DALLAS, TX – The CAR Group, a prominent privately held automotive dealership network, has placed Kandi Gongora as their new Chief Human Resources Officer. Managing Partner, Ayla Maloney and Recruiting Director, Kristen Perez led and placed the vital HR search.
“It’s been an honor to partner with Taylor Conant and his team on the search for their CHRO. Kandi Gongora is an outstanding fit for this role—at this time, with this team. She brings a business-first mindset, deep HR expertise, and a transformational background spanning multiple industries, including automotive. Her skill set is perfectly suited to help bring Taylor’s vision for the business to life, while her people-centric approach ensures others are brought along through change. Most impressively, Kandi is a resilient, inspiring, and genuinely exceptional person,” shared Ayla Maloney, Managing Partner at TCG.
As the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Kandi will serve as a key member of the executive leadership team, working in close partnership with the CEO, President, and CFO to elevate and modernize the HR function across the organization. Charged with leading and empowering an HR team, Kandi will be responsible for conducting a comprehensive assessment of the current structure, defining roles, and driving a strategic shift from transactional operations to a forward-looking, business-aligned HR model with people development at its core. This includes revamping foundational processes to create a more agile, scalable HR infrastructure that can support the company’s ongoing growth and evolution.
In her highly visible role, Kandi will be tasked with building robust talent management and leadership development frameworks, refining performance management practices, and strengthening talent acquisition strategies to meet future workforce needs and spearheading enhancements to the total rewards program, ensuring competitive and compelling offerings that attract and retain top talent.
“As we look to make the transition from ‘big small company’ to ‘small big company,’ we needed to find a unique Human Resources leader who understood the ins-and-outs of our industry and customer service model, could tie the big picture vision and strategy to specific initiatives and capabilities in HR, and sees the most important function in our business as ‘leadership’, of which HR stands in service and support.
Kandi’s experience in our industry building and scaling an organization with extremely high customer-service and employee experience standards made her stand out. But it was her personal commitment to learning the businesses she’s been involved in, tracking an individual customer transaction through to the HR practices that enable it to happen, that proved she was different. Combined with her growth mindset and ability to get leaders ‘on side’ and willing to see her and her team as a business partner, not an obstacle, I felt totally confident inviting her to join our leadership team.
Working on this search with Ayla and Kristen at TCG was educational and enjoyable. They invested a lot of time up front understanding me and my team and our business to be clear about what kind of leader would be additive in our organization. Their filtering process is transparent and highly-interactive, and they were open and responsive to feedback throughout the search to help further refine our ideal candidate profile. As a CEO, their personalities and approach were a source of support for me and one less thing I had to worry about. I look forward to working with them in the future,” shared Taylor Conant, CEO of The CAR Group.
Kandi Gongora is an accomplished people and transformation leader, bringing decades of experience driving organizational excellence, culture, and growth to her new role as Chief Human Resources Officer at The CAR Group. Known for her visionary approach to aligning people strategy with business transformation, Kandi has led award-winning initiatives spanning enterprise change, leadership development, talent systems, and operational effectiveness at top companies like Goodway Group, Park Place Dealerships, and Coca-Cola. With a proven track record of building high-performance cultures, modernizing people operations, and empowering teams to thrive, she is dedicated to creating environments where employees and organizations can achieve sustainable success together.
About The CAR Group
Headquartered in Dallas, TX, The CAR Group is a nationally recognized, privately owned group of 20 retail automotive dealerships doing business under the Norm Reeves brand with a strong presence in Southern California, Texas, and Florida. Established in 1989, The CAR Group quickly gained attention for its dedication to being “#1” — #1 in volume, #1 in customer satisfaction and #1 in sustainably profitable business operations. Under the visionary leadership of David Conant, who started out as a mechanic and rose through the ranks to eventually lead the organization, the CAR Group has expanded to include top automotive brands like Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Genesis, Ford, Lincoln, Volkswagen, Subaru, and Mazda. With flagship locations like the #1 Honda dealership in Cerritos, CA, the group continues to raise the bar for customer satisfaction, earning multiple accolades like the prestigious President’s Award in 2024.
At the heart of the CAR Group’s continued success is a strong company culture built on integrity, accountability, teamwork, servant’s attitude, continuous improvement and fun. The group not only prioritizes exceptional service for customers but also creates an engaging, rewarding environment for team members. Employees enjoy a robust benefits package that includes medical and financial support, generous discounts, tuition reimbursement, and wellness resources. Deeply invested in community engagement, the CAR Group has donated over $1.8 million through its Employee Charitable Program and encourages team members to participate in local volunteer efforts. With a legacy of excellence and a forward-thinking mindset, the CAR Group continues to redefine the automotive retail experience.
About The Christopher Group
Through its award-winning, customized HR solutions, The Christopher Group (TCG) delivers critical human capital solutions in the area of executive HR search, interim HR leaders, fractional CHROs, and HR advisory and consulting. Since 1998, TCG has served clients across all industries, locations, company sizes, and verticals. Staffed by former HR professionals and highly trained search practitioners who have sat in the job, TCG has been named one of the Fastest-Growing, Best Non-Profit, Diversity, Private Equity, and Top 50 Executive Recruiting Firms by Hunt Scanlon as well as Forbes’ 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022 list of America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms.