Matador Spotlight: Rico Olinger

As a Client Success Performance Manager, my team and I are the front face of Matador for our clients. We work hard to deliver the exceptional service our customers expect, handling everything from day-to-day account maintenance to complex technical issues and client escalations.

At the end of the day, our job is to make sure every client feels supported, informed, and confident that Matador is helping them hit their goals.

Having spent nearly 21 years in the Automotive industry, I know how inherently reactive it can be. What excites me most about Matador’s AI is how it flips that script: our technology helps our clients get ahead of perceived issues instead of scrambling to fix them after the fact. The innovation and amazing new technologies we bring to our clients are truly inspiring.

I’m an early adopter of AI technologies and can say with confidence that our offerings help a lot of these “old school dealers” to work better and faster so they can capitalize on each opportunity that is presented to them, as opposed to coming to work wearing a fireman’s hat to put out all the fires already awaiting them. 🧑🏻‍🚒🚒 🧯🔥

I’m still relatively new to Matador, having joined in July 2025, but it already feels like home. I’ve gotten to know a lot of people quickly and already consider many of them friends.

I’m not someone who waits for change to happen. I like to influence it. In my first week, I noticed some inconsistencies in how our team’s email signatures were formatted. So, I built an internal app that automatically creates email signatures consistent with company branding. It’s now available on our People & Culture site! 😉

Matador’s open and collaborative culture is one of the things I appreciate most. Being able to connect instantly with anyone, from a teammate to a senior leader, through Slack is critical. When clients need an answer right away, that speed and transparency across teams make all the difference.

It’s a culture that empowers you to take initiative and act fast, and that’s exactly what makes our team so effective.

My favorite feature is the Broadcast function. It’s incredibly powerful and simple to use! Clients can implement it quickly and run targeted conquest campaigns using data already in their database. It’s an absolute no-brainer for any dealership looking to boost their campaigns.

I have a lot of experience as an Executive Chef, so even though I ditched that line of work years ago, I still like to cook a lot; every day there’s a three-course dinner set at the table! 😂 My main focus is my family and doing activities as a group. I love fishing, and surprisingly or not, I’m a gamer as well!

My culinary background goes deeper than most people realize. I was part of Team Canada at the World Culinary Championship in Singapore in 1998. After that, I worked as a chef in Fiji, Bermuda, and Brazil before returning to Canada, where I cooked on film sets for dozens of movies and TV productions.

And yes, I am even credited in a three-time Oscar-winning movie from 2006. 🤠🐏 Not your average career path in automotive, but I think that variety is what gives me a unique perspective on problem-solving and creativity.

Rico’s leadership, creativity, and deep understanding of dealership operations make him an incredible asset to both the Matador team and our clients. His proactive mindset, technical expertise, and genuine passion for helping others embody what Matador stands for: innovation with a human touch.

Stay tuned for more employee spotlights!