40 Under 40

It took one major life decision to jump-start Cameron Singleton's career in auto retailing: turning down a job offer.

Singleton had been working as a contractor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and earned a promotion that would've required him to relocate from his hometown of Raleigh, N.C., to Washington, D.C. However, uprooting his wife and daughter was not part of the plan.

So he changed careers, landing his first job in auto retailing as a salesperson at Hendrick Buick-GMC-Cadillac in Cary. He later was promoted to retail operations manager at Hendrick Chevrolet in Cary where he helped make it the No. 1 volume store for General Motors in North Carolina from 2018 to 2020.

Now, Singleton is executive general manager of two stores — Rick Hendrick Chevrolet and Rick Hendrick Cadillac — both in Norfolk, Va., and part of Hendrick Automotive Group.

He said the Hendrick culture has kept him with the company — the only dealership group he's worked for since switching career paths.

"A lot of companies talk about leadership, but they use more management techniques," Singleton said. "Here, it's true leadership and being surrounded with people that truly want to see you advance."

Since becoming executive general manager in late 2022, he said the two dealerships — in which he owns a small percentage — have become more efficient after making key changes, including retraining staff and reinforcing Hendrick's values.

"We want to be successful. We want to be No. 1 in our markets," he said. "But if we leave anybody behind, then I think we failed, so I kind of have a deal of 'If one person is eating steak, everybody needs to eat steak.' "

But his biggest goal? Simply ensuring his employees have a road map to reach their potential.

— Audrey LaForest