Shau-Wai Lam

Shau - Wai Lam

CHAIRMAN OF DCH AUTO GROUP
2006 Ellis Island Medal of Honor Recipient

Shau-wai Lam joined Dah Chong Hong Trading Corporation (DCH) in 1967. His initial assignments were in international trade, which included the domestic sales of imported textile and food products. In 1977 DCH began to venture into automobile retailing with its first dealership, Paramus Honda in New Jersey. Shau-wai was sent to Los Angeles to launch DCH’s Western Region in 1979. He was responsible for the start-up of DCH Gardena Honda and DCH Tustin Acura, both of which became the top national ranking dealerships of their respective franchises under his supervision.

After his appointment as President of DCH in 1988, Shau-wai continued to lead the company’s expansion to 25 dealerships in California, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut with annual sales surpassing $1.83 billion in 2008. It is also the largest automobile retailer in New Jersey. Besides winning numerous distinguished awards from its franchisors, the DCH Auto Group is proud to have received more of the prestigious J. D. Power and Associates Dealer of Excellence Awards than any dealer group. This award can be considered as the highest honor in customer satisfaction achievement. Shau-wai was the recipient of the eminent 2006 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Ernst & Young 2007 New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Retail/Distribution Services, the 2004 Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award for New Jersey, the 2004 National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers’ Lifetime Achievement Award, 2004 Champion of Life Award from GMAC, the 2005 Newsweek Magazine Dealer of the Year Finalist Award, the 2005 Dealer of the Year Award from Ward’s Dealer Business Magazine as well as the 2008 U.S. Department of Commerce Certificate of Appreciation. These awards are great honors in recognition of the accomplishment of the entire DCH Team. Details regarding the DCH Auto Group and other awards it has received can be viewed at its Website: www.dchautogroup.com.

Shau-wai strongly believes in giving back to the community. DCH has a guideline based on profitability for its dealerships to determine their annual budgets for charity. Each of them is committed to selecting and donating to worthy causes locally every year. In May 2004, the DCH Auto Group donated $270,000 to the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation (NADCF) designating every one of its 27 dealerships at that time a NADCF Ambassador. NADCF announced that this was the largest donation it ever received from a car dealer. The donations to NADCF continue to increase as DCH adds more dealerships. Separately, Shau-wai and his wife, Marie, are very active in supporting organizations that provide heath, educational, cultural and community services. These include the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, Chinese American Planning Council, China Institute in America, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Newark Museum, Art Museum of Princeton, Nelson-Atkins Museum, Shanghai Museum, and Purdue University. He serves as Directors of Toyota-Lexus Minority Dealers Association, New Jersey Chinese-American Chamber of Commerce and American Friends of the Shanghai Museum.

Shau-wai is a graduate of Purdue University with BS and MS degrees in mathematics. He also has a MBA from New York University. He is honored to receive a Distinguished Science Alumnus Award from Purdue University for 2004. Shau-wai and Marie have been residents of Summit, New Jersey since 1988. They have two adult children. Their son, Brian, is a graduate of the NADA Dealer Candidate Academy and is a department manager at one of the DCH dealerships.

2/2009

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