RML Automotive Vice Chairman Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty's roots in the automotive business reach back to 1921, when his grandfather opened a Ford dealership in Hope, Arkansas. Today, as McLarty and his sons, Mark and Franklin, each lead successful dealership enterprises, the McLarty family's automotive heritage is in its fourth generation.
McLarty joined the McLarty Companies in 1969 after graduating with honors from the University of Arkansas. Under his direction, the family's innovative leasing operation became one of the country's largest, even as their automotive dealerships expanded throughout the southern United States.
In 1979, the McLarty Companies bought the assets of one of the nation's largest school bus manufacturers, Ward Industries, and turned the struggling enterprise around. In this same era, the McLarty Companies merged McLarty Leasing with the New York Stock Exchange listed company Leaseway Transportation, and McLarty became an officer of Leaseway, responsible for the southern region. By 1998, the McLarty Companies was one of the top 50 dealer groups in the United States, with 19 automobile dealership franchises in Arkansas and Texas. The McLartys merged their business with Asbury Automotive Group of Pennsylvania, and McLarty became vice chair and a director on the Asbury board, helping successfully take that company public in 2002. In 2004, McLarty and Steve Landers founded McLarty Landers Automotive Group; later partnering with Robert L. Johnson as the enterprise expanded to create RML Automotive.
A strong believer in public service, Mr. McLarty has served three presidents of both parties, including as President Bill Clinton's first White House Chief of Staff. Upon leaving the White House in 1998, Mr. McLarty formed an international strategic advisory firm formed in partnership with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. He continues that work as chairman of McLarty Associates, based in Washington D.C. Previously, he spent a decade as chairman and CEO of ARKLA, a Fortune 500 natural gas company. Under his leadership, ARKLA grew into one of the largest natural gas distributors in the United States and won recognition for management excellence, environmental initiatives and minority enterprise development.