CBT News is proud to highlight the F&I professionals elevating standards within their dealerships and advancing the industry. This year’s inaugural Remarkable Leaders in F&I honorees showcase the best practices of modern finance offices.
Among them, Rodney Flood, Finance Manager at Toyota of Cedar Park, exemplifies just that.
As a former grocery store manager in Iowa, Flood entered the automotive industry in 2019 after purchasing a Camaro and landing a job at the same dealership the same day. He quickly moved through BDC, onto the sales floor, and even managed dealer inventory for Chevrolet products before relocating to Texas in 2022. Within a year and a half at Toyota of Cedar Park, Flood earned a promotion into finance, his first true F&I role, bringing a well-rounded dealership perspective with him.
Flood identifies staying ahead of a rapidly shifting landscape as his greatest day-to-day challenge. From FTC pricing regulations and evolving addendum rules to contactless delivery processes and frequent plate registration updates, he stresses that compliance and customer satisfaction require near-daily attention. For Flood, one missed email can lead to a poor customer experience, and at a store that does over 1,200 units a month, the margin for error is slim.“
"We're more than happy to have everything listed online. It doesn't change our business one bit.”
For Flood, landing an F&I role at one of the highest-volume Toyota dealerships in the country stands as his defining professional milestone. Toyota of Cedar Park ranks in the top four Toyota dealerships nationwide and the top two across the Gulf states, retailing 1,200 to 1,300 vehicles monthly. Over the next five years, Floods aims to become the dealership’s Sales or F&I Director.
