Executive Chairman, Enterprise Holdings
Andy Taylor, who became involved in the automotive business nearly 50 years ago, currently serves as Executive Chairman of Enterprise Holdings – the privately held business founded in St. Louis in 1957 by his father, Jack Taylor. Building on the success of the company’s flagship Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand, the Taylor family acquired the Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental brands in 2007 in the largest acquisition ever in the car rental industry. The family renamed the company Enterprise Holdings in 2009, and today it operates a network of more than 8,200 neighborhood and airport locations worldwide. Enterprise Holdings is the most comprehensive service provider and only investment-grade company in the U.S. car rental industry.
Today, Enterprise Holdings and its affiliate Enterprise Fleet Management together offer a total transportation solution. Combined, these businesses – which include extensive car rental and car sharing services, commercial truck rental, corporate fleet management, and retail car sales – accounted for $15.4 billion in revenue and operated 1.3 million vehicles throughout the world in fiscal 2012. Ranked by Forbes as one of America’s Largest Private Companies, Enterprise Holdings’ revenues also place the company near the top of the travel industry, exceeding many airlines and most cruise lines, hotels, tour operators and online travel agencies.
When Taylor joined Enterprise at the age of 16 in one of the original St. Louis offices, he began his career by washing cars during summer and holiday vacations and learning the business from the ground up. Taylor continued his education at the University of Denver, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1970. Following graduation, he opted to gain some initial experience outside of the family business and began working for RLM Leasing, a Ford Motor company affiliate in San Francisco. After three years at the company, Taylor returned to Enterprise, which, at the time, operated a fleet of only 5,000 cars. In 1976, he became the General Manager of Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s St. Louis regional operations, and was promoted in 1980 to President and Chief Operating Officer. Taylor became Chief Executive Officer in 1991 and Chairman in 2001. In June 2013, he transitioned to the position of Executive Chairman.
In 2009, Taylor was inducted into the U.S. Travel Hall of Leaders for his leadership role in challenging excise taxes that single out rental car customers to fund unrelated projects and programs in local communities. He is one of 81 travel industry professionals who have been inducted into the Travel Hall of Leaders since its inception in 1969. In addition, in 2011, Automotive News magazine named Taylor as one of the “Electrifying 100” key players driving vehicle electrification, further underscoring the impact of Enterprise’s extensive fleet and neighborhood network as well as its efforts to introduce new technology into the marketplace. More recently, Taylor addressed the company’s commitment to sustainable transportation in a panel discussion at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and in a keynote speech at the Corporate Eco Forum Annual Meeting.
Outside of his professional duties with Enterprise Holdings, Taylor plays an active role in the community. He serves as Trustee of Washington University in St. Louis; Trustee for the Naval Aviation History Foundation; Life Trustee of the Missouri Botanical Garden, the oldest botanical garden in the U.S. and among the top three worldwide; and Director of Commerce Bancshares. He also is a former member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the United Way of Greater St. Louis; and past President of Civic Progress, an organization of leading chief executives in St. Louis who work for improvements on a wide range of civic issues.