Last year, Peter Pantuso, the longtime president & CEO of the American Bus Association (ABA) and president of its research arm, the ABA Foundation, shared his intention to retire from his position in September 2024. To prepare for the transition, the association recently announced that they had formed a search committee to begin finding a replacement for Pantuso, which includes retaining the services of Heidrick & Struggles, one of the nation’s leading executive search firms, to conduct the search through their offices in Washington, D.C.
Pantuso joined ABA in 1996 as president & CEO, presiding over some of the toughest periods in history for the industry, including 9/11 and the 2008 recession. Among his listed accomplishments: ABA’s membership nearly tripled in size and its annual convention, ABA’s Marketplace, grew to be the leading domestic packaged travel event in the industry during his tenure. He also created the Bus Industry Safety Council and the Bus Maintenance and Repair Council to highlight and promote the highest ethical standards in the bus industry and to increase industry safety, and was instrumental in forming the African American Motorcoach Council, Women in Buses Council, Hispanic Motorcoach Council, Entertainer Motorcoach Council, and the School Bus Council. Pantuso also founded the ABA Foundation, which parses and publishes research and data on the industry and grants scholarships “to promote academic excellence and diversity” in the industry.
ABA is also days away from their 2024 Marketplace, which is being held in Nashville, Tenn., starting this Sunday through January 16. They have also announced their dates and locations for the next few years: Philadelphia, Pa. in February 2025, Reno, Nev. in January 2026, Calgary (Alberta, Canada) in February 2027, and Charlotte, N.C. in January 2028.
Visit buses.org for more information.
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