bbard nt of Rental pment, Rent-a-Car Rob Hibbard joined Enterprise right out of California cally all senior management at Enterprise usiness started as a management trainoo e practi- from the ground up turn, in he became an assistant ern California learnin branch manager, a branch manager, and th n was asked to begin developing presence in St. Louis Later ho assumed r for Enterprise's ca which he was promoted to lead tho push into all the nation's largost airports Question: What attracted you to Enterprise? an airport centor, after Hibbard: I was initially attracted to the company for the challenge of running my tonomy pany, Enterprise gives its branch managers substantial au branch in decision making. Not only that but once a person an assistant that manager, ho or she is paid a porcentage of profits in addition to percentage becomes highor with each promotion 50 management has a vested nterest n the success of the business. Also tho company seemed to be imbued with a contagious team spirit that I ound very attractive Question: What is your daily routino like? Hibbard: No two days are a it is an ever changing business, and the variety is what keeps it challenging and exciting l deal with a variety of topics on a daily ba from sales and marketing strategy to pricing. facilities management and airport tions. My daily activities range from employee meetings calls, for location visits shows. Things were a bit simpler when l was a branch man ager would start the day greeting all of the employces, then check our daily fleet use forecast and usually spend the rest of the time in coaching and training Question: What are the major challenges facing tho industry? Hibbard, Technol ogy and economic forces are challenging the business models in overy aspect of the travel and tourismindustry companies that can successfully adapt to the new environment will flourish, while those who do not will face significant problems Question: Describe some of your successes a company, we attribute our success to focusing on our mission Our Hibbard: As founder Jack Taylor, said take care of your customers and employees first, and prof- its will follow For nearly 50 years, Enterprise has remained true to this simple phi losophy, and this is the foundation of the com s succes Question: Why didn't Enterprise enter the arport market earlie? Hibbard: Enterprise grew up serving the needs of customers in towns where they live and work-primarily supplying their replacement car rental needs that are in the shop ar a vehicle for a short business trip or weekend getaway. This nonairport market is significant and had not been addressed by our competition. As a result of our home- city business, we developed tens of millions of customers who want to rent from us not only at home but also when they travel. We approached the airport business slowly at first to be sure we cou d bring the same level of service to that market. As we established we could meet customers' expectations, we began expanding more in North America. vigorously and are now serving all of the major airpo What would you tell a student thinking of a career in the rental car Question ndustry