Jamie Mangold, 37

Jamie Mangold has only been living in the Gulf Coast area for a few months, but her background proves she’s a person to watch in the recreational vehicle industry.

Mangold has worked 12 years in the RV business, starting her career in the finance department of a smaller dealer. “Finance of RVs was my first true passion,” she admits. Mangold worked her way from finance to sales to a general manager at Camping World. She was able to help the dealer grow from selling 30 or 40 RVs a month to selling 50 RVs monthly.

That’s what caught RV destination mega-dealer Lazydays’ attention in a small industry. The company recruited Mangold to become the director of finance and insurance starting in July.   

Mangold says her biggest challenge is that “buyers want to buy the way they want to buy.” With customers doing 90% of their research online, when they get into the dealership, they want to get their purchase on the road quickly. A high-volume dealership selling 350 to 550 RVs a month like Lazydays needs to stay focused on increasing deliveries and setting up extended warranties and gap insurance as quickly as possible, Mangold says.

But ultimately her job is the same as it was previously: finding good people with integrity to truthfully sell the best options to win visitors over as lifetime customers. “It’s all about the experience,” Mangold says, “not just about selling an RV once.”

— Traci Beach

Q&A

Name: Jamie Mangold

Age: 37

City of residence: Fishhawk Ranch Lithia, FL

Twitter handle: N/A

Employer: Lazydays

Title: Director of Finance and Insurance

Birthplace: Atlanta

Years on the Gulf Coast: three months; just moved from Savannah

Marital status/children: Married with two wonderful boys, four and seven years old

Alma mater: Kennesaw State University Georgia Perimeter College

Best place to network: always networking, whenever I meet people

Coolest business experience: so many to choose from…the feeling of accomplishment when goals are exceeded!

The most important business lesson I’ve learned: never compromise integrity to make money

One website that makes your job easier: DealerTrack

One community group you’re most involved with: Lazydays Employee Foundation for underprivileged children

Favorite off-hours activity: spending time with my family

Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Warren Buffett Oprah Winfrey

What you would be doing if you could pick another career: as a child I wanted to be criminal psychiatrist

Most adventurous thing you’ve ever done: zip lining and hiking in Costa Rica

What’s at the top of your bucket list: Machu Picchu in Peru

What new skill would you like to learn: scuba diving

Who would play you in a movie about your life: Reese Witherspoon

If I had a magic wand…loaded question don’t know where to begin.