Meet the Team
100+ years of combined automotive relationships, partnerships and integrity
Senior Leadership Team
Mark Johnson
Co-Founder, Investment Committee Member
- Founder of MD Johnson Inc., one of the nation’s premier auto-focused M&A firm
- Led $5 billion+ buy / sell investment transactions over the firm’s 16-year history
- Former automotive dealer
- Expert witness in automotive dealership valuations
Cliff Spencer
Counsel to GearUp Automotive
- Shareholder in Lane Powell PC, JD and MBA (Finance)
- 20 years’ experience in M&A, capital formation and securities
- Counsel to public automotive retailer, executed growth strategy through acquisitions — $700M to over $3B in sales (1998-2014)
- Former Counsel to NY private equity group implementing automotive roll up
- Counsel to 100+ automotive dealership acquisitions/divestitures
Chris Cento
Co-Founder, Investment Committee Member
- Progressive executive management and leadership at Toyota and Lexus (1987-2012)
- Executive Director Automotive Operations for NY PE Fund
- Top 5 Private Platform Vice President, Herb Chambers Co.’s
- Director North America CDK Global Business Consulting
- Extensive industry relationships
- Global insights
- MBA in Marketing/Finance
Don Ray
Co-Founder, Investment Committee Member
- Highly regarded CPA working exclusively with auto dealers
- Former Co-managing Partner, Dixon Hughes Goodman Dealer Service Group
- Prior CFO of multiple large auto groups
- Regular contributor to national trade publications
- Extensive dealership M&A experience including due diligence