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Trevose, Pa. — Park Avenue Limousine is pleased to announce that industry veteran Scott Szwed has joined its team as Chief Strategy Officer.
Szwed brings more than 25 years of industry experience to Park Avenue, gleaned from his involvement in “every aspect of running a ground transportation company—from maintaining day-to-day operations to strategizing innovative approaches for business development”—as well as his drive to blend the classic industry standards with the advancements in trends, technology, and on-demand service expectations of the 21st century.
“What drew me to joining Park Avenue was the clear vision of the leadership and management teams to expand offerings to the greater tristate area, but respect for the ‘old school’ methodology that can be leveraged into the next generation of this industry,” he says. “Our industry is ever evolving—management teams have to be agile and ready to adapt with new business needs, but hold on to the core values and principles of service that makes our industry thrive. Park Avenue is a service-driven company and our success is dependent on delivering the highest-quality service to our clients.”
Szwed, whose career began in law enforcement, has “had the pleasure to serve at the direction of CEOs and presidents of some of the largest transportation companies on the East Coast.” He says that one of his earliest responsibilities was ensuring safety measures by “performing DOT-compliant background checks and recruiting top-tier chauffeurs.”
“I have been involved with so many of the DOT regulations we have now since their infancy,” Szwed says. “II’ve seen improvements overtime from the old days of drug testing in the office to today’s Medical Review Officers, government background checks, and fingerprinting standards. I’m fortunate enough to understand the rough beginnings of standards that are now the norm in this industry. There’s not much in this business that I haven’t experienced from the ground up.”
In addition to helping implement safety measures, Szwed has also helped several companies institute employee training and standard operating protocols, fleet selection and expansion, and assess operation needs for expert decision-making.
“We couldn’t be more excited to have Scott as a part of the team,” says Park Avenue Vice President of Operations Briana Candeub. “With With more than 25 years of experience in the industry, he brings unmatched support to the table. Our leadership team is looking forward to working with Scott and rapidly expanding Park Avenue in innovative ways to achieve our next level of service and success.”
Szwed, in turn, looks forward to this next phase of his ground transportation career as an opportunity to further the education that his time working for an array of Delaware Valley operations has yielded.
“I’ve been in this industry a long time, but I’m still learning,” he says. “I learned how to anticipate what’s coming next and be proactive. The 'old days' are gone: You need to learn how to apply new advancements to improve your services by thinking outside of the box; otherwise, you won’t succeed. It’s that simple.”
And one of his first lessons was familiarizing himself with the CSO title that Park Avenue President Alan Candeub offered him.
“I researched the roles and responsibilities of a CSO to better understand the expectations of my new position," Szwed said. "A CSO is tasked with developing, communicating, executing, and sustaining corporate strategic initiatives. What I love about the CSO position is that it requires someone who wears many hats—it’s equal parts strategy and action. This is the perfect opportunity to apply my professional experience at just the right time in my career.”
And it’s a unique position that will benefit from Szwed’s genuine passion for the industry.
“I live this business, I breathe this business, and I love this business,” he said. “I wake up and I’m thinking about it, and I go to bed thinking about it. I just love it.”
Visit parkavenuelimousine.com for more information.
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Sandy brings over 30 years of experience in the travel and transportation industries to Carey International. Most notably, he served as chairman and CEO of Budget Group, the NYSE listed parent of Budget Rent a Car Corporation from 1997 to 2003. Most recently, Sandy served as a founding partner at Basin Street Partners, an investment management firm based in Daytona Beach, Fla. Previously, he was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Team Rental Group, a NASDAQ-listed company that owned various transportation businesses throughout the United States, including a number of large Budget Rent a Car franchises. Sandy also serves as a member of the Supervisory Board of Europcar Groupe, one of the world’s largest mobility companies publicly traded on Euronext Paris.
Joining Sandy in the Office of the CEO as Carey International’s new COO is his son, and business partner, Dan.
Dan has spent the last eight years in the travel and transportation industries managing Basin Street Partners’ investments in the sectors. Additionally, Dan has actively provided consulting services to public-equity investors with holdings in the travel and transportation sectors. Prior to joining Basin Street Partners, he was the founder & CEO of a transportation technology company serving the global public-transit sector and also held various investment banking roles at Deutsche Bank Securities.
“Carey International is a dynamic company operating in an industry undergoing rapid change. During this exciting time for our industry and our company, Carey has continued to provide world-class service and safety to its global customer base,” said Sandy Miller, CEO of Carey International, “at the same time, Carey has developed technology-driven solutions that have been widely adopted by its clients. Dan and I look forward to working closely with Carey’s over one-thousand global employees to strengthen Carey’s leadership position in the market.”
Visit carey.com for more information.
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“Prevost was our first choice and is the only coach we have ever run,” says Luxury Coach Founding Partner Anthony Lauriola. “Our new 2019 H3-45s allow us to continue to serve our customers in what we truly believe is the finest coach on the market.”
The company has systematically grown and updated its coach fleet since 2003 and has acquired new model Prevost coaches since 2010.
“If it weren’t for Glen Gendron, our Prevost sales representative at the time, we would still be running a fleet of older coaches and known only as that average transportation company,” says Lauriola. “He was the realist who walked us through the process and helped us understand the value of buying new.”
Serge Gonthier, Prevost regional sales manager, Eastern Canada, has since taken over for Gendron in the Toronto region.
“Serge is well informed and his deals always feel like the right choice for us,” says Lauriola. “He goes out of his way as a close friend would to walk us through our questions and concerns.”
The new model coaches feature Prevost’s proprietary 500-HP Electric Fan Drive, which reduces mechanical drag and load on the engine and components. Technicians can now service the engine without disturbing the entire cooling system.
The state of the art Prevost AWARE is standard on the 2019 H3-45 and features Adaptive Cruise Control and Impact Alert signals to help drivers avoid collisions. Electronic Stability Program tracks vehicle movement, monitoring wheel speed, steering angle, lateral acceleration, and yaw to help avoid loss of control and prevent rollovers.
With this coach order, Luxury Coach also took the opportunity to upgrade the interiors with a combination of luxury leather and fabric for the seats, and to fully refresh its public image with all-new graphics and color scheme.
Visit luxury.to or prevostcar.com for more information.
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