Executive Suite: Car dealer Stuart Hayim

After Stuart Hayim had built up and sold a family carpet business, he constructed a government office building and then "had nothing to do."

An offer to start a luxury auto dealership fell through, but he later bought Mercedes-Benz of Massapequa, which he sold in 2007. That year, he started Ferrari-Maserati of Long Island in Plainview, which recently moved into a new showroom. It's one of four dealerships he owns in New York and Florida.

Hayim, 64, is married and has four children. His two older sons work for the auto dealerships.

A lymphoma survivor, Hayim won four world championships and three U.S. championships racing a speedboat named Recovery. He donated his prize winnings to cancer research.

What's your leadership style?
"Why be cold when you can be warm? Why have an adversarial relationship when you can have a parallel working relationship?"

He cites an idea he learned from dealing with Wal-Mart: No one works for you, they work with you. "When you yell at someone, that's someone's daughter, that's someone's uncle. Why would you want to treat them that way? OK, you're a vice president and they're a junior vice president, you've achieved more success on the corporate ladder. But that doesn't mean that they're not a living person with feelings. . . . You can lead by example."

What do you try to teach employees?
Lamenting the adversarial relationship between a car buyer and seller, he says, "I didn't unretire" to jerk people around. "We want to build relationships."

Referring to brands other than Ferrari -- for which discounts are not available -- he says, "The dream customer will come in and say, 'I want to build a relationship, I'd like the best discount you can give me.' " After offering a reasonable discount, "they won't say, "No, sell it to me at invoice,' because our lives are intertwined. They're going to need service.

"I used to buy eight to 10 Mercedes a year. I had one salesman at one dealership. When my car broke [and] they ran out of loaner cars, he made sure I got a loaner car. If you had a plumber, you would use one plumber. Hopefully that plumber knows he can count on you for income that whole year. But on the other hand, if your sink breaks on New Year's Eve, you have the house he'll go to."

What advice do you have for someone who wants to start a business?
"Be honest. Look someone in the eye, whether it's a co-worker or a customer. And promise less than you deliver. If they expect delivery for the weekend, have the car ready Thursday."

Corporate snapshot

Name. Stuart Hayim

Title. Owner

Company. The Experience Auto Group

Business. Four auto dealerships including Ferrari-Maserati of Long Island and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Long Island

Location. Plainview, Manhattan, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Type.  Private company

Revenue.  $100 million annually (Ferrari-Maserati LI)

Employees. 200, including 75 on Long Island