Article: The initiation of Ken Gilman; In the clubby car business, Asbury's CEO struggles to fit in. Does the fashion store veteran have what it takes?(Insight)

Byline: Donna Harris

Just six days into his job as CEO of Asbury Automotive Group Inc., Ken Gilman received a nasty shock. At a meeting in Dearborn, Mich., Ford Motor Co. executives bluntly told Gilman that too many of Asbury's Ford dealerships were not performing up to par.

That's the kind of news that sends chills through the chief executive of a publicly held dealership group. It means the factory could oppose the group's acquisition of dealerships and stifle the growth that investors crave.

For Gilman, who was fresh out of the fashion retailing business, it was a rude awakening. He was used to dictating to clothing manufacturers. Now he was ...

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