Jonathan Chariff Wins National Recognition for Community Service and Industry Accomplishments at NADA Show
The nomination of Jonathan Chariff, president and CEO of South Motors, a BMW, Honda, Infiniti, MINI and Volkswagen dealership in Miami, Florida, for the 2021 TIME Dealer of the Year award was announced today by TIME.
Chariff is one of a select group of 40 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 104th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show being held virtually February 9-11, 2021. The announcement of this year’s annual award was made by Viktoria Degtar, Global Chief Revenue Officer, TIME, and Doug Timmerman, president of Auto Finance for Ally Financial.
The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. Recipients are among the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service. Chariff, 61, was chosen to represent the Florida Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition – one of only 41 auto dealers nominated for the 52nd annual award from more than 16,000 nationwide.
“Our employees are the heartbeat of the organization,” nominee Chariff said. “To this day, I strive to treat everyone like family and to help them feel comfortable in any situation. I am most proud when I see others reach their full potential and succeed.”
Chariff has always had an innate drive and entrepreneurial spirit. At age 13, he started a food delivery service, which gave him a taste of independence and responsibility. After high school in South Florida, he opted to enter the workforce, joining a local advertising agency.
“This is where I first learned the power of effective communication – and that the needs of the client far surpass any other,” he said. Fortified with his new insights, Chariff launched a company that leased and chartered jets to different tour operators and governments around the world. It was at this time that he met his mentors, Charles Dascal, one of the founders of South Motors, and lawyer Larry Hoffman. They recruited him to work at South Motors, which he joined in 1999.
Chariff was named vice president of business development for the South Motors group after one year at the company and later was put in charge of dealer operations, managing six brands, 11 stores and more than 1,100 team members. Today, he is president and CEO of the company, a position that he has held since 2013.
“The most valuable information I obtained and the most useful knowledge I gained came from the daily grind,” he said. “Nothing can compare to my time spent learning all of the departmental roles in our operations. From used cars to fixed operations to the new car sales process, I am where I am today because of the experience I gained working hard throughout the organization.”
Chariff also rolls up his sleeves to advocate for the industry as a whole. He has held leadership positions at the Florida Automobile Dealers Association, the South Florida Automobile Dealers Association and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Advisory Board.
“The overall objective of my service on these boards is to maintain a competitive, thriving market for both drivers and dealerships by providing practical solutions via policy and legislation, as well as improving safety standards,” he said.
Chariff is equally committed to philanthropy, corporate social responsibility and community engagement in South Florida. His company has sponsored runs/walks for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and numerous cultural events, including South Motors Jazz at Pinecrest Gardens and South Motors Fine Arts Festival at Pinecrest Gardens. The dealership also supports the Miami Book Fair, a renowned literary festival.
“As part of our sponsorship of the Miami Book Fair, I have donated hundreds of books to underprivileged children to ensure that they too can partake in Miami’s yearly reading party,” he said.
Other organizations Chariff supports include: Amigos for Kids (help prevent child abuse and neglect); Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; American Diabetes Association; Susan G. Komen; Feeding America; hurricane relief groups; and many others.
Dealers are nominated by the executives of state and metro dealer associations around the country. The award is sponsored by TIME in association with Ally Financial, and in cooperation with NADA. A panel of faculty members from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan will select one finalist from each of the four NADA regions and one national Dealer of the Year. Three finalists will receive $5,000 for their favorite charities and the winner will receive $10,000 to give to charity.
In its tenth year as exclusive sponsor, Ally will also recognize dealer nominees and their community efforts by contributing $1,000 to each nominee’s 501(c)3 charity of choice. Nominees will be recognized on AllyDealerHeroes.com, which highlights the philanthropic contributions and achievements of TIME Dealer of the Year nominees.
“The TIME Dealer of the Year award celebrates the country’s top dealers who understand that their businesses thrive when they give back and help their communities grow,” Timmerman said. “In short, the award recognizes dealers who do it right in their businesses and in their communities.”
Chariff was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by Ted Smith, president of the Florida Automobile Dealers Association. He and his wife, Jacqueline, have one daughter.
About TIME USA LLC
TIME is a global media brand that reaches a combined audience of more than 100 million around the world, including over 40 million digital visitors each month and 45 million social followers. A trusted destination for reporting and insight, TIME’s mission is to tell the stories that matter most, to lead conversations that change the world and to deepen understanding of the ideas and events that define our time. With unparalleled access to the world’s most influential people, the immeasurable trust of consumers globally, an unrivaled power to convene, TIME is one of the world’s most recognizable media brands with renowned franchises that include the TIME 100 Most Influential People, Person of the Year, Firsts, Best Inventions, World’s Greatest Places and premium events including the TIME 100 Summit and Gala, TIME 100 Health Summit, TIME 100 Next and more.
About Ally Financial Inc.
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial-services company with $185.3 billion in assets as of September 30, 2020. As a customer-centric company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions, we are relentlessly focused on “Doing it Right” and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. We are one of the largest full-service automotive-finance operations in the country and offer a wide range of financial services and insurance products to automotive dealerships and consumers. Our award-winning online bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) offers mortgage lending, personal lending, and a variety of deposit and other banking products, including savings, money-market, and checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Additionally, we offer securities-brokerage and investment-advisory services through Ally Invest. Our robust corporate finance business offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies.
For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures.
About the NADA Show
The annual NADA Show brings together more than 20,000 franchised dealers and their employees, industry leaders, manufacturers and exhibitors to learn about the latest auto industry tools, trends, products and technologies.
