Mike Dorazio is a self-made entrepreneur, husband and father of 5. He has spent the past 35 years advancing his career and building his brand within the Automotive Industry.

He started his Sales journey in Altoona, PA and worked his way up to becoming a Sales Manager, Finance Manager, General Manager and eventually a partner in a small Ford Store.

Mike sold his interest in the Ford store and decided to change his career path. He accepted a position with Westlake Financial. He helped sign and establish accounts with over 400 dealers in Pennsylvania. Eventually becoming the East Coast Division Manager. During his time at Westlake Financial, Mike was able to obtain knowledge and create relationships that helped define the next steps in his career.

In January of 2013, Mike launched "Platinum Pre-Owned LLC". It all started with 2 employees. In 10 short years, Platinum Central Pennsylvania expanded throughout the area, with over 200 employees and 6 locations, 3 of which were franchised Mitsubishi stores.

Mike built upon the values that he learned as a young man during his time in the United States Marine Corps, such as integrity, willingness and determination, then modeled these qualities into his business structure.

In 2020, he started MBishin Media, to establish production and management of all advertising and branding for Platinum Central PA and to also showcase the music that he loves. In the beginning of 2022, he added Freedom Auto Auction in Freedom Township, PA.

Over the past 2 years, the subprime business model that is the core of Platimum's business has encountered extreme challenges and has forced Mike to close 2 Preowned stores and sell 2 Mitsubishi stores.
With his main Preowned store, his most successful Mitsubishi store, his Auto Auction, and his media company and 100 employees remaining, Mike is determined to face the challenges ahead and continue to navigate the ever changing automotive business with optimism, grit, perseverance, and empathy for the people around him.

https://www.facebook.com/mike.dorazio
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-dorazio-8001b246/

#AutomotiveEntrepreneur #BusinessResilience #LeadershipJourney #PlatinumPreOwned #AutoIndustryPioneer

In this episode of Chicks in Charge, we’re excited to have Sleiman Serhan join us. Sleiman leads the Automotive division at Inmar, transitioning from a finance and hedge fund background to automotive leadership. A CFA charterholder with a Masters in Quantitative Management and Business Analytics from Duke Fuqua, he joined Inmar's Automotive team in 2021. Sleiman actively contributes to Inmar Intelligence's Data Science and AI innovation lab, leveraging his expertise to drive advancements in automotive data analytics and artificial intelligence.

#AutomotiveLeadership #DataScienceInnovation #ArtificialIntelligence #CFACharterholder #BusinessAnalytics #QuantitativeManagement #AIinAutomotive #AutomotiveAnalytics #InmarIntelligence #DukeFuqua #FinanceToAutomotive #HedgeFundToAutomotive #InnovationLab #AutomotiveTechnology #InmarAutomotive

In this episode of the Chicks in Charge podcast, we are joined by Darrell Steed, a seasoned innovator and consultant in automotive dealership strategies. With over two decades of experience in the industry, Darrell has seen the challenges dealerships face and founded Smartwolf Consulting to provide transformative, sustainable solutions that break the cycle of repetitive mistakes.

Darrell's journey started in the trenches of automotive sales and management, where he identified gaps in training and process implementation. This led to the creation of Smartwolf Consulting and, later, the Street Smarts initiative—an accessible educational platform designed to help dealerships enhance their operations. From the Web Academy to the Dynamic Genius Group, Darrell's approach empowers dealerships with actionable insights, practical strategies, and a supportive community focused on achieving real, long-term success.

In this episode, Darrell shares his philosophy on dealership operations, how his innovative training programs are changing the game, and his passion for helping dealerships thrive. Tune in to hear from one of the industry’s most forward-thinking leaders and gain valuable insights that could revolutionize your approach to automotive business success!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrell-steed-54a98145
https://www.facebook.com/darrell.steed