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This news follows the retirement of company founders Bill Buff and Paull Hubbard. “It’s been a true honor to work with these gentlemen. They never deviated from their mission to deliver the highest quality training and to keep drivers safe. I’m privileged to be in a position to carry on the legacy they’ve set in motion,” said Art Liggio, Driving Dynamics’ president and CEO.
Art Liggio joined the company in 2008 with a plan to grow the business. As the managing owner, he has acquired full ownership of Driving Dynamics together with majority owner investment firm Intuitis, with offices in New York and Paris and Delancey Street Capital Partners, based in Conshohocken, Pa.
“Intuitis is very proud to back the management buy-out of Driving Dynamics. This transition of leadership will allow the company to continue servicing its traditional market and capture significant new growth opportunities. Driving Dynamics is perfectly in line with our investment strategy: a strong management team already in place, a company with a solid track record of historical cash flows and significant upside potential,” commented Nicolas Delcourt Intuitis founding partner.
Intuitis Partner John Perrachon added, “We were very impressed by Art’s leadership skills, deep knowledge of the safety market, and strategic vision. We now look forward to working hand in hand with management, further expanding Driving Dynamics, and executing its strategic plan with a special focus on the e-learning offering.”
The investment group points to the company’s domain expertise, strong position in the driver training space, reputation in the marketplace, passion and commitment of the leadership team for growing the business, and proven ability to execute as key reasons for their investment decision.
“We’ve done a lot of research on the driver training space and we were extremely impressed with the company, its leadership team and outstanding customer reputation. Driving Dynamics was a strong company previously and now with the recapitalization of the business, it’s in an even better position to go after growth in multiple ways,” said Bill Filip, founder and managing director at Delancey Street Partners and Delancey Street Capital Partners.
Among Driving Dynamics’ goals is remaining at the forefront of addressing the needs of fleet-based organizations to: respond to today’s driver safety challenges, provide comprehensive end-to-end safety performance solutions, and adapt to new vehicle technologies.
“We’re already in the midst of a transformative period, “said Liggio. “We’ve been steadfastly enhancing existing services and developing new instructionally sound training programs designed to keep drivers safe.”
Visit drivingdynamics.com for more information.
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“We are breaking new ground with this approach,” said John F. Rizzo, President and Chief Operating Officer, Deem. “For the first time, travelers will be connected to service providers in a way that’s optimal for everyone, ensuring traveler satisfaction and safety, better cost control for the corporation and full servicing capabilities for the travel management company. Everyone wins.”
“This makes booking our services easier than ride-sharing,” said Scott Solombrino, spokesperson for the Marcou Transportation Group and President and CEO of Dav El/BostonCoach. “Travelers don’t have to worry about the logistics or planning at all. The system makes precise, customized recommendations, and all users have to do is pick the one they like and tap ‘yes’.”
With car service tightly integrated into Deem’s industry-leading Work Fource online booking platform, travelers can book their entire trip in one end-to-end flow. The integration also provides the ability to anticipate and match users’ needs and preferences, while complying with company guidelines. In addition to intelligently matching the service with the traveler, the traveler no longer needs to fill in details like pick-up location or time—the system already knows where they are and when. It also tracks changes in travel, such as a delayed flight to automatically update the ride reservation and keep users informed.
“Traveler behavior is changing dramatically,” said Solombrino “Through our partnership with Deem we can now offer more highly targeted and differentiated services to our target audience of travelers.”
“The Deem platform uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to compile and analyze millions of data points, including sentiment data, reviews, and a traveler’s profile and past behavior,” said Tony D’Astolfo, chief commercial officer, Deem. “It then offers the appropriate level of ground service for that traveler. For example, CEOs may receive premium ‘meet and greet’ service, mid-level executives, a black car service, and a shuttle bus for a contractor.”
“In the past many companies had no choice but to turn off the chauffeured transportation option, rather than risk non-compliant bookings,” said David Seelinger, chairman and CEO, EmpireCLS. “Now with this partnership, they can offer employees the security of fully accredited, insured chauffeured transport, confident that everything conforms to corporate travel and spending policies.”
Visit deem.com for more information.
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San Francisco was a top pick for our attendees (the close second was San Diego, which is the location of our May 2018 retreat), and all that makes the Bay Area awesome was infused in the event. We kicked off our Opening Reception with a visit to the world-class Starlight Room, the posh penthouse destination at the Sir Francis Drake hotel, where we were entertained by cabaret-style music, tons of cocktails, and breathtaking views of the evening skyline. We topped it on Monday night with our private yacht cruise that took us throughout the area, including under the Golden Gate and Bay bridges, right past Alcatraz Island, and near AT&T Park, where a night game was underway.
“I had a great time attending events, networking with other companies, and learning new ideas to implement. While it is a great party, it is not just a party. Very thought provoking,” said George Jacobs of Windy City Limousine in Chicago, Ill.
Our education is always the highlight of any event we hold, and we got to work on Monday with two “shock scenario” sessions that focused on finance and human (staff) related issues. The sessions, moderated by CD Education Committee co-chairs Jason Sharenow of Broadway Elite and Kristen Carroll of The LMC Group, showed attendees how to prepare for the things that they never see coming, such as the departure or death of a key employee, technology failure, an unexpected audit, or weather-related event. On Tuesday, we invited FranklinCovey speaker Scott Robley—who travels the country to share his business management knowledge on a bevy of topics—to boil down the concept of embracing change, which is as simple and as complicated as it sounds. Organizations spend thousands of dollars on education like this so we were thrilled to have his expertise on hand for our attendees.
“I took home great action items I can use right away. Dawson [Rutter] gave me ideas on how to look at my reports, Kristina [Bouweiri] gave me ways to look out for the unexpected, and Scott [Robley] gave me communication tools I have already started using with my staff and clients,” said Becky Laramee of All Points Limousine in Worcester, Mass.
“I thought this was an exceptional retreat with fun activities, great location, and educational content. Really enjoyed all sessions! Covey session was worth every penny. I downloaded his Speed of Trust book right after the conference and read it flying home,” said Kim Garner of BEST Transportation in St. Louis, Mo.
On Wednesday, we topped off the retreat with a trip to gorgeous Napa Valley. We broke into groups and boarded Grech buses for our day trip, where we visited three very different but equally beautiful wineries (included in the price of retreat). We strolled through the cool, historic caves of Beringer, rode hillside trams to the top at Sterling, and enjoyed the bucolic views at Artessa, all while sipping several wines at each stop. The groups were also treated to a delicious buffet lunch at Napa Ford Lincoln. Of course, wine was flowing and the good times were rolling as we made our way back to San Francisco later in the day.
“Staff was personable and the event felt much more intimate than others we have attended. The welcome reception at Starlight Room and the boat cruise were top notch--the food was great at both. We love the Chauffeur Driven team; they have an inclusive approach. Whether you are the owner or affiliate manager of a car service business, or in our case, a corporate travel technology company-- they make you feel welcome. We always look forward to their events,” said Jackie Miehls of Deem in San Francisco, Calif.
Next up is our annual show, which will be held this October 22-25 at the spectacular Gaylord Palms in sunny Orlando—all under one roof! Next year, we take our Executive Retreat to the brand-new Pendry Hotel in San Diego, scheduled for May 6-8. Look for all the deets at chauffeurdrivenshow.com, and be sure to check out the retreat recap in the August issue of Chauffeur Driven!
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