MATTHEW C.
HAIKEN
Second-generation dealer. Operator. Investor. Host.
“I like dealerships and entrepreneurs more than cars.”Matthew C. Haiken
Matthew C. Haiken is a second-generation car dealer and President & CEO of Prestige Collection Auto Group.
His father, Leonard Haiken, started the family business with a single Volvo dealership in East Hanover, New Jersey in 1980. Matthew grew up inside the dealership, starting in the wash bay and working through sales, F&I, used cars, service and parts before taking over day-to-day operations in 2005.
Today, Matthew operates and invests in dealerships and hosts conversations with dealers, operators and entrepreneurs.
WHY THE CAR BUSINESS EXISTS
Matthew has spent his life around a kind of entrepreneur that rarely gets documented.
They may not write books or raise venture capital. But they built companies by buying land, taking franchise risk, surviving recessions, building teams and showing up again the next morning.
The Car Business exists to put those stories on the record.
THE OPERATOR
Matthew's point of view comes from operating, not observing. He is interested in expense control, working capital, receivables, people, succession, manufacturer relationships, real estate, risk and the moments when an operator has his back against the wall.
“Expense is my competition.”Matthew C. Haiken
THE CONVERSATIONS
How did the business actually get built? Who taught the operator how to think? Where did the money come from? What nearly killed the company? What would they never do again?
The goal is not to produce another interview. It is to preserve the operating knowledge before it disappears.
THE LEGENDS DON'T ALWAYS WANT TO TALK.
We're getting them to talk anyway.