For over 25 years, Grené Baranco has enjoyed a highly successful career as an automotive executive and industry leader. Prior to her current role as VP of E-commerce for Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia, she served as the New and Pre-Owned Manager for the store, where she helped to cultivate a team that continues to lead the market in sales, gross and net profit. Baranco began her auto career in 1985 at her family’s Pontiac, Buick & GMC dealership in Decatur, GA, as a receptionist before moving into showroom sales. She later designed and implemented one of the first online retail automotive departments in the U.S.at her family’s Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Acura and Lincoln Mercury stores (1997).

She also created and managed the internet department at Infiniti of Beverly Hills and Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead, and served as general manager (GM) for smart center Buckhead. As GM for smart center Buckhead, one of 72 smart car dealerships selected to bring the cars to market in the U.S., Ms. Baranco was in the initial cohort that ran their variable department solely on pre-sales/orders/reservations, a one-price strategy and digital marketing.

Recently, she was able to successfully steer her dealership through the Covid-19 shutdown by implementing a digital sales process that she had previously sketched out while thinking about the future of retail automotive. Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead has since experienced record net profits while continuing to make use of this process.

Grené is most passionate about taking care of her family’s dealerships, being a role model for women to confidently pursue a career in the automotive industry, expanding diversity, equity and inclusion and advancing the retail automotive industry. Ms. Baranco serves on the boards of Meals on Wheels Atlanta (MOWA), Georgia State University’s Department of Religious Studies board of Alumni, The Arts Xchange, and Common Cause, GA.. She previously served on the NADA’s Regulatory Affairs Committee and currently holds the NextGen
seat on the NADA’s Legislative Affairs committee.

She has a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from Georgia State University, from which she graduated magna cum laude. She also is a two-time graduate of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Dealer Academy in McClean, Virginia.