Pub. 1 2018-2019 |Issue 2

13 Dealers of Utah, as the 2019 TIME Dealer of the Year. This award is presented annually at the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention in San Francisco, California. He has also served on the Utah Division of Motor Vehicle Safety Inspection Advisory Council and was involved with The Nature Conservancy of Utah John’s father gave John his first job within the company at a Mercedes Benz dealership when he was only 10. He was asked to sweep up sawdust and put the sawdust in barrels so the oil in the sawdust could be recycled. His dad taught him early that his work in the family business was a reflection of his grandpa’s name, and that he was to make his grandpa proud. Today, his father is the chairman of Ken Garff Enterprises. His brother Matthew is Executive Director of Asset Management. His sister, Jennifer Folkerson, is an executive assistant with the company, and her husband, Rick Folkerson, is Executive Director of Success in Education (a public 501(c)3). All John has ever wanted to do professionally is work in the family business. As a result, he has worked hard to make his grandfather and the rest of his family proud, and he has achieved the following successes: • In 1996, John founded Vehix.com, which is an online automotive sales company which was sold to Comcast in 2008. • In 2002, John became the CEO of Ken Garff Automotive. Today, five other CEOs report to him. • In 2006, John worked with Robert Garff (chairman) and Brett Hopkins (COO) to create what they called a public- private partnership for automotive franchise dealers. The Garff family wanted to keep 100 percent ownership of its Utah businesses. The goal was to expand outside Utah using only new acquisitions. The three men pitched their business plan to three private equity groups, all of whom were willing to go in on the project. They chose just one: the Leucadia National Corporation, under the direction of Ian Cumming, its chairman and CEO. (Leucadia was rebranded in 2018 as Jefferies Financial Group.) Next, the partners started an entity called Garcadia to acquire dealerships. They bought 28 dealerships in California, Iowa, Michigan, and Texas between 2006 and 2018. • In 2012, John was named president of Ken Garff Enterprises. • In 2017, John started Arivo Acceptance, which is an auto lending company for sub-prime customers. • In 2018, Garff bought out of Ken Garff Enterprises. which held a 72-percent stake in the CA, IA, MI, and TX dealerships. It was the first time in the automotive franchise industry that any private company had bought out a public partner. In addition, the deal was one of the biggest acquisitions that had ever been made in automotive dealer arena. John and his company have also been involved in making sure that the company’s employees are taken care of when necessary. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey affected 703 employees in eight stores located in the Houston area. All 703 employees got a week off with pay so they could help family and neighbors. Of his employees, 112 were flood victims. He flew to Houston eight days after the hurricane to personally interview each of the 112 flood victims. Some 77 documented employee claims were paid within 40 days of the hurricane. The rest were paid by Christmas. John also cares about education, which is why he accepted a position on the board of Success in Education. This is a 501(c)3 organization, organized by his family, that offers three programs to students: • Road to Success is a literacy program that is currently being used by 135 Utah schools. • The Keys to Success program offers incentives that encourage students to prepare for college and careers. It is being used by 62 Utah high schools. • Code to Success is a certification course for computer programming. John and his family support many local organizations and they have contributed millions of dollars in charitable donations, including donations to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2017, he and his siblings honored their parents, Robert H. and Katharine B. Garff, by giving $12 million to the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah on their behalf. 3