Roger Penske '59 Featured in National Fiji Magazine
It's All About the People

Roger Penske’s successes, on the racetrack and in business, are documented and well known. But one of his rare business failures gives as much insight into the man as any of his successes.

In 2002, Penske Corporation moved to extricate itself from an arrangement with Kmart when the retailer was going into
bankruptcy. Some six years prior, Penske had purchased Kmart’s auto centers and was operating them as Penske Auto Centers at the Kmart stores. As Kmart’s fortunes continued to slide, the 550 auto center operations were losing signifi cant money, and Penske decided to close them and cut its losses. Thousands of people were directly affected by the decision — 4,000 auto center employees, numerous suppliers, and major financial partners. Of the process of closing the centers, Roger says, with a measure of justifiable pride, “We never had one piece of litigation when we shut that down.”

This was accomplished in typical Penske style: an equal combination of business savvy and the Golden Rule. Penske ran job
fairs for the auto center employees. Each of the employees was paid their vacation time as well as severance pay. Suppliers and partners were made whole. “We were able to take care of the people who supported us,” Roger says. “Ultimately we paid everybody back.”

Brother Penske told this story at a Fiji luncheon in May 2007 in Indianapolis in the shadow of the Brickyard. Referring to both
business and racing, he told the group, “Every day isn’t a good day.” However, it is clear that Roger Penske has had far more good days than bad.

Click here to read the full article, starting on page 36 of the spring 2009 issue of The Phi Gamma Delta.



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