Avis Rent A Car, Inc. Shareholders Elect Senator D'Amato and Kevin Sheehan to Board
24 June 1999
Avis Rent A Car, Inc. Shareholders Elect Senator D'Amato and Kevin Sheehan to Board
GARDEN CITY, N.Y., June 24 -- The shareholders of Avis Rent A
Car, Inc., have elected former New York Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato
and Kevin M. Sheehan, the Company's Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer, to the Company's Board of Directors, it was announced
today.
"Senator D'Amato brings enormous knowledge and experience to our Board
through his many years of public service," said Martin Edelman, Interim
Chairman of the Board. "His national stature brings a fresh dimension to our
Board and heightens its profile."
Mr. D'Amato served in the Senate for three terms. He was Chairman of the
Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs from 1995 until he left
office. As Chairman of the Banking Committee he had a decisive role in
shaping the nation's economy and policies on small business, housing,
transportation, consumer credit, mortgage and commercial lending, trade and
export, as well as the securities, bond and commodities markets. He
consistently worked to pass legislation to channel funds from the private
sector into the nation's inner cities and economically distressed areas.
Mr. D'Amato was born in Brooklyn, later moved to Long Island and still
resides there. Prior to his career in the United States Senate, he served as
Supervisor for the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County. He is an attorney and,
since leaving the Senate, he has established Park Strategies, a business
consulting firm in New York City.
Senator D'Amato joins the Avis Board following the announcement that the
Company is acquiring PHH and Wright Express vehicle management and fuel card
businesses, a $1.8 billion purchase that transforms the Company.
"I have the privilege of joining the Avis Board at a very exciting time in
the Company's history," said the former Senator. "I look forward to helping
guide Avis through its transformation into the world's leading provider of
full service automotive transportation and vehicle management solutions."
Kevin M. Sheehan, who has been Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer of the Company since December 1996, was also elected to the
Board of Directors. He was the chief architect of the PHH-Wright Express
transaction and continues to nurture the deal as it moves toward a late June
closure. He was also instrumental in taking Avis public in September of 1997.
"I'm gratified to be joining the Avis Board," said Mr. Sheehan. "With the
PHH transaction, we have essentially created a new company and I look forward
to helping steer the Company from the perspective of the Board as well as from
the perspective of senior management."
Prior to joining Avis, Mr. Sheehan was a Senior Vice President of HFS,
Inc. (predecessor to Cendant). From December, 1994 to September, 1996, Mr.
Sheehan was Chief Financial Officer for STT Video Partners, a joint venture
between Time Warner, Telecommunications, Inc. and Sega of America and HBO.
Prior thereto, he was with Reliance Group Holdings, Inc., an insurance holding
company, and some of its affiliated companies for ten years and was involved
with the formation of the Spanish language television network, Telemundo
Group, Inc., and from 1991 through 1994 was Senior Vice President-Finance and
Controller.
Avis Rent A Car, Inc., with locations in the United States, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand and the Latin American Caribbean region is one of the
leading rental car companies in the world. Annually, the Company completes
approximately 15 million rental transactions, with a fleet averaging
approximately 200,000 vehicles, generating over $2.2 billion in revenue.
For corporate background information and recent news releases, please log
onto the Avis Web site at http://www.avis.com or call Company News at
800-758-5804, access code #078975.