March 12-13, 2012 | Las Vegas Hilton

Speaker Biographies

Translate this pageMicrosoft® Translator

Keynote Speakers:
	Bob Barton President and COO Franchise Services of North America, Inc. Bob Barton is the President and COO of Franchise Services of North America, Inc. (TSXV:FSN), the parent company of U-Save Auto Rental of America, Inc., and its 7 subsidiary Companies. Bob joined U-Save in 2004 as Vice President of Sales & Marketing. He was previously responsible for the International Tour Business for Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group and was a Vice President of Budget Group, Inc. for the preceding 14 years. Bob is the current President and member of the Board of Directors of the American Car Rental Association and the 2009 recipient of the Russell Bruno award as Car Rental Executive of the Year.
	Mark P. Frissora Chairman and CEO Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. Mark P. Frissora joined Hertz in 2006 and has over 34 years’ experience in consumer and automotive-related businesses. Prior to joining Hertz, Mark led Tenneco, Inc. as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 2000. He initially joined Tenneco in 1996 as Vice President of North American Emission Control Operations for Walker Manufacturing. Mark also served for five years as a Vice President at Aeroquip-Vickers Corporation and was responsible for both Canadian operations and U.S.-based distribution and assembly facilities. He held various management positions at Philips N.V., including Director of Marketing and Director of Sales. Prior to Philips, he worked for 10 years at General Electric Co. in positions of increasing responsibility in brand management, marketing and sales.
	Gary Rappeport Chief Executive Officer Donlen Corporation Gary Rappeport joined Donlen Corporation in 1986 and held a variety of roles prior to taking the CEO position in 1996. Gary developed the Donlen Service Success Chain in which annual goals are set and achievements benchmarked. Gary’s focus on employee satisfaction, retention, and overall corporate culture led to his being named the 2009 Executive of the Year, Services, by the American Business Association (ABA) Stevie Awards. Prior to joining Donlen, Gary held sales and management positions at NCR and HP. Gary received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance at the University of Florida and an MBA in Finance and Information Systems at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Special Address Speaker:
	Sam Graves Congressman US Congress Congressman Sam Graves is a lifelong resident of Missouri's Sixth Congressional District. As a small businessman and a sixth-generation, full-time family farmer, Sam spent his life working to make Missouri a better place to live, work, and raise a family. In Congress, Sam serves as the Chairman of the Small Business Committee. Small businesses create 7 out of every 10 jobs in this country. It is important that our policies encourage innovators and entrepreneurs to follow their dreams and create jobs. Sam also serves on the Transportation Committee where he continues to fight for Missouri roads, bridges, rail lines and airports.
Conference Speakers:
	Frank Colonna President Triangle Rent A Car, Inc. Frank Colonna worked for a small hotel resort since he was 14 and realized he always wanted his own business. The beginning, he was doing it all, washing, renting, checking them in and selling and buying the cars. He started Triangle Rent A Car in June 1978. Triangle has grown to 28 locations in the Southeast US. Triangle is a local off airport neighborhood car rental company. Today they employ over 300 people and run a peak fleet of 5,000 units.
	Gil Cygler President Allcar Rent A Car Gil Cygler built Allcar Rent A Car from a side business renting cars his father started in 1979. When Gil joined the business there was one location, and in 1989 he was involved in the acquisition of a second office followed by additional offices over the years. What began as a job washing cars and answering phones grew to Allcar Rent A Car, with offices in all 5 boroughs of New york and 90 staff members. Gil’s most recent achievement is the successful advocacy of the New York State legislature to provide a choice to consumers when renting a car resulting from an insurance claim.
	Michael DeLorenzo Vice President Rent-A-Wreck Michael DeLorenzo opened his first car rental location in 1969 with a fleet of fifteen cars. By 1985, there were 11 locations and well over 500 rental cars. Michael sold his car rental operations to Fitzgerald Automotive in 1985, and was in turn hired by Fitzgerald to operate the resulting combined car rental business, which had grown to 18 stores and nearly 2,000 rental vehicles by 2000. In 2010, Michael and the Fitzgerald's company owned car rental operation spread over 18 locations and nearly 2,000 rental vehicles in addition to management of the Rent-A-Wreck and Priceless franchise system and their 185 locations.
	Mark Eckhaus President Eckhaus Fleet Mark Eckhaus has been in the automobile industry since 1969. Prior to founding Eckhaus Porsche he was a successful used car dealer. In 1989 after selling Eckhaus Porsche, Eckhaus joined the Standard Rent A Car as fleet sales manager. In 4 years, the company grew from 1,200 to 5,500 cars and 50 locations. After Enterprise bought Standard, Eckhaus joined Alamo Rent A Car and was responsible for fleet purchasing and remarketing for two thirds of the country, from Colorado to the Eastern Shore. After leaving Alamo, he founded Eckhaus Fleet to provide fleet purchasing and remarketing to the rental car industry.
	Sharon Faulkner Executive Director American Car Rental Association Sharon Faulkner was President of the New York Vehicle Rental Association and lobbied to improve the adverse laws that affected New York operators. She has been a board member of each national car rental association and a Dollar and Thrifty franchise owner. Sharon was a founding member of the Advisory Board for Auto Rental News Magazine. She testified in the U.S. Congress to lobby for the repeal of vicarious liability. In 2008, she won the Russell Bruno Award for outstanding service to the car rental industry. Sharon was the Area Manager in Upstate New York for Budget Rent A Car and has been a featured speaker at many industry conventions.
	Michael Flory CEO- Americas CarTrawler.com Michael Flory brings nearly 20 years of travel and technology experience to his current role. Prior to joining Car Trawler, he developed extensive experience in supplier and account management, sales and, business development, strategic negotiations and operations in progressively complex roles across multiple industries. Until 2009, Flory served as VP/GM of Expedia’s distribution business and oversaw Expedia’s North American Car Rental business in the two years just prior. In addition to online travel, he most recently oversaw all operations for an international resort company as SVP Operations. Flory began his diverse career with eight years with Sheraton & Westin.
	Geoff Freeman Executive Vice President and COO U.S. Travel Association Geoff Freeman has led the industry to enact the Travel Promotion Act, derail an assault on corporate meetings and events and build an army of employee activists via the Power of Travel Coalition. Previously, Geoff was a vice president with APCO Worldwide, where he led the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA). Geoff was also the Director of Government Relations and Strategic Outreach for Freddie Mac and served as Director of Strategic Initiatives for the American Association of Health Plans. He helped guide the media and strategic communications strategy around several high-profile issues, including the Patients' Bill of Rights and Medicare reform.
	Jack Goode Fleet Manager Eckhaus Fleet Jack Goode, fleet manager for Eckhaus Fleet, has over 26 years’ experience in the automobile industry. After 12 years with Eckhaus Fleet, Jack has won the respect of his customers for his outstanding customer service. Prior to joining Eckhaus Fleet, Jack spent 17 years in retail, with positions ranging from sales to general sales manager. Always ready with a quick smile and quiet voice, Jack’s experience makes him the top sales manager in the fleet industry.
	John Healy Managing Director and Research Analyst Northcoast Research John Healy joined Northcoast Research in May, 2009 as managing director and equity research analyst covering the business services sector. Prior to joining Northcoast Research, he was a senior analyst and associate at FTN Midwest since 2003. John also has previous experience with McDonald Investments and Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. He has developed extensive relationships with industry contacts which he utilizes as the foundation for his research. In total, Johnhas more than 6 years' experience in the investment business.
	Tom Kelley Executive Director Global Franchise Development and Operations Dollar Thrifty Auto Group Tom Kelley is responsible for all North American franchise activities including Franchise Operations, Franchise Sales as well as the North American Rate Management Team and Location Support Team. International activities include Licensee Rate Management, International Location Support and Global Licensee Sales and Marketing. Tom also holds many different car rental related seminars yearly with licensees all over the globe. He has over 30 years' experience in the car rental industry. A former franchise owner of the Dollar Rent a Car brand, Tom also has extensive experience in the international area including 5 years as Managing Director for both corporate and licensee operations for Budget Rent a Car United Kingdom.
	Robert Klyce CEO Car and Truck Rentals, Inc. Robert worked for a family owned company that started in the rental car business in 1918. His great grandfather started the independent rental car company, Motor Livery. In the 1930’s, Robert's grandfather purchased the Hertz business for the state of Alabama. In the 1970’s his father sold the Hertz business back to the corporation and purchased Avis franchises. Robert started with the rental car business in 1968. He currently operates seven Avis franchises and one Budget franchise. Robert also serves as Chairman of the Avis Licensee Association and Chairman of the Avis System Advertising and Policy Committee and of the Avis System Advertising Trust.
	Joe Knight Executive Vice President, Business Development Fox Rent A Car Joe Knight entered the car rental business in 1970 with Ford Motor Company and was assigned to a group that set up the original Sears Rent A Car System. He has held various operational and fleet management positions with Ford Daily Rent A Car System, Budget and Thrifty. Knight owned and operated a business consultancy firm, Car Rental Concepts, and provided fleet and financing programs to independent rental companies for ten years. He founded and chairs the California Association of Independent Car Rental Operators and is active in legal and legislative issues that may affect the industry in California.
	Todd Kushner Director of Client Delivery The Frontline Performance Group Todd Kushner assists with FPG client delivery for local market based car rental operations as well as special projects in the automotive services field. He has delivered over 1000 operational site visits and played a key role in the launch of FPG’s performance staffing practice. Throughout his 22 years of experience he has gained valuable insights from leading brands like Hertz, Dollar-Thrifty, Snap On Tools, Mazda, Penske Automotive Group and Nissan of North American. Todd has a background in Accounting and Business Management from State University of New York.
	Roger Laurendeau Founder The Web Guys Roger Laurendeau is founder of The Web Guys, an Internet marketing services firm that creates Web sites and provides SEO and e-mail marketing services. With sales, marketing and strategic business development expertise, The Web Guys professionally serves companies like independent auctions, car dealers and power sport and RV rental companies. Over his seven-year term with ADESA Auctions, Roger strategically planned, managed and grew their Internet business platforms (including Toyota Dealer Direct, GMAC Smart Auction Canada, DealerBlock and LiveBlock), selected and first deployed ADESA’s CRM system, drove the origination of their targeted e-mail marketing efforts and completed his MBA.
	Angela Margolit President and CEO Bluebird Auto Rental Systems Angela Margolit joined Bluebird Systems in 1988. In 1993, she engineered an employee-leveraged buy-out of the auto rental division. The newly formed company, Bluebird Auto Rental Systems (BARS) immediately began the re-write of the software and in 1994 introduced the industry’s first Windows product, AutoMate2. In 2006, Angela led BARS to the acquisition of Orion Systems. Today, she keeps her company at the forefront of the car rental industry by constantly introducing new products and services and utilizing the latest technologies.
	Michael Meyer Co-Founder Rate-Highway and Auto Rate Exchange Michael Meyer, co-founder of Rate-Highway and Auto Rate Exchange, is a leader in the design, development and implementation of ground-breaking Revenue Management and Competitive Intelligence systems. Prior to working in the travel industry he lead the creation and implementation of custom software with Microsoft. Michael has been in high-tech for over 25 years.
	Robert E. Muhs, Esq. Vice President Government Affairs & Corporate Compliance & Business Ethics Avis Budget Group, Inc. Bob Muhs joined Avis Rent A Car System, Inc. in 1994 as the Director of Government Affairs and served in that position until March 2001 when he was promoted to the position of Vice President, Government Affairs. He is responsible for all federal and state government relations activities for the Avis and Budget rental car companies. Bob is also responsible for oversight of all government inquiries. He oversees the company’s overall Corporate Compliance program worldwide. In 2005, Bob was honored by Auto Rental News with its Executive Leadership Award. He served as President of the Virginia Car and Truck Renting and Leasing Association.
	Craig Parmerlee Director, Business Development ACE Rent A Car Reservations Inc. Craig Parmerlee came to the car rental industry after an extensive career in technology leadership at major computing firms. Joining ACE Rent A Car in 2003, Craig heads the development of the ACE affiliate network and all technologies that support this network. The ACE system has grown to 12 company-owned locations and 200 independently owned ACE offices in 17 countries worldwide.
	Matt Pietzak Area Performance Manager The Frontline Performance Group Matt Pietzak's responsibilities include service based sales training, management development and operations consulting. He has worked in the car rental industry for nine years in various sales, training, and management positions. In his previous management role with Enterprise Rent A Car, he gained the valuable experiences of launching airport operations and local market branches. His ability to recognize the balance of sales and operations as both an art and science has resulted in his ability to help drive bottom line numbers throughout his career.
	Leslie J. Pujo Attorney LaPlaca Law, PC Leslie Pujo focuses her legal practice on franchise law, as well as legal issues affecting rental vehicle companies and rental agreements. Before joining LaPlaca Law, Leslie was in-house franchise counsel at Choice Hotels International, Inc. in Silver Spring, MD and an associate at Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, DC. Leslie received a Juris Doctor degree with highest honors from the George Washington University where she was Senior Notes Editor of The George Washington Law Review and named to Order of the Coif. She also holds an advanced degree (with honors) in international law from the University of Toulouse in France.
	David E. Purinton President PurCo Fleet Services, Inc. David Purinton is a veteran of the car rental industry who has been associated with the Car Rental Show since its creation, receiving high marks from those who have attended his many presentations. David is the president and founder of PurCo Fleet Services and currently serves as the secretary of the Utah/Idaho Car and Truck Rental and Leasing Association.
	Richard Radzis President ACE Rent A Car and ACE Rent A Car Reservations System Richard Radzis has worked continuously in the car rental business since 1979. Past president of Illinois CATRALA, previous Board member and Officer of ACTIF, previous president of ACRA and currently serves on the Board of ACRA. ACE Rent A Car has rental operations in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Texas. ACE Rent A Car Reservations serves 200 plus locations worldwide as a provider of electronic reservations.
	Gordon Reel Assistant Vice President of Government and Legislative Affairs Enterprise Rent-A-Car Gordon Reel oversees all federal and state legislative activity throughout the country that relates to or affects the car rental, fleet leasing and car sales industries. He works directly with Enterprise’s local operating groups in the US and Canada to manage legislative and political issues as well as its lobbyists. Gordon also assists in managing Enterprise’s Political Action Committee. Prior to moving to Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Gordon worked for the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RCGA), as the Director of Government Affairs. Gordon lobbied the state legislature and the Governor’s office for pro-growth, pro-business legislation on behalf of St. Louis regional business community.
	Robert Rogener Founder Avalon Integrated Marketing Robert Rogener is the founder of AvalonMarketingUSA.com, a Los Angeles based Search Engine advertising agency and marketing firm, that was established in 2004. Avalon specializes in advanced SEO, Pay Per Click Management, Affiliate Marketing, E-Commerce, Web Development, and Email deployments. Mr. Rogener offers an unique blend of more than 15 years of experience in the rental car industry working in various marketing positions for The Hertz Corporation, Fox Rent A Car, and Agency Rent Car.
	Jim Schalberg Owner and Principal Jim Schalberg Auto Rental Training and Schalberg.com Jim Schalberg is a 38 rear veteran of the retail automotive industry and has been involved in the rental end of the industry since the late 70’s. Jim is the owner and principal of Jim Schalberg Auto Rental Training and Schalberg.com a provider of training, services and products designed specifically to help his clients “Sell More Rental Days”. Jim’s 2009 Profit Builders program includes regional meetings as well as Live Web Workshops and Private Coaching Sessions.
	Ken Stellon Managing Partner The Frontline Performance Group Ken Stellon leads FPG’s client field delivery team. He has 17 years of experience in various sales, training and performance management roles within the automotive and car rental industry. He has presented Frontline seminars to over 10,000 associates, managers and owners throughout the US, Canada, Latin America and Europe. He has airport, local market and dealership based car rental experience with both corporate, licensee and agency operations. Throughout his client delivery he has gained valuable insights from leading brands like Hertz, Avis Budget Group, Dollar-Thrifty, Enterprise, Alamo-National, Payless, Virgin, AutoNation and many other independent car rental licensees. Since 2005, he has written fifeteen different articles on a wide variety of topics for Auto Rental News.
	Richard L. Stevens President Payless Car Rental Richard Stevens is responsible for its company owned and franchised car rental operations. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer for the ACRA since its inception and served on the Board of Directors of the predecessor association, the Association of Car and Truck Rental Independents and Franchisees (ACTIF). Mr. Stevens is a member of the Board of Directors and Audit Committee Chairman of Teltronics, Inc. From 1984 to 2000, Mr. Stevens held management positions at KPMG, Price Waterhouse Coopers and Grant Thornton. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
	Anne Taylor Sales and Marketing, Rental Market EnfoTrace Anne Taylor has been in the GPS tracking industry for over 15 years. She focuses her efforts on providing advanced tracking technology to the rental car market, ensuring a full understanding of the needs of the industry, thereby providing a solution that provides a positive return on investment. Taylor has served on several board of directors including the Association for Car and Truck Independent and Franchisees and Truckload Carriers Association.
	Jim Tennant Principal The Tennant Group Jim Tennant has over 30 years' experience in the vehicle rental industry. After serving as president of Holiday Rent A Car, he purchased the Holiday franchise for San Francisco which became Payless Car Rental. Tennant sold the Payless franchise and purchased the money-losing Thrifty Car Rental franchise which became profitable in the 2nd month. At its peak, the company had a fleet of 2,200 vehicles with 185 employees at 16 offices. Today, Tennant provides consulting and expert witness services to the vehicle rental industry. He also chairs the Roundtable, a group of car rental owners that exchange financial information and meet twice yearly.
	Tim Yopp Chief Technology Officer Eckhaus Fleet Tim Yopp handles Eckhaus Fleet’s website, databases and email marketing system, and provides analysis of industry trends for sales support. Tim also handles most of Eckhaus Fleets wholesale fleet Prior to joining Eckhaus, Tim learned the joys of the automotive sales industry as CTO of the largest auto dealer on eBaymotors, posting more than 2000 cars a day to the site. Before serving as the VP of eCommerce for a credit card processor, Tim ran one of the largest software development and computer consulting companies in Southern Arizona for 14 years. His company developed products for AOL, Corning and many others.