Curriculum Vitae - Gary D. Martin .
History:  Over 3 Decades Management and Leadership
Gary D. Martin joined the LCI (Lebow Company Inc.) team in March 2005.   Gary has enjoyed professional success in the career arenas of commercial and investment banking and automobile sales management and training. In January 1978, Gary launched his commercial banking career with Michigan National Bank, elevating through the ranks to ultimately become Assistant Vice President in the Commercial Loan Division. He also served as a faculty member and instructor for the American Institute of Banking.  Gary then joined National City Bank in 1986, quickly rising to prominence within the bank’s Commercial Lending Group.   Building a $25.5 million loan portfolio in one year, Gary was elevated to the position of Vice President. During this same period, Gary was named to several advisory boards, including the Board of Trustees of the Area Office on Aging of Northwest Ohio, serving also as Treasurer. Gary entered the investment banking industry with Portfolio Financial Group, Inc. (latter merging with USA Financial Group, Inc.) being named Executive Vice President to head mergers & acquisitions activities. 

Accepting the invitation and challenge from an automobile dealer principal, Gary entered the retail automobile industry.  He began at a single-point Dodge dealership to then become part of the management team of Group One Automotive (#4 largest publicly-traded auto dealer group in the USA) and The Suburban Collection (# 1 privately owner auto dealer group in the nation). Gary has received many individual awards and accolades, while also helping earn numerous dealership awards. The Toyota President’s Trophy and the Honda President’s Trophy were among the dealership honors received.

Gary serves as President & CEO of The Journey Group, LLC, a diversified company that provides marketing research, training, organizational change and management development, pre-employment testing and other services. Inspired by the bestseller book, A Journey into the Heroic Environment by Rob Lebow, The Journey Group, LLC embraces and employs the philosophy of Shared Values. Gary is also pleased to serve as Executive Vice President with Rob Lebow’s company LCI (Lebow Company, Inc.). LCI is an organization dedicated to Change Management and is heralded as One Of The Top Change Management Organizations In The World. In August 2005, August 2006 and August 2007 respectively, Leadership Excellence Magazine, a global business publication, named LCI one of the Top Ten Leadership Development Programs in North America amongst independent consulting organizations, training organizations and national coaching groups.

Accomplishments: Gary Martin and The Journey Group, LLC have earned recognition by the Chrysler Minority Dealers Association (CMDA) as a Preferred Consultant. CMDA has 100 automobile dealer members, representing the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands. 

Affiliated with AutoMax Sales Training and Consulting, LLC, Gary has received national acclaim and become one of the most requested and respected automobile sales trainers in the United States.  AutoMax is North America’s largest recruiter and trainer of new automobile sales personnel. Gary has been consistently been ranked among the top 3 trainers in the organization, with numerous Trainer of the Month honors to his credit.

Gary has been recognized with a variety of awards in his career, including the Outstanding Young Men of America Award, while also receiving an award from former State of Arkansas Governor and President of the United States Bill Clinton.

Copyrighted Writings and Materials: Gary is a published writer, with several copyrights registered at the United States Library of Congress. Among those registered is Polished To Perfection-Your Personal Career & Employment Coach, a guide to assist individuals entering the employment market. Gary is also a published award-winning poet.  His book The Journey Back to Becoming Whole is slated for release in Spring 2009.

Education & Family: Gary has attended Eastern Michigan University-USA and The American Institute of Banking-USA. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Almeda College & University-USA in Business Administration and a C.I.T. designation from Clemson University-USA-School of Construction Science & Management. Gary is a single father of one daughter, with both residing in the State of Michigan-USA.

THE JOURNEY GROUP, LLC
P.O. Box 871880
Canton, Michigan 48187 USA
In the U.S. 1.888.629-5550 / Fax 734.629-8931
www.thejourneygroupllc.com
www.lebowco.com