FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. -

For Jose Froehlich, it all started with a job shoveling snow at an Albany, N.Y., dealership.

From there it has grown into a long career with stops along the way in sales, service, wholesale buying,  finance and now his latest responsibility, heading up Hyundai’s certified pre-owned program.

Froehlich stepped into his new post as manager of Hyundai CPO earlier this year and now leads one of the fastest growing automakers in the certified segment. Through May, the brand’s year-to-date CPO sales totaled 15,638 units, up 114 percent year-over-year.

Considering Hyundai’s rapid growth in the segment in recent years, Froehlich called the certified arena “the place to be,” saying: “I have one of the best jobs in the company right now.”

Not only that, he continues to work with his lifelong passion: cars.

Froehlich got his first foray into the car business between high school and college, when he had a temporary job shoveling snow at a DePaula Chevrolet in Albany, N.Y. That job evolved into a permanent position in the dealership’s business office.

After earning a degree in industrial design from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1990 and earning his MBA in marketing from the State University of New York at Albany in 1992, Froehlich went to work as a wholesale buyer for an independent dealer in Rensselaer, N.Y.

He would later go on to work at Ford for 12 years in various sales, service, finance and headquarters’ roles before coming to Hyundai, where Froehlich has been for four years.

He started in the Hyundai’s Western Region and spent two years there, serving as district parts manager and then district sales manager.

For the past two years, Froehlich has worked on the CPO and Hyundai Protection Plan side of the automaker. His post before becoming CPO manager was administrator for CPO and HPP.

And now, he’ll wear many hats as he strives to lead Hyundai’s CPO program to continued growth.

Froehlich cited the strides Hyundai has made since the program was overhauled in recent years, but stressed that there is still room for improvement 
He wants to not only increase the number of Hyundai CPO vehicles that are listed online, but improve the quality and comprehensiveness of these listings, as well.

He aims to continue working with Hyundai Motor Finance to foster “attractive programs both on the consumer and for the dealers, as well.”

Another goal of Froehlich’s is to work with the remarketing team to continue building the strategy for off-lease vehicles and other CPO inventory sources.

Through all of this, Froehlich continues to work with what has fascinated him since childhood.

“I always just have loved cars since I was a kid,” Froehlich said of his lifelong passion. “I love the fact that every day is just different in the car business.”

And since being in the auto industry encompasses so many aspects of the business world, you may wear a different “hat” each day, he said.

“Or all in the same days, for that matter,” Froehlich added.