Jimmy Powell knows he has big shoes to fill. At the end of the year, he’ll drop the “assistant” part of his title and replace his mentor, Bob Cawley, as Horne Auto Group’s corporate fixed operations director.

If everything goes as expected, this seamless transition will greatly benefit Horne, an Arizona-based group with 10 dealerships covering 13 brands. It also will be big win for succession planning.

The move has been in the making for a long time. The pair met in 2008 and immediately hit it off while working for another dealership. Powell was a young service adviser who recognized Cawley’s expertise; the experienced veteran saw Powell’s raw potential.

After going their separate ways, they stayed in contact at new jobs and began to develop a friendship.

“He would always take my calls and help me, even though we weren’t working together,” Powell remembers.

It wasn’t a surprise then when Cawley recruited Powell in 2011 to join him at Horne Auto and become the service manager for the company’s Hyundai affiliate. Although it was a pay cut, Powell jumped at the opportunity to work with Cawley.

“I decided that if this was what I wanted to do with my career, I needed to learn from someone who knew what he was doing and cared about the business,” Powell says. “It’s the way that he handles himself, always doing the right thing and taking care of customers.”

Powell’s training is part of Horne’s broader personnel strategy that began to take shape with the launch of a leadership development program several years ago. Cawley spearheads the initiative, teaching management fundamentals and Horne’s policies to specially selected employees deemed to have leadership potential.

Not only did Powell pass the classes with flying colors, he also has proved himself in the field by turning around several troubled service departments.

“He’s our guy and has done a stellar job everywhere we put him,” says Cawley, who had Powell in mind for a bigger role.

Discussions began about five years ago regarding Powell succeeding Cawley.

“He’s ethical, extremely knowledgeable and is well respected by our general managers and other leaders,” Cawley says. “So when we got serious about my successor, we decided to make Jimmy my assistant for two years.”

Powell also has another quality Cawley values: fearlessness.

“I’m amazed how many people are put in management leadership roles who are not capable because they’re scared. They are not willing to hold people accountable or stand up to higher-ups,” Cawley says. “Jimmy was never that way. He wasn’t afraid to question me about why we did things a certain way or even be a little confrontational.”

While Powell he has worked closely with Cawley for several years, Powell’s training intensified in 2021. He began taking on more senior-level responsibilities and decision-making.

“Every Monday, we’d plot out the week, determine which stores I’d visit and identify their key issues,” Powell says.

Armed with file folders and performance data, he would evaluate the operations, report back to Cawley and work with the local GM to put an action plan into place.

The only problem was when Powell tried to do too much himself.

“Once he figured out what needed to be done, he wanted to implement the plan like he was running the business instead of working with the local guys and getting their buy-in,” Cawley says.

Acknowledging the issue, Powell says he had to learn that everyone doesn’t think exactly the way he does and now works harder to share information and incorporate their vision into a joint plan that best meets everyone’s needs. Cawley also has helped Powell to be more patient so he can thoroughly evaluate a situation and make a fact-based decision.

The Horne family wants the fixed operations director to be a corporate consultant for its dealers, according to Cawley. To this end, he says, Powell now is doing a much better job working with store managers to identify problem areas and opportunities, then getting them the necessary resources.

After several COVID-19-related stops and starts, Powell’s training and the transition plan are back on track.

“Last year was difficult,” Cawley acknowledges. “We had a lot of turnover and people who didn’t want to come back to work. As a result, Jimmy had to act as a service manager at times because there was no one else to do the job. He’s very adaptable.”

While the mentorship will continue, especially when it comes to sharing his financial expertise, Cawley says Powell is basically running everything already.

“He has a great future. I have no doubt we made the right choice,” Cawley says.

In fact, Powell already is looking for his own assistant to help manage Horne Auto’s growing business. He also plans to redouble the company’s hiring and training efforts after protocols were relaxed somewhat during the height of the pandemic.

“I want to make sure that we have the proper tools to grow and develop our people,” Powell says, pointing out how much he benefited from Cawley’s tutelage. “I owe so much to him, especially when it comes to understanding analytics and performance indicators.”

As for Cawley, don’t expect a full retirement anytime soon. He plans to remain on retainer to help out with special projects, including his passion: training next-generation managers.