Rick DeSilva Jr. of Liberty Subaru in Emerson, N.J., was named the Time 2021 Dealer of the Year by Time and Ally Financial on Tuesday at the NADA Show.
DeSilva was chosen from a field of 40 nominees. He was recognized in part for charitable work, including his involvement as a member of his local school board during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Doug Timmerman, president of auto finance at Ally, and Viktoria Degtar, global chief revenue officer of Time, announced DeSilva as the winner at a virtual ceremony honoring all nominees. Four were recognized as finalists:
- Christine Alicandro-Karnolt, Marty's GMC-Buick in Kingston, Mass.
- Timothy Crenwelge, Crenwelge Motors in Kerrville, Texas
- Michael Molstead, Mike Molstead Motors in Charles City, Iowa
- Christina Dawkins, former owner of Co's BMW Center in Loveland, Colo. She sold the dealership in December.
DeSilva, as vice president of the Mahwah Board of Education in Mahwah, N.J., has been involved in efforts to get students and staff safely back to schools during the pandemic. He graduated from Mahwah High School in 1993.
Growing up, DeSilva's goal was to model his father's career path and run a dealership. He earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from Clemson University in 1997. After college, he underwent management training with Toyota.
