Beyond Blue Sky - A Kerrigan Conversation Featuring Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Automotive Group

BeyondBlueSky@KerriganAdvisors.com (Erin Kerrigan, Rick Hendrick) — Sun, 6 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Beyond Blue Sky – A Kerrigan Conversation, Erin Kerrigan sits down with Rick Hendrick, Chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group, the largest privately held dealership group in the United States, to discuss his 50 years in auto retail and the principles that have shaped one of the industry’s most successful organizations.

The interview takes place in Mr. Hendrick's extraordinary Heritage Center in Charlotte, following Hendrick Automotive Group’s monumental acquisition of Kerrigan Advisors' client Foreign Cars Italia, adding Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bentley, Maserati and Alfa Romeo to the group’s portfolio, along with an additional Porsche franchise. Hendrick shares what attracted him to the ultra-luxury segment, why organic growth and fixed operations remain central to the group’s strategy, and how a people-first culture and commitment to customer service have driven Hendrick Automotive Group’s success.

He also offers his perspective on technology-driven retail models, accelerating industry consolidation, the rising barriers to dealership ownership and the importance of building an organization that can endure for generations.

Featured in this episode:

Rick Hendrick’s 50-year journey in auto retail
Hendrick Automotive Group’s expansion into ultra-luxury
Organic growth, fixed operations and customer retention
Technology, new retail models and industry consolidation
Leadership, culture and building a lasting legacy

Beyond Blue Sky is produced by Kerrigan Advisors, the leading sell-side advisor and thought leader in auto retail. Subscribe for future conversations with the dealers and industry leaders shaping the future of automotive.

About Kerrigan Advisors

Kerrigan Advisors is the leading sell-side advisor and thought partner to auto dealers nationwide. Since its founding in 2014, the firm has led the industry with the sale of over 450 franchises generating more than $11 billion in client proceeds, including three of the largest transactions in auto retail history – the sale of Jim Koons Automotive Companies to Asbury Automotive Group, Leith Automotive to Holman, and Hennessy Automotive Companies to Group 1 Automotive (planned and expected to close in Q4 2026). The firm advises the industry’s leading dealership groups, enhancing value through the lifecycle of growing, operating and, when the time is right, selling their businesses. Led by a team of veteran industry experts with backgrounds in investment banking, private equity, accounting, finance and real estate, Kerrigan Advisors is the only firm in auto retail exclusively dedicated to sell-side advisory, providing its clients with the assurance of a conflict-free approach.

Kerrigan Advisors monitors conditions in the buy/sell market and publishes an in-depth analysis each quarter in The Blue Sky Report®, which includes Kerrigan Advisors’ signature blue sky charts, multiples and analysis for each franchise in the luxury and non-luxury segments. To download a preview of the report, click here. The firm also releases The Kerrigan Index™ composed of the seven publicly traded auto retail companies with operations focused on the US market. The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index is designed to track dealership valuation trends, while also providing key insights into factors influencing auto retail. To read the 2025 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, click here. To read the 2026 Kerrigan OEM Survey, click here. Kerrigan Advisors is also the co-author of NADA’s Guide to Buying and Selling a Dealership. Additionally, Kerrigan Advisors publishes a podcast, Beyond Blue Sky – A Kerrigan Conversation, where Kerrigan Advisors’ clients and industry leaders share the mindset, strategy and personal stories behind a once-in-a-generation transaction.

Beyond Blue Sky - A Kerrigan Conversation with Carey Hamilton, Beardmore Auto Group

BeyondBlueSky@KerriganAdvisors.com (Erin Kerrigan, Carey Hamilton) — Mon, 8 Jun 2026 03:07:13 +0000

In this episode of Beyond Blue Sky — A Kerrigan Conversation, Erin Kerrigan sits down with Carey (Beardmore) Hamilton, fourth-generation dealer principal of Beardmore Auto Group and one of the first female General Motors dealers in the United States.

Founded in 1919 by Maurice "Moe" Beardmore, the Beardmore Auto Group operated across Kansas and Nebraska for over a century — including 60 years serving the Omaha market. In 2026, Carey and her husband Brian hired Kerrigan Advisors to sell Beardmore Subaru, Chevrolet and Hyundai in Bellevue, Nebraska to Morrie's Automotive Group, the 74th largest dealership group in the country and a Minnesota-based operator now entering the Nebraska market for the first time.

Carey opens up about what it means to steward a 100-year family legacy, the personal and strategic factors that led to their decision to sell, and her candid perspective on the forces reshaping auto retail — from accelerating consolidation and the rise of AI to the growing scale required to compete in major metro markets.

In this episode:

A century of family history in the car business
What led a fourth-generation dealer to sell
The buy/sell process and working with Kerrigan Advisors
Industry consolidation and what it means for family dealers
AI, technology and the future of auto retail

Beyond Blue Sky is produced by Kerrigan Advisors, the leading sell-side advisor and thought leader in auto retail. Subscribe for more conversations with the dealers and industry leaders shaping the future of automotive at www.kerriganadvisors.com.