Jessica Mungenast serves as the Vice President of the Dave Mungenast Family of Dealerships based in St. Louis, Missouri. Her journey in the retail automotive industry was influenced by her family, as her grandfather started the dealership in 1965. Inspired by her grandfather’s legacy and her father’s hard work within the dealership, she saw the automotive industry as her natural path. Over time, she states her motivation has shifted from preserving her family’s legacy to ensuring the well-being of employees and improving profitability in the dealership.
One of Mungenast’s most notable achievements was her path to the role of Vice President, which required her to graduate from the NADA Academy. Despite being pregnant and giving birth during her studies, she says she “successfully missed zero class time while tending to a newborn, being on maternity leave, and then returning to work full time,” which she feels is a “huge accomplishment.”
Reflecting on her proudest moments, Mungenast mentions one instance in which she put herself way outside her comfort zone by volunteering to speak with politicians in Washington, D.C. for MADA NextGEN. She also takes pride in her seven-year tenure as a successful finance manager, stating “I never excelled at math and it seemed like a role that was so out of my reach.”
In her spare time, Mungenast likes to be with her family and read. Her future goals include continuing into higher roles in the Missouri Automobile Dealers Association (MADA), NADA, and other groups in the automotive industry. She also wants to make a notable difference in her dealership, the community, and the industry as a whole. She states, “The more networking and valuable information I can learn through these avenues, the better vice president I can be,” and she continuously lives by her favorite quote from Simon Sinek – “Be the leader you wish you had.”
