Enterprise Holdings CEO, Andy Taylor, Shares Story of Family Entrepreneurship

The seventh season of the Voices of Experience speaker series concluded May 9 with Andy Taylor, CEO of Enterprise Holdings (Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, Alamo and National) and Daniels alumnus (BSBA, 1970). Taylor shared the story of the company that was founded by his father, Jack Taylor, in 1957 as a leasing company with one employee and seven cars. Jack, an F6 hellcat fighter pilot in World War II, started Executive Leasing in the basement of a St. Louis Cadillac dealership. The company’s rental operation started in 1962, at which time Jack changed the name to Enterprise Leasing in honor of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Andy joined Enterprise when he was 16. At 18, he took a hiatus to pursue a degree at the University of Denver. In 1980, he was named president and CEO. “In 1989, we were rocking and rolling,” Taylor shared with the Voices of Experience audience. “But my father said, ‘I’m having too many friends telling me anecdotally that our service isn’t so great.’” The company instituted its famous Enterprise Service Quality index (ESQi), which requires follow-up surveys to past customers. Taylor took the company’s overall ESQi rating from 60 percent to 80 percent of customers being completely satisfied and the company became noted for its customer service. It has been recognized as the #1 company in the rental car industry for 30 of the last 32 quarters by J.D. Power and Associates, and Enterprise’s three subsidiary companies hold three of the top four spots (Enterprise, National and Alamo).

In 2006, Enterprise acquired Vanguard Car Rental Group, which included Alamo Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental. The move made Enterprise the largest car rental company in North America. Today, the company boasts 68,000 employees worldwide, 7,600 locations, and one million cars and trucks in their possession—the company buys seven percent of vehicles sold in the U.S. each year. “Vehicle availability is our biggest challenge,” said Taylor.

Enterprise is also the largest recruiter of college graduates in the country, hiring more than 8,000 a year. “We’re very flattered to work with placement officers at universities,” said Taylor. “We have a little different story. We are still trying to recreate the employee experience.” Enterprise offers a comprehensive management training program and many opportunities for growth for employees who start as management trainees.

Despite strong financial performance, even in the tough economy, Enterprise is continually innovating. In 2008, they launched WeCar, an environmentally friendly car-sharing program. Today, the program operates in several metropolitan areas and company campuses around the country, including Google in Mountain View, California.

Making good environmental choices is important to Enterprise, said Taylor. “We had a founder with vision beyond money,” he said of his father. “That was a great basis for us.” A committed capitalist, Taylor also offered his feelings about the importance of supporting the entrepreneur. “It is my personal opinion that if our country ever loses the ability for someone like Jack Taylor to start with some money and an idea and can’t succeed either through overregulation or because the financial markets aren’t right—or, frankly, a lot like some of the European countries—then we’re all in trouble here in this room.”

Taylor brought two dozen of his family members and senior team to the Voices of Experience event, including Carolyn Kindle, his niece, and Chrissy Taylor, his daughter, both assistant vice presidents. As Taylor put it, “You don’t get anything done in life unless you have a great team and a great family.”