ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The national automotive sales and leadership community is in mourning following the sudden passing of Tim Kintz, president of the Kintz Group and one of the industry’s most respected trainers and motivators, over Thanksgiving weekend.
Kintz, a Weldon Spring native and graduate of Francis Howell High School, built a reputation over two decades as a transformative force in dealership training. After cutting his teeth as a top instructor at Joe Verde Sales & Management Training, he returned home to Missouri to lead the Kintz Group, where his high-energy workshops, online courses, and one-on-one coaching helped thousands of salespeople and managers shatter records and rethink what was possible in retail automotive.
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“Tim didn’t just teach processes — he changed mindsets,” said one longtime client and general manager of a large Midwest dealer group. “You left his room believing you could be great, because he genuinely believed it first.”
Beyond the stage, those who knew him best say Kintz never let success pull him away from what mattered most: his wife Kristi and their two children, daughter Maddyn and son Cooper.
“He was the dad at every volleyball match, every travel-ball tournament, every parent-teacher conference,” a family friend shared. “Titles and stages didn’t define him — his family did.”
Kintz remained deeply connected to his St. Charles County roots, often crediting the work ethic he learned growing up in Weldon Spring and the early lessons from coaches and teachers at Francis Howell for shaping the relentless drive that later fueled his career.
News of his death rippled quickly through social media and industry group chats, with hundreds of current and former students posting tributes, training clips, and stories of how Kintz’s encouragement altered the trajectory of their lives.
The Kintz Group confirmed Monday that its existing training programs and content library will continue uninterrupted, adding that preserving and expanding Tim’s teachings is now the company’s central mission.
“Tim always said the goal wasn’t to build a company — it was to build people,” the statement read. “We will honor him by doing exactly that, every single day.”
Arrangements are pending, but the family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to youth sports programs in the St. Louis area — a reflection of the countless hours Tim spent coaching, mentoring, and cheering from the sidelines.
Tim Kintz is survived by his wife Kristi, daughter Maddyn, son Cooper, his parents, and a nationwide family of colleagues and students who say they will spend the rest of their careers trying to make him proud.
Services will be announced later this week.