Company: Donlen Corporation, Northbrook, IL
Company Description: Donlen Corporation, founded in 1965, is North America's fastest-growing fleet leasing and management company with over 120,000 vehicles managed and more than 260 employees. Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, Donlen is passionate about providing the industy's best customer service and most innovative technology to bring creative fleet management solutions to its customers.
Nomination Category: Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Executive of the Year - Services

Nomination Title: Gary Rappeport, CEO

Tell the story about what this nominee achieved since January 1 2008 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Gary Rappeport is Chief Executive Officer of Donlen Corporation, based in
Northbrook, Illinois. Donlen provides companies with innovative vehicle fleet
management solutions ranging from acquisition through remarketing.
 
Under Gary’s leadership, Donlen Corporation has realized double-digit revenue
growth with annual revenue increasing from $375 million in 2003 to nearly $925
million last year. During that period of time, Donlen is the fastest growing
fleet leasing and management company in North America, and has been recognized
by a number of leading industry organizations and publications:

•             Crain’s Chicago Business Best Places to Work for 2009 (one of 20
Chicago companies selected)
•             The International Association of Outsourcing Professional (IAOP) Global
Outsourcing 100 for 2008, 2007, and 2006
•             The National Association for Business Resources (NABR) 101 Best and
Brightest Places to Work For in Chicago, 2008 and 2007
•             Finalist in the “Most Innovative Company” category in The 2007 American
Business Awards

Gary recognizes the value in having happy employees, and how that translates
directly to company growth. The satisfaction and pride that Donlen employees
exhibit are direct drivers of the company’s superior customer service, making
Donlen one of the top outsourcing companies in the world. He has implemented
programs such as extensive in-house training programs, college tuition
reimbursement, a fully equipped on-site fitness center complete with a golf
simulation room, company-sponsored health screenings, and an at-work Weight
Watchers program.

Gary is a strong advocate for corporate responsibility, championing several
social initiatives, including:

•             The Children’s Oncology Services of Illinois’ One Step at a Time
program, a summer camp for children with cancer and Leukemia,raising more than
more than $100,000 in 2007
•             Adoption of Chicago’s Jenner Academy, whose students are living at or
near the poverty level, helping with basic needs for the children’s education
and quality of living. Gary and Donlen’s employees help with school supply
drives, hosting a career day, raising funds for summer camps, and a
yearly “Letters to Santa” program, providing gifts for each and every student.

Gary’s determination to drive change and initiate environmentally conscious
programs has led Donlen to partner with Sierra Club and the EPA’s Smart Way
program and the development of Donlen GreenKey, a carbon reduction focused
program which provides solutions to help companies understand and improve their
fleet’s impact on the environment, and coolfleets.com to help commercial,
government and municipal fleets in modeling vehicle alternatives to gain a
better understanding of both their carbon output and lifecycle costs. Donlen
actively participates in industry discussions regarding environmental
challenges and opportunities facing the fleet industry, most recently as a
major participant in the 2008 Bobit Media GreenFleet Conference.

To further demonstrate his commitment to effecting change in the environment,
in 2008 Gary made a strategic decision to create GreenDriver, a stand-alone
company to help produce positive change across the fleet management industry by
changing driver behavior through state-of-the-art online learning and
certification. In conjunction, he created the GreenDriver Foundation to support
environmental initiatives that address issues directly impacted by the
transportation industry.

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

http://www.sbnonline.com/Local/Article/13506/68/0/Climbing_the_mountain.aspx
http://www.fleetfinancials.com/News/Story/2008/12/Donlen-Shares-Holiday-Spirit-of-Giving-with-Chicago-Elementary-School.aspx   
http://www.donlengreenkey.com/donlen/WebControlServlet?waid=12pi   
http://www.greendriver.com/
http://www.donlen.com/pr_greenconf_panels.html
http://www.coolfleets.com/
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/businessList.pl?djoPage=view_html&djoPid=1659&djoPY=@pFO1Yjt4ipEY
http://www.onestepcamp.org/documents/Annual_07.pdf NOTE: SEE PAGE 12
http://www.donlen.com/donlen_customersurvey_info.html
http://fleetowner.com/information_technology/donlen_green_fleet_program/
http://www.donlen.com/pr_08global100.html   
http://www.fleetfinancials.com/News/Story/2008/07/Donlen-Corporation-Recognized-Again-as-One-of-the-101-Best-and-Brightest-Companies-to-Work-for-in-C.aspx

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the nominee:

Gary Rappeport is Chief Executive Officer of Donlen Corporation, North
America’s fastest growing fleet management company.

As a passionate and active business leader and environmental advocate, Gary
focuses on strategic alignment, product development, employee satisfaction, and
green initiatives to ensure the right resources and culture exist to achieve
the company’s goals.

Gary earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance at the University of Florida and an
MBA in Finance and Information Systems at the University of Wisconsin –
Madison. He is a member of the Chicago Chapter of the Young Presidents
Organization and serves as President of the American Automotive Leasing
Association.