What is a Cairn?
cairn (noun) /kern/ : a landmark used to guide travelers along a route
An intentional marker that offers direction, reassurance, and safe passage—especially when the way forward isn’t obvious. A cairn signals clarity amid complexity: others have been here before, and the next step is knowable.
Through time, different cultures have used stacked stones to mark places of great importance and meaningful turning points.
Who We Are
A boutique search partner built on relationships—and judgment.
Dealership hiring is personal. We approach it like a partnership: calm process, deep industry fluency, and candid guidance that helps leadership teams hire with confidence.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Leadership hiring isn’t a transaction. It’s a decision that can protect (or damage) what you’ve built.
The best searches are disciplined: fewer profiles, better signal, more truth early.
HOW WE WORK
Unhurried certainty — we don’t rush what we won’t be proud of.
Curious and direct — better questions, clearer truth.
Stewardship — we treat the hire like an investment.
Relationship-first — long-memory partnerships over one-off placements.
Get to Know Us
At the heart of our firm is a long‑standing partnership built on trust, industry expertise, and a shared commitment to serving automotive dealerships with intention and integrity.
Suzanne Malo
Suzanne Malo brings more than 30 years of recruiting and executive search experience, with the last 20 years dedicated exclusively to the automotive dealership industry. Throughout her career, Suzanne has partnered with dealership groups across the country—from multi‑generation, family‑owned operations to some of the nation’s largest dealer groups—helping them identify, attract, and retain high‑impact leaders.
Suzanne is best known for her deep understanding of dealership operations, culture, and succession realities, and for her ability to align leadership talent with long‑term business goals. Her search work has focused on senior‑level and C‑suite roles spanning accounting, finance, operations, fixed operations, and executive leadership.
Before launching this firm, Suzanne spent over two decades building and leading the automotive executive search practice at Forvis Mazars (formerly DHG), where she served as a Managing Director and trusted advisor to dealership clients nationwide
Daniel Conner
Daniel Conner is an automotive executive recruiter and search advisor with more than a decade of experience supporting dealership groups through strategic talent acquisition. Daniel has spent his career focused on dealership executive search, working closely with ownership groups to place leadership talent that can perform today while positioning organizations for future growth.
Daniel began his recruiting career at Forvis Mazars (formerly DHG), where he served as a Senior Manager and Recruiting Manager within the Dealership Executive Search practice. Over the years, Daniel has partnered with dealership clients coast‑to‑coast, developing a reputation for being highly responsive, detail‑oriented, and deeply invested in both client and candidate success.
A Partnership Built Over Time
Suzanne and Daniel have worked side-by-side for more than a dozen years, collaborating on hundreds of dealership searches at Forvis Mazars (previously DHG). That long-term partnership means clients benefit from a team that already knows how to work together seamlessly—sharing institutional knowledge, aligning on search strategy, and delivering a consistent, high-touch experience.
As professional and compliance standards evolved, the shift created an opportunity to build something more focused and flexible. By launching an independent firm, they are able to serve dealership clients without conflicts and limitations.
While operating independently, they remain closely connected to their former firm and continue to collaborate on automotive industry events, education, and initiatives that support dealers nationwide—bringing the same rigor, experience, and national reach into a boutique firm dedicated solely to automotive dealerships.
The result is a hands-on, relationship-driven approach that dealerships trust—and leadership placements that last.
