There is no single more important job or initiative in this company than performance excellence.”

These are the words that Ronald L. Nelson, CEO of Avis Budget Group Inc. (ABG), chose when he addressed an assembly of ABG’s top 70 senior executives, asking them to join him in leading every location, operation, and department down the road to performance excellence.

Nearly one year later, ABG is on track to exceed its financial savings goals by more than $10 million. More important, perform-ance excellence has become the way ABG does business, and has positioned the company to meet business challenges more effectively than ever before.

Background

Avis Budget Group’s operating divisions include the vehicle rental operations of Avis Rent A Car System LLC, Budget Rent A Car System Inc., and Budget Truck Rental LLC. ABG operates these brands in the Americas, the Caribbean, Australia, and New Zealand.

Total 2007 revenues were US $6 billion, 78 percent of which comes from U.S. car operations. Avis Budget has a global reach that includes approximately 6,900 car and truck locations operating more than 425,000 vehicles. In 2007, the company completed more than 28 million vehicle rental transactions worldwide.

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