Auto executive remember Findlay Toyota general manager

Rich Abajian, general manager at Findlay Toyota, died Tuesday night.

Tyler Corder, chief financial officer at Findlay Automotive Group first met Abajian in 1992.

"He was very intense, had a coaching mentality and was extremely competitive," Corder said. "He was definitely a people person. We talked a lot about how we weren't in the car business but in the people business. He was always engaged with every employee and the people we dealt with from the top to the bottom."

Corder said he used to tease Abajian about how many people he knew.

"He still talked to people he went to grade school with, people he coached 30 years ago and he had friends all over the country," Corder said. "In the few days after he passed, I've heard from hundreds of people who knew him."

Corder said when Saturn of West Sahara opened in 1990, Abajian propelled the dealership to grow into the Findlay group due to its success.

In 1998, Abajian opened Findlay Toyota at 7733 Eastgate Road in Henderson and became co-owner and general manager.

"It's one of the top 12 Toyota dealerships in the nation," Corder said of Findlay Toyota. "It was also No. 1 in sales in our region every month last year in new and used cars and service."

Corder added, "he was an extremely competitive and high-producing manager."

Findlay Automotive Group, Corder said, is deciding how to proceed following Abajian's death.

"I haven't decided how to move forward," he said. "Replacing him will be very difficult."

Contact reporter Ann Friedman at afriedman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Follow @AnnFriedmanRJ on Twitter.