Established in 1957 as Executive Leasing, the company was renamed Enterprise in 1969 in memory of the World War II ship on which the founder Jack Taylor served. Jack Taylor's founding philosophy, which has shaped the company's business policy, has been stated as "Take care of your customers and employees first, and profits will follow." The company was restructured in 2009 to become a holding company of Enterprise Rent-A-Car and its 2007 acquisitions of Alamo and National. , Enterprise ranked as the largest car rental company in North America, and was the only investment-grade company in the car rental industry. Further, it was part of the largest global car rental network through its alliance with Europcar. The success of Enterprise can in part be attributed to its major focus on customer service.
Executive history
, the company's chairman and CEO was Andrew Taylor, son of the founder Jack Taylor. On June 4, 2013, it was announced that Pamela Nicholson would assume the role of Chief Executive Officer. Nicholson was not only the first female CEO in the company's history, but also the first that was not a member of the Taylor family of St. Louis. Her predecessor, Andrew "Andy" Taylor, has continued to stay involved with company activities since then as Executive Chairman. In October 2019, the company announced Nicholson would retire by the end of the year. Two months later, it was announced that Chrissy Taylor, then the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer, would be promoted to Chief Executive Officer, effective January 2020. Taylor is only the fourth CEO in the company’s more than 60-year history and the third generation of Taylor family CEO leadership, preceded as CEO by her father Andy Taylor and grandfather Jack Taylor. In addition to being promoted to CEO, she retains her current title of President.
Mergers and acquisitions
A planned acquisition of Citer SA was announced in November 2011; this includes the acquisition of subsidiary Atesa. This acquisition would add 30,000 vehicles to the company's fleet and provide entry into the French and Spanish markets. PhillyCarShare, a for-profit car-sharing organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was acquired by Enterprise in 2011 and was renamed Enterprise CarShare in 2014. Enterprise acquired further car-share companies including Mint Cars-On-Demand in 2012, I-GO in 2013, and in 2014 Occasional Car in Denver and AutoShare in Toronto. Enterprise acquired Performance Gateway, LLC in 2014, which provided “Software-as-a-service services featuring performance management software for use in network management, vendor and employee feedback and training, vehicle rental, automotive insurance, automotive refinishing, and collision repair applications." Enterprise acquired Zimride ride-matching business on July 10, 2013. Terms of the sale were not released. Triangle Rent A Car, another car-rental company based in Raleigh, North Carolina was acquired by Enterprise in 2015 and it was converted into Enterprise Rent-a-Car. In 2017, Enterprise merged Cyncast Inc. and Performance Gateway, LLC into ARMS® Business Solutions "to provide an integrated management suite to insurance carriers, adjusters, collisions repair shops, manufacturers, and all partners involved in the claims and repair channels." In October 2019, Enterprise launched Entegral, the new name for its technology platform, which "was formerly known as ARMS® Business Solutions." In January 2019, Enterprise acquired Deem, a managed-travel technology platform that "includes Deem Work Fource and Deem Ground Work, a suite of online booking and travel technology products for business travelers, travel managers, travel-management companies and suppliers."
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
In 2006, Enterprise Rent-A-Car ranked #1 in sales with $9 billion in sales; unclear what the geographical scope of this sales figure was. Enterprise Rent-A-Car became an Enterprise Holdings subsidiary in 2009. This subsidiary has been recognized as a "Best Place to Launch a Career" by BusinessWeek for several years prior to 2010. It also has a strong culture of promoting from within, which has contributed to its being a top recruiter of college graduates. In addition, the subsidiary has been named the number one ranked car rental company in terms of customer satisfaction by J.D. Power several times.
Enterprise CarShare
In 2008, Enterprise piloted its first on-campus carsharing program at Washington University in St. Louis. The program, called WeCar, was introduced at University of South Florida in July 2009., WeCar has 100 carsharing programs in more than 30 U.S. states and Canada, and the service offers almost 100 electric cars and plug-in hybrids, including the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt. By September 2013, WeCar was rebranded as Enterprise CarShare. In March 2014, Enterprise Holdings acquired AutoShare, a carsharing company that had been founded in Toronto in 1998 and operated in several Canadian cities. It adopted the Enterprise CarShare name soon after.
ONRAMP Concierge
In 2012, Enterprise launched a mobile concierge website accessible by scanning a QR code for smart phones. Known as "ONRAMP Concierge", the service is accessed by customers scanning the code printed on a sticker placed on the driver's side window of the vehicle; the codes were made available to nearly all vehicles in Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car, and National Car Rental following a 20,000-vehicle pilot program started in 2011. The application, once scanned, gives users information about their rental vehicle's make and model, company offers and nearby resources such as gas stations or restaurants. Enterprise launched the application in an effort to raise vehicle awareness and generate sales for its auto manufacturing partners.
On May 22, 2018, it was announced that Enterprise had purchased the naming rights of the Scottrade Center, home of the St. Louis Blues. The building's name was to become the Enterprise Center, with the name change effective July 1. The arena's renovations continued their second phase during this time; all Phase 2 renovations and signage changes were complete in time for the 2018–19 NHL season.
Ties to Washington University in St. Louis
The executive chairman of Enterprise Holdings, Andrew C. Taylor, is a Washington University trustee. His father, Enterprise founder Jack C. Taylor, is a Washington University alumnus and served as a trustee and emeritus trustee. In 2001, the Washington University Enterprise Holdings Scholars Program was founded with a $25 million gift from Enterprise Holdings. In 2011, Jack C. Taylor gave Washington University in St. Louis $25 million dollars to further fund the scholarship program.
