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Recognized as one of the top women business owners in America, Cathy Ellis leads Atlanta Classic Cars with a combination of gentility and tenacity. This formula has served her, and the business, well during the past 15 years.
 
The daughter of Mercedes-Benz dealer and founder of Atlanta Classic Cars, John Ellis, Sr., Cathy was exposed to her career path at an early age. Through her father, she gained valuable insights into the business and inherited a passion for success. Although he warned her that car sales is no place for a woman, she set her sights on dealer ownership and has made her own definitive mark on the industry.
 
After graduating from the University of Arizona, Cathy worked at a small Volkswagen dealership in Illinois, developing the expertise and hands-on knowledge needed to move ahead. She assumed ownership of Atlanta Classic Cars in Decatur during 1988. Under her direction, the dealership grew to become one of the largest Mercedes-Benz retailers in the United States, and among the largest woman-owned dealerships in the country.
 
Her most recent challenge was building Atlanta Classic Cars' new $15 million facility in Gwinnett County after outgrowing its Decatur home. Four years of planning, consumer research and customer demands shaped the design for the largest Mercedes-Benz automobile dealer in the Southeast, opening July 21, 2003.
 
According to Ms. Ellis, "While others might say Atlanta Classic Cars is a success in spite of the fact that I am a woman, I believe it is successful, in part, because I am a woman."
 
Ms. Ellis embraces Mercedes-Benz corporate-wide commitment to improving one-on-one service and recognizes relationship building is critical to dealership growth. She considers her greatest business accomplishment to be the familial atmosphere of Atlanta Classic Cars, which has led to the longevity of staff and the loyalty of customers. "We care about each other and our clients," said Ms. Ellis. "And that keeps everybody coming back."
 
She shares her success by leading community endeavors and served on the Carter Center's Board of Counselors and on the Federal Reserve Bank's Small Business Board. Atlanta Classic Cars also sponsors Aid Atlanta, the Women's Resource Center, the National Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse and several other charitable organizations.