Setting the Bar Above the Standard

Rich is the Founder & CEO of WGA, dedicated to building & executing the vision for the future of the group. Prior to William Gabriel Auto, Rich built a wealth of experience in corporate leadership as President & CEO of Commercial Vehicle Group, a leading global supplier of a full range of commercial vehicle cab-related systems, & 28 years at Caterpillar Inc. spanning a variety of global roles: Group President of Construction Industries & Growth Markets (a $20B segment), Vice President of Human Services, Vice President of Asia Pacific Operations, Chairman of Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi, & multiple senior positions in product management, commercial operations, labor relations & legal affairs. While at Caterpillar, Rich managed & had accountability for several large end-to-end businesses, which included closely working with Caterpillar’s extensive global dealer network. During his career, Rich & his family were stationed, at various times, in Hong Kong, India, Japan, & China. Rich earned his B.A. from Western Illinois University, where he was recognized as Alumnus of the Year in 2014, his J.D. from Creighton University, & his LL.M (Tax) from Georgetown University. Rich & his wife, Colleen, have been happily married for 42 years & are the proud parents of eight children & the proud grandparents of sixteen grandchildren. Rich previously served on the board of Allison Transmissions, Inc., ITT, Inc., and USG Corporation.

In more than eight years at Lincoln International, John has garnered a deep understanding of the complexity associated with privately owned business transactions and leverages industry expertise and global relationships to achieve optimal outcomes for his clients. He has executed transactions across multiple industry verticals, including Healthcare, Business Services, Industrials, Energy, Power & Infrastructure, and Consumer, providing strategic options to shareholders and stakeholders. John has significant mergers and acquisitions advisory experience, including U.S. and cross-border sell-side and buy-side transactions, capital raising, restructuring and valuation and opinion services. John earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, a Master's Degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois (graduating Magna Cum Laude), and Bachelor of Arts from Creighton University.

Bobby Ward – President, William Gabriel Automotive Bobby brings 25+ years of automotive dealership management experience in business development, sales, operations, business process optimization, marketing, finance, regulatory compliance, forecasting and budgeting, contract negotiations, vendor management, staff training, and general management. Bobby has a proven track record of performance of driving volume, revenue, and gross to transform struggling dealerships into top performers. He excels at analyzing operational costs and driving efficiency in dollars spent across the store and is especially adept at selecting, training, managing, motivating, and retaining top performers. Bobby’s professional training includes Group 1 Automotive GM training, Service Group Automotive Sales and Finance Management Training, Joe Verde Automotive Sales and Finance Management Training, and Jim Moran Automotive Management Training.

Patrick brings over 10 years of deep experience and expertise in Commercial Strategy and Operations, Marketing, Pricing, and Transformation. He has developed a track record of driving organic revenue growth in underperforming teams and businesses. Most recently Patrick has been leading Commercial Transformation on behalf of a large Private Equity firm. Prior to that Patrick led Sales Operations & Strategy at a global, publicly traded waste management company, building a high-performing team from the ground up and driving substantial revenue growth in perennially struggling Business Units. Patrick also gained valuable experience as a Strategy Consultant, working with numerous clients across a variety of industries to drive market leading revenue growth. Patrick earned a Master of Business Administration from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, a J.D. from the Creighton University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts from the Catholic University of America.