Macarena Bravo is the founder and owner of Franco Automotors, a thriving Buy Here Pay Here dealership group headquartered in Miami, Florida, built from the ground up to serve the Hispanic community with dignity, access, and financial opportunity. Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Macarena brings a rare combination of international perspective, financial sophistication, and street-level entrepreneurial hustle to an industry she has transformed one deal at a time.
Since launching Franco Auto Motors in 2015, she has grown the operation into a multi-entity BHPH group — encompassing a public dealership, a Related Finance Company (RFC), and a reinsurance captive — managing a portfolio of nearly 300 active notes while continuing to expand her footprint across the Southeast and Texas markets. What sets Macarena apart is her ability to blend operational execution with financial engineering, turning a local dealership into a structured, scalable business that rivals institutional lenders in sophistication.
Today, Macarena is at the forefront of a new frontier: the AI-powered dealership. She has built and deployed custom AI systems across every layer of her operation — from collections scripting and compliance defense to lead re-engagement, content creation, and deal structuring. Her approach is not theoretical. Every tool she uses, she built herself, for her own stores, with real results on the portfolio. She is widely recognized as one of the first independent BHPH operators to fully integrate AI into the day-to-day infrastructure of a dealership group.
PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY
Before founding Franco Auto Motors, Macarena built an impressive career across law, banking, and corporate finance. She began her professional life at a law firm specializing in foreclosure defense, where she developed deep expertise in client advocacy, financial distress, and contract law — skills that would prove invaluable on the dealership floor and in the courtroom.
She then moved into wealth management as a Citigold Banker at Citibank, advising high-net-worth clients on financial strategy and investment planning. Her career ascended further when she was appointed Corporate Treasurer for the largest Mexican restaurant chain in America — a role that demanded elite-level financial oversight, multi-entity treasury management, and board-level strategic planning. It was this experience managing complex cash flows and corporate structure that laid the blueprint for how she would eventually architect Franco Auto Motors.
EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS
Macarena’s academic credentials reflect a lifelong commitment to mastery. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Florida International University and a Master’s degree in International Business from Nova Southeastern University. She has pursued advanced studies at Harvard University (Digital Marketing), MIT (Marketing Analytics), and Cornell University, where she earned a Sales and Coaching Certification — equipping her with the analytical tools and strategic frameworks to compete at the highest level.
“I didn’t just build a dealership. I built a financial institution that happens to sell cars.”
— Macarena Bravo, Franco Automotors