Presenters & Moderators

Robert Alexander, President & CEO

Robert Alexander, President & CEO

RMA Worldwide
rmalimo.com

Robert Alexander launched his company in the basement of his parents’ house the summer following his college graduation and today is one of the largest in the U.S. Some his career highlights include testifying on Capitol Hill, serving as past chairman of the Limousine 20 Group and The Success Group, and being a founding member and past president of the Washington Metropolitan Limousine Association. Alexander currently serves as President of the NLA.

Tom Arrighi, President & CEO

Tom Arrighi, President & CEO

A&A Metro Transportation
aametro.com

Tom Arrighi has been in the industry for more than 30 years. A&A Metro Transportation, founded by Tom’s father Bill in 1952 as a taxi service, has been a family-run business based in Bridgewater, Mass., for nearly seven decades. Arrighi is also president of The Transportation Alliance and serves on the board of the Bridgewater State University School of Business.

Gary Arrington, Co-owner & Operations Manager

Gary Arrington, Co-owner & Operations Manager

540 Party Bus
540partybus.com

Developing strong relationships, personally and professionally, has been the foundation of what Gary Arrington does every day. He spent more than 15 years in the information technology sector of government consulting, including 4 years working in the Middle East. In addition to his passion for being an entrepreneur, he specializes in cloud cyber security when he is not working with affiliates or managing his party bus/Sprinter fleet.

Brett Barenholtz, CEO

Brett Barenholtz, CEO

Above All Transportation/Boston Car Service
bostoncar.com

Brett Barenholtz founded Boston Car Service in 1997, which he merged with Above All Transportation in 2015. He was the founder and CEO of Overdrive Media, the leading outdoor media solution in Massachusetts for the taxi industry from 2010-2017. Barenholtz serves a board member of the NLA and New England Livery Association, as well as a member of Limousine Association of New Jersey and Greater California Livery Association.

Barbara Burgess, COO

Barbara Burgess, COO

The Wright Foundation
wrightfoundation.org

Barbara Burgess is COO and Chief Vision Realization Officer for the Wright Foundation. A corporate consultant and trainer in the areas of transformational leadership, transformative education, social intelligence, emotional intelligence, and employee empowerment, she has more than 20 years of experience training, educating and marketing in a broad range of industries including healthcare, financial services, and consumer goods. She currently teaches applied social and emotional intelligence to professionals.

Ken Carter, COO

Ken Carter, COO

Aadvanced Limousines
317limousines.com

Ken Carter has spent nearly two decades in the ground transportation industry delivering world-class service to a variety of events including Super Bowl 2012 and the annual Indy 500 race. With a focus on leadership and teamwork, Aadvanced Limousines has grown its fleet to over 30 vehicles and a dedicated team, which includes his sister Kristie.

Jeffrey Cartagena

Jeffrey Cartagena

Leros Point to Point/Royal Coachman
leroslimo.com
Chad Casey, President

Chad Casey, President

Casey Corporate Transportation
cctatlanta.com

Chad Casey is a Navy veteran and entrepreneur who has owned three businesses. Currently, he owns Casey Corporate Transportation in Atlanta, Ga., which was founded in 2003. Casey served on the board of the Georgia Limousine Association, and helped form the Greater Atlanta Limousine Association (GALA). With GALA, he has served in various leadership positions, including vice president and chairman of the association’s charity golf tournament.

Simon Chen, Owner

Simon Chen, Owner

Eight Black Transport
eightblackcars.com
Australian by birth and Coloradoan by choice, Simon Chen has a passion for all things car related. Prior to founding Eight Black, he spent 15 years consulting with technology companies across Asia Pacific and U.S., logging 6 million miles in the air and extensively using black car services. He also taught for Australia’s largest and most respected advanced driver training company.
Mary Crafts, Founder

Mary Crafts, Founder

Culinary Crafts
culinarycrafts.com

Mary Crafts used the success of her catering company to become a trendsetter and ambassador for all things related to food and events. She has worked extensively with numerous Fortune 500 companies, celebrities, and even two U.S. Presidents. Using her all-in zest for life and can-do attitude, she currently consults with nonprofits and businesses, and hosts a weekly podcast available at marycraftsinc.com.

Bob Crescenzo, VP of Safety & Loss Control

Bob Crescenzo, VP of Safety & Loss Control

Lancer Insurance
lancerinsurance.com

Bob Crescenzo is responsible for coordinating Lancer’s safety engineering and loss control programs, marketing, and seminar preparation for commercial auto customers in the motorcoach, limousine, truck, and van industries. He founded Lancer Compliance Services in 1988, a comprehensive drug and alcohol testing service. Crescenzo has conducted training for various transportation associations, and is a contributing writer for Chauffeur Driven.

Moderator
Colin Devine, CEO

Colin Devine, CEO

Devine’s Worldwide Chauffeur Services
devinescs.com

Colin Devine leads the team at Devine’s, an Ireland-based company founded by his father in 1978. An accomplished world traveler, Devine completed executive learning programs at Chicago Booth and Stanford, but says his family continues to be one of his biggest influences. He is passionate about great service and building a culture of excellence. He also serves on the CD/NLA Education Committee.

Eric Devlin, President & Owner

Eric Devlin, President & Owner

Premier Transportation
premierofdallas.com

Eric Devlin founded Premier Transportation in 1996 with two vehicles and three employees. Today, he has a diverse fleet that includes full-size motorcoaches. Prior to opening his company, Devlin worked as an auto underwriter with State Farm Insurance Company. Devlin also recently launched PuraArmor, a company that distributes electrostatic sprayers that disinfect surfaces, with Shawn Glasgow and Brian O’Neill to meet the challenges of COVID.

Jim Digby, Co-founder & Chairman

Jim Digby, Co-founder & Chairman

Event Safety Alliance
eventsafetyalliance.org

Jim Digby has spent nearly four decades in a variety of leadership and project management roles inside the live entertainment and music touring industry. He is focused on team building, production delivery, strategic risk management, and real-time crisis management in the fast-paced event world. He co-founded Event Safety Alliance, a safety-in-live-events global advocacy group, as well as Show Makers, a nonprofit educational organization for live event professionals.

Erin Digioia, Manager of Groups and Events

Erin Digioia, Manager of Groups and Events

Windy City Limousine & Bus
windycitylimos.com

Erin Digioia has been in the transportation industry for more than 15 years, starting her career as a customer service representative at Windy City Limousine & Bus Worldwide. In 2010, she created the company’s Groups and Events Department, which she still manages while overseeing their worldwide Affiliate Relations. Digioia has developed and implemented various training procedures and processes that have led to further efficiencies throughout the company.

Moderator
Andrew Don, COO

Andrew Don, COO

Research Underwriters, COO
researchunderwriters.com

Andrew Don, CPL, is COO of Research Underwriters, an independent national transportation insurance brokerage. For nearly a decade he has overseen the development and expansion of the firm’s services and client base. With a background in engineering and analytics, he has led the development of creative and sustainable alternative risk strategies for clients and has helped to develop new insurance programs to better serve the transportation industry.

Roger Dow, President & CEO

Roger Dow, President & CEO

U.S. Travel Association
ustravel.org

Roger Dow leads the Washington, D.C.-based organization representing all segments of travel in America. Dow and his team regularly meet with executive branch and congressional leaders to advance policies that benefit the broader travel industry. His efforts have resulted in major legislative victories, including establishing and renewing Brand USA, and the launch of this fall’s Let’s Go There campaign to restart travel post-COVID.

Moderator
Bill Faeth, Founder

Bill Faeth, Founder

Limo University
limogrowth.com

Bill Faeth is a nationally recognized expert on business growth and development, entrepreneurship, and marketing in the transportation industry. As founder of Limo University and facilitator of the NLA’s No Operator Left Behind, his mission is to teach operators how to grow their businesses while maintaining healthy margins. He has delivered keynote speeches and training seminars across the country to help business owners learn from his past experiences as a former limousine and motorcoach operator.

Diane Forgy, President & CEO

Diane Forgy, President & CEO

Overland Chauffeured Services
kclimo.com

Diane Forgy got the idea to start a limousine service from her parents when she was in high school, of which she assumed the lead role in day-to-day operations in 1991 and took complete ownership of in 1998. Overland grew very rapidly during these years and now is established as the highest volume luxury limousine service in Kansas City. Forgy is a former president of the National Limousine Association.

J.R. Garza, Owner

J.R. Garza, Owner

Diamond Limousine & Sedan
diamondlimoboise.com

J.R. Garza founded Diamond Limousine & Sedan with his wife Maria in 2004 as a part-time business. After 22 years in the semiconductor industry, he took a leap of faith left that position in March 2008 to operate his luxury ground transportation business full time. Since then, Garza decided to pursue a degree in business management and accounting to better understand the ins and outs of running his operation.

Moderator
Robyn Goldenberg, Director of Operations and Marketing

Robyn Goldenberg, Director of Operations and Marketing

Strategy Leaders
strategyleaders.com

Robyn Goldenberg oversees financial functions and operational daily activities, as well as manages the flow of client communications, accounts receivable and accounts payable, and vendor relationships at Strategy Leaders. Goldenberg also organizes and facilitates Strategy Leaders’ ground transportation benchmarking group’s quarterly meetings and serves on the CD/NLA Education Committee.

Andi Gray, Founder

Andi Gray, Founder

Strategy Leaders
strategyleaders.com

Andi Gray founded Strategy Leaders in 1995 to help owners of established, privately held businesses achieve growth, profit, stability, predictability, and peace of mind. Using proprietary systems, Strategy Leaders puts clients on track to double revenue and triple profit in repetitive 5-6 year cycles. Gray has earned recognition for business leadership, including Working Women of Westchester and two Westchester County Association APEX Awards.

Charlie Grimm, CEO

Charlie Grimm, CEO

BAC Transportation
bactrans.com

Charlie Grimm moved to Alaska in 1987 to work in the commercial fishing industry, but soon found that he wanted to be the owner of his own business. He founded BAC Transportation in 2000 with two limousines and a bus, which has grown into more than 60 vehicles today. BAC expanded its services in 2005 to non-emergency medical transportation, serving under a separate company name, Alaska Medical Transport (AMT).

Moderator
Andy Hernandez, President

Andy Hernandez, President

CTA Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation
ctalimo.com

Andy Hernandez began his career at the age of 16 by washing the small fleet owned by his family. Currently president of CTA Worldwide, his background affords him an insight to the industry from the perspective of large companies and the trials and tribulations of small two or three car shops. He is also a member of the CD/NLA Education Committee.

Kathy Kahne, President

Kathy Kahne, President

Windy City Limousine & Bus
windycitylimos.com

The foundation of Kathy Kahne’s industry success is her utter commitment to customer service. Travelers who ride with Windy City are treated with the utmost respect and care, and account managers know they can entrust their passengers with no concerns. Under her leadership, Windy City has grown tremendously and is now the sixth largest company in the industry.

Olive Kavanagh, Senior Global Travel Manager

Olive Kavanagh, Senior Global Travel Manager

Kerry Group
kerrygroup.com

Olive Kavanagh has nearly two decades of corporate travel management experience including program strategy, cost efficacy, and RFP/contracting across multiple cultures and countries. At the Kerry Group, she is responsible for the development and deployment of a global travel category transformation. She recently stepped down as Chairperson of the Institute of Travel Management in Ireland and association Board Director, roles she held for more than 7 years.

Edward Kaye, Partner

Edward Kaye, Partner

Schickler Kaye

Edward Kaye is an accomplished, innovative, and highly qualified former CEO and general counsel with extensive experience in the transportation leasing and finance industry, including Access Commercial Capital and Advantage Funding. He has a comprehensive business, legal, and regulatory compliance understanding of various markets, financial product offerings, and funding options, and has developed legal and business strategies that solve complex challenges.

Malcom Maier, Business Development Manager

Malcom Maier, Business Development Manager

Amazon's Delivery Service Partner Program
amazon.com/nla

Malcolm Maier is a business development manager responsible for the New England territory for Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program, and has a background in leading sales and operations teams in the logistics industry. When applying to become a DSP, you will interact with your corresponding business development manager like Maier as you progress through the interview process. Visit amazon.com/NLA for more information on becoming a partner.

Mike Marroccoli, Principal

Mike Marroccoli, Principal

EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants
epicbrokers.com

Mike Marroccoli, CIC, MBA, has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry where he specializes in programs, audits, and risk management for limousine and bus companies throughout the country. He is currently a principal with EPIC Insurance Brokers, and is a frequent contributor to industry publications, including Chauffeur Driven.

Michelle Miller, Vice Presdent

Michelle Miller, Vice Presdent

Elite Coach Transportation
elite-corportation.com

Since 1995, Miller has been responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Pittsburgh-based company including sales, marketing, operations, finance, and fleet. Most recently, using her experience and knowledge of the process of gaining government contracts, she became a verified vendor for the Department of Defense (DOD).

Hassina Noorzai, Founder

JJ Black Car Service
jjblackcar.com

Hassina Noorzai founded JJ Black Car Services in 2016 with five vehicles, whose clients consisted largely of government officials and private sector businesses. In August 2019, she contracted with Amazon as a Delivery Service Partner and launched JJ Courier Services a few months later—and has since delivered more than 2 million packages. She says her ultimate goal is to be a great role model for women around the world.

Steven O'Shea, Assistant Vice President

Steven O'Shea, Assistant Vice President

Lancer Group
lancerinsurance.com

Steven joined the Lancer Group in 2011, and manages the company’s branding, advertising, event coordination, website development, and digital marketing efforts, as well as its customer service operations. Since joining the company, Steven has worked closely with operators and vendors throughout the passenger transportation industry to create a consistently superior customer experience. Prior to his current role, he held the positions of Marketing Director and Marketing Representative for the company. Steven attended St. Peters College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing, with a minor in Economics.

Nina Parson, Director of Sales & Marketing

Nina Parson, Director of Sales & Marketing

Company Car & Limousine
companycarlimo.com

Nina Parson joined the chauffeured ground transportation industry in early 2015 after spending more than ten years as a Regional Director of Sales & Marketing for hotel chains like Hilton, Marriot, and IHG. She currently overseas Company Car’s reservations team, new business, corporate events and logistics, worldwide transportation, and growing the leisure, wedding, and tours markets.

Chad Peterson, President & Owner

Chad Peterson, President & Owner

Renee’s Limousines
reneeslimousines.com

Chad Peterson purchased Minneapolis-based Renee’s Limousines in in 2014, after semi-retiring from industrial coatings sales. Entering the luxury ground transportation industry allowed him to scratch his entrepreneurial itch. In 2019, Renee’s Limousines was voted “Best Transportation” by three Minnesota-area publications. Peterson also serves on the Minnesota Chauffeured Transportation Association Board of Directors.

Moderator
Tracy Raimer, Executive Vice President

Tracy Raimer, Executive Vice President

Windy City Limousine & Bus
windycitylimos.com

Windy City Limousine & Bus Executive Vice President Tracy Raimer is the current president of the Illinois Limousine & Bus Association. She was also recently elected to the National Limousine Association’s Board of Directors, representing the central region. Raimer has served on the Editorial Board of Illinois Meetings & Events and is co-chair of the CD/NLA Education Committee.

Josh Roman, President & CEO

Josh Roman, President & CEO

Heaven On Wheels
heavenonwheels.com

Josh Roman and his family decided to open a chauffeured transportation company In the middle of the financial crisis of 2007-08 and a saturated Dallas market. Having unique mild-to-wild vehicles and setting themselves apart from the rest was a necessity, and has proven over the years to be a winning recipe. Roman started his first company when he was 17, currently run several business beyond transportation, and considers himself a serial entrepreneur.

Jorge Sanchez, President

Jorge Sanchez, President

Hermes Worldwide
hermesworldwide.com

Jorge Sanchez is a seasoned business professional with more than two decades of experience in the banking, aerospace, consulting, and technology industries. Under his leadership, Hermes has grown into a full-service company offering sedans to motorcoaches, as well as event planning. Sanchez’s expertise lie in safety, customer service, adoption of cutting-edge tech, and efficiency.

Douglas Schwartz, Founder

Douglas Schwartz, Founder

Executive Ground Transportation
executivelimousine.org

Douglas Schwartz has been in the limousine industry since 1996 after 20 years in the restaurant sector. His business, Executive Ground Transportation, is located on Long Island and currently employs 60 team members. He is also vice president of the NLA, president of the Long Island Transportation Association, and a member of the CD/NLA Education Committee.

Moderator
Jason Sharenow, COO

Jason Sharenow, COO

Broadway Elite Chauffeured Services
broadway-elite.com

Jason Sharenow began his industry career as a part-time chauffeur. In 1998, he founded Broadway Limousine and merged with Elite Limousine a decade later to form Broadway Elite Chauffeured Services. Since then, he has helped the company grow with a fleet that now includes motorcoaches. Sharenow also serves as president of the Limousine Association of New Jersey and co-chairs the CD/NLA Education Committee.

Danielle Smith, Transportation Specialist, Passenger Carrier Division

Danielle Smith, Transportation Specialist, Passenger Carrier Division

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
fmcsa.dot.gov

Danielle Smith joined the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 1990 as a Motor Carrier Safety Specialist, performing compliance investigations and roadside vehicle inspections. In her current role in the Commercial Passenger Carrier Safety Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance in Washington, D.C., her focus is the passenger industry’s best practices and safety compliance programs.

Christopher Thornberg, Ph. D., Founding Partner

Christopher Thornberg, Ph. D., Founding Partner

Beacon Economics
beaconecon.com

Christopher Thornberg founded Beacon Economics in 2006, which has become one of the most respected research organizations in California, serving public and private sector clients nationwide. He is an expert in economic and revenue forecasting, regional economics, economic policy, and labor and real estate markets, and became nationally known for forecasting the subprime mortgage market crash that began in 2007.

Moderator
Nancy Vargas, CEO

Nancy Vargas, CEO

DH2 Chauffeured Transportation
dh2limo.com

Nancy Vargas has been providing transportation services since 1995, and through her innovative business strategies, she has grown DH2 into new market segments including government contracts, airline crew transportation, medical transport, and affiliate partnerships. DH2 is also MWBE certified through both the city of New York and The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Chris Wharton, Creative Director

Chris Wharton, Creative Director

Limo University
limogrowth.com

Before joining Limo University, Chris Wharton specialized in freelance videography and editing for major brands, music videos, and live productions. In his current role, he educates operators on the latest marketing trends and best practices, including social media advertising, email marketing, graphic design, and more. Wharton’s passion for helping others succeed is what drives him to be a part of this industry.

Scott Woodruff, President & Co-owner

Scott Woodruff, President & Co-owner

Majestic Limo & Coach
majesticlimo.com

Scott Woodruff founded Majestic two decades ago, which has grown into a distinct brand in Des Moines that is strengthened by the tenured team members that take great pride in the service they provide. In addition to Majestic, Woodruff is also a part-time police officer for his local force. Woodruff is also a member of the CD/NLA Education Committee.