Chairman

Pohanka Automotive group

Geoffrey Pohanka is the Chairman of the Pohanka Automotive Group, which was founded by his grandfather, Frank Pohanka, in downtown Washington, DC, in 1919.  The Group now consists of 21 automobile dealerships representing 11 brands, located in Maryland, Virginia and Texas.

As the third generation in the business, Geoffrey started working during the summer at his father’s dealership at the age of 13.  After graduating from Colgate University in 1980, he joined the company full-time and became a dealer in 1987. 

Geoffrey is very involved in his industry and the area community. He has served as past Chairman of the Washington Area New Auto Dealers Association (WANADA) and on the board of the National Institute for Service Excellence (ASE). He currently is a member of several organizations, including the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) where he served as its 2023 Chairman, along with the Prince George’s County Business Roundtable and the Andrews Business and Community Alliance.

Geoffrey is a recipient of the American International Automobile Dealer’s Association’s Sports Illustrated All-Star Dealer Award for professional excellence and community leadership, Time magazine’s Auto Dealer of the Year Award, The Community Foundation of Prince George’s County Vision Award, the Collective Empowerment Group’s Small Business Award, the Boy Scouts of America Good Scouting Award and the Northwood University Dealer Education Award. He is currently an Honorary Commander and Ambassador for Joint Base Andrews and is a  former U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command Civic leader.

He chairs the Pohanka Family Foundation which supports many community causes, including education, medical research and the arts. His wife, Anne Kline, is a member of the board of the Washington National Opera, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, The Metropolitan Opera and Lehigh University.

Geoffrey is the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Saint James School in Hagerstown, Maryland, where he is an alumnus. He is the lead donor for the school’s Pohanka Fine Arts Building, Turner Athletic Center and the Dunnan Dormitory.