40 Under 40

As a 14-year-old, Jessica Trask started working as a cashier and receptionist after school and on weekends at Sunnyside Acura in Nashua, N.H.

To nab the job at such a young age, she had to convince dealer principal Jim Powers and his team that hiring a kid was the right choice and that she was responsible enough to be so customer facing. But when she finally got the green light, she was ready to work.

And work she did. Over two decades, Trask mastered all aspects of the dealership, completed her associate degree, graduated from NADA Academy, got married, had two kids and was promoted to president. 

She also now sits on the board of the New Hampshire Automobile Association and is a member of the NADA NextGen Leadership Club.

Trask still regards those early years as critical to her career. The four years she spent answering phones and handling cash introduced her to customer service. But her position as an adviser — the liaison between clients and technicians — taught her its true importance. 

The adviser team already had established client relationships, and Trask had to work hard to build a rapport with the clients so they would trust her. Once she found her footing, she understood much more about how clients wanted to be treated and their expectations, she said. 

The adviser job also exposed her to the mechanics of cars, and she developed a passion for it, thanks also in part to her boyfriend at the time, who is now her husband.

“We were young and going to car shows and I was driving a turbocharged Mitsubishi Eclipse,” Trask said. “And I began to really enjoy driving.”

Her husband, Trask said, has grown with her as she’s worked her way up the dealership ranks. That includes completing her degree in accounting from Nashua Community College, located across the street from the dealership. 

By the time she graduated, she knew her future was at the dealership, but she envisioned herself in more of a comptroller role.

“I always knew I would do anything for the company and for [Powers], so anything he required from me, or any way I could be even more immersed in the dealership, I would take it on,” she said.

That eagerness boosted her into top management.

“When the opportunity arose and he needed somebody, it was just natural that it would be me at that point, being so involved in the dealership,” Trask said.

Trask took on the role in 2020, right as COVID shut down the world and changed the blueprint of auto retailing.

“I remember waiting for the governor to announce whether we could even open our doors,” she recalls of 2020. “It really was an unprecedented time.

“A lot of positions I’ve taken have been under fire,” she said. “And I do better by finding new resources and also using the resources that I have.”

Trask said the loyalty of Sunnyside’s clients helped the dealership get through those early pandemic days. The dealership continued to focus on its long game — fostering trust and never charging over the sticker price when inventories were scarce.

As for the next big change — electrification — Trask is ready to learn it all “as quickly as possible.”

“I’m very excited for Acura to lead us into this,” she said, “and to learn more and grow and change, and develop with the industry.”

— Carly Schaffner