Joseph C. Herman

The automotive industry lost a significant and well-known leader this week with the passing of Joseph Herman. Joe passed early on the morning of October 29, 2014 following a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer.

Through Joe’s selfless approach to life and desire to help others, he succeeded in positively influencing countless lives over the course of his 40-plus years in the automotive retail industry.

His was a career marked by industry firsts and successes at the highest levels. From the manufacturer side to some of the nation’s largest dealer groups, Joe left an indelible mark on the automotive industry, and, throughout his career, directly managed more than 215 dealerships and thousands of automotive professionals.

Joe began his automotive career in the 1960’s selling cars at Shrewsbury Volkswagen in New Jersey while, at the same time, serving in the U.S. Army Reserve. Over the following decades he held leadership positions at Worldwide Volkswagen, Porsche Audi Eastern, Porsche Audi Manhattan, and Herman Miller Porsche Audi. Additionally, he spearheaded the creation of one of the nation’s first consolidated automotive groups: US Auto Group.

In the early 1990’s, he served as the COO and Executive Vice President for EMCO/United Auto Group, which later became the Penske Automotive Group. He then spent nearly eight years as President and CEO of the Planet-Potamkin Automotive Group before joining Group 1 Automotive as its Senior Vice President of Operations.

In 2010, Joe joined the Kuni Automotive Group as its COO and helped double annual revenue from under $500 million to more than $1 billion. In August of this year, the company elevated him to Executive Vice President and, more recently, announced the creation of a new “best in class” dealership award that will be named “The Joe Herman Challenge Cup.”

Joe also served on and chaired numerous regional and dealer councils for various brands, and sat on OEM advertising and marketing committees. In recent years, he was a frequent speaker, panelist and moderator at industry events.

Other endeavors included acting as Chairman of Herman Advertising, CEO and Founder of Rosetta Advisors LLC, Director with Techvolutions, and serving on the industry advisory board of Mobile Productivity, Inc.



Joe was born on June 9, 1942 in Pittsburgh, PA to Conrad and Longina Herman. He attended the American School in Germany and, following his graduation from Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank, NJ, studied at Duquesne University and Monmouth College. He is survived by his wife Kathryn, son Christopher and daughter Rebecca.

Donations: In lieu of flowers, the Herman family kindly requests donations be made to the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute: http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/foundation/giving-opportunities/knight-cancer.cfm.