President, Serra Automotive Group
Joseph O. (Joe) Serra is the president of Serra Automotive, based in Grand Blanc, MI. Serra Automotive currently owns 34 facilities and 52 franchises throughout the United States. Joe acts in the capacity of president for 22 of those facilities and as a dealer/operator for an additional 10.
Joe became the general manager at Al Serra Chevrolet in 1984 and moved up quickly to become a dealer/operator in 1986. By 1992, he was president of Serra Automotive. In 2000, Joe purchased 100 percent of Serra Automotive. During that time, he was also a member of the founding team for Driver’s Mart Worldwide, Inc. in 1996, and became chief operating officer of Saturn Retail Enterprise in Charlotte, NC, in 1998.
Joe has held various positions in the Flint Auto Dealers Association (where he was president in 1988) and the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association (where he was president in 1995-1996). He served on the Detroit Auto Dealers Association from 2001-2012, where he was the chairman of various committees and a member of the executive committee from 2008-2012. In 2008, he was the co-chairman of the North American International Auto Show, moving up to senior co-chairman in 2009. Joe also spent 12 years as a member of the Albion College Board of Directors and Executive Committee, and he was the Chairman of the Flint and Genesee Chamber of Commerce from 2012-2014.
Throughout his career, Joe has received numerous awards. For 20 years (from 1998-2008), he received the Chevrolet National Top 10 Award from the Chevrolet Motor Division. He has a 14-year run (2001-2014) receiving both the Chevrolet/Buick/GMC/Cadillac Mark of Excellence Award and the GM Dealer of the Year Award. From 2007-2014, he received the Cadillac Master Dealer Award as well. Joe was named to the “50 Visionary Dealers List” by Automotive News in 2009, and he was Michigan’s Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award recipient in 2001. Joe was also proud to be recognized as Flint, Michigan’s Businessman of the Year in 1997.
Joe graduated from Albion College in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and management. He completed a strategic marketing course at the Wharton School (Philadelphia, PA) in 1987.
*All biographical information is only current up to the date of the award.
