Bobby Mitchell Classic FBO Leukemia and Lymphoma research, were noted.

Despite gains by women in recent times, it was reported that only 8% of GM dealerships and 7.4% of Ford dealerships are owned by women. However, WANADA CEO Gerard Murphy thinks that electing a female dealer chairman, –acts as an inspiration to the ranks of the up and coming,” The Post reported.