ST. LOUIS, MO--(Marketwired - Jun 4, 2013) - Enterprise Holdings today announced that Pamela M. Nicholson , the company's President and Chief Operating Officer, has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer. She becomes only the third CEO in the privately held company's 56-year history and the first to come from outside the Taylor family, which founded the company and grew it from a tiny start-up into the world's largest car rental company. The position has been held since 1991 by Andrew C. Taylor , who will continue to be actively engaged with the company as Executive Chairman.
Nicholson -- a 32-year veteran of the company -- will retain her current title of President and continue to oversee the day-to-day, worldwide operations of Enterprise Holdings, which operates Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental , as well as its flagship Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand. As CEO, she also will take on expanded responsibility for the company's business strategies and for building and maintaining relationships with key customers, suppliers, financial institutions, elected officials and other stakeholders.
"In her ten years as Chief Operating Officer and five years as President, Pam Nicholson has proven herself more than ready to take on the duties of Chief Executive Officer," said Taylor. "This step is a natural evolution of Pam's strong leadership of our business -- leadership that has won her the loyalty and respect of our management team, of the Taylor family and of the larger Enterprise family.
"What's more, Pam personifies the entrepreneurial, promote-from-within culture that has always been a key part of our company's success," Taylor added. "She began her career with us serving customers at the rental counter, and her great work has earned her one opportunity after another. I know Pam will thrive on this latest opportunity as CEO and build on her long record of achievement with Enterprise."
Since Nicholson's appointment as Chief Operating Officer, the company's revenues have more than doubled, from $6.9 billion in FY 2003 to $15.4 billion in FY 2012. She has played an increasingly important role in driving that growth; among other accomplishments, she led the successful acquisition and integration of the Alamo and National brands, has guided the company's growing presence in the car-sharing market and, most recently, is overseeing Enterprise's aggressive international expansion.
In her new position, Nicholson is a corporate officer and the highest ranking woman, not only at Enterprise Holdings, but in the entire $20-billion U.S. car rental industry. She is also the highest ranking woman among the world's largest travel companies and, based on company revenue, ranks among the top 20 female CEOs across all industries. She leads the company's extensive network of 8,200 neighborhood and airport locations worldwide - with 6,000 offices located within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population and almost twice as many locations as Enterprise Holdings' nearest competitor. She also oversees Enterprise CarShare, Enterprise Rideshare vanpooling, Enterprise Car Sales and Enterprise Commercial Trucks, as well as Enterprise Fleet Management, an affiliate of Enterprise Holdings owned by the Taylor family. For the past six years, Nicholson has been named to FORTUNE 's " Most Powerful Women in Business " list.
"This is a company that has had only two CEOs in the past 56 years, our founder, Jack Taylor, and Andy," Nicholson said. "To follow in that line is a terrific honor."
"I know that Andy plans to be a very hands-on Executive Chairman, and I look forward to working with him and our team to ensure that the company stays focused on the things that have made us the industry leader - taking excellent care of our customers, providing a great workplace and great opportunities for our people, staying disciplined and farsighted in our financial management and keeping our commitments to the communities we serve," Nicholson continued.
Nicholson began her career with Enterprise Rent-A-Car in 1981 as a Management Trainee in St. Louis after graduating from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Over the next 12 years, she was promoted through the ranks to Regional Vice President in Southern California. During that period, the Southern California group grew from 1,000 to more than 27,000 cars in its fleet, and is today the company's largest operating group.
In 1994, Nicholson returned to her hometown of St. Louis to become a Corporate Vice President at Enterprise Holdings' worldwide headquarters, overseeing the efforts of 10 operating groups located throughout the United States. Three years later, she was promoted to the top job with the New York Enterprise Rent-A-Car group, the company's second largest operating group. During her two years as New York's General Manager, the group enjoyed excellent fleet growth and saw its profitability more than double. She was promoted back to St. Louis as Senior Vice President-North American Operations in 1999, was named Chief Operating Officer in 2003, and then President in 2008.
Nicholson currently serves on the corporate boards of Energizer Holdings, Inc., and Enterprise Holdings, and is former chairman of the Humane Society of Missouri board of directors. She also is a generous supporter of a number of social causes in the St. Louis area, including the United Way. In addition, Nicholson's past service includes serving on the board of the United Way of Bergen County, New Jersey, and on the board of INROADS of St. Louis, an employment program for minority college students.
About Enterprise Holdings Enterprise Holdings and its affiliate Enterprise Fleet Management together offer a total transportation solution. Combined, these businesses -- which include extensive car rental and car-sharing services, commercial truck rental, corporate fleet management and retail car sales -- accounted for $15.4 billion in revenue and operated 1.3 million vehicles throughout the world in fiscal 2012. Enterprise Holdings, through its regional subsidiaries, operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands. The company also operates largest fleet of vehicles in the world through a global network of more than 8,200 airport and neighborhood locations.
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