Quirk Takes Avis Global Sales Post, Thrasher Phases Out
Avis Rent a Car System Inc. has consolidated its domestic and international sales. Overseeing the new consolidated sales effort is Gerard Quirk, former president of international sales and marketing, who has been promoted to the position of vice president of global travel sales and marketing.
According to Quirk, combining the two sales departments into one will enable Parsippany, N.J.-based Avis to better serve the global marketplace.
"We've seen an increase in the number of requests for global products," he said. "Five to six years ago, few companies had the ability to implement a global program, but now many do. As corporate buyers get common booking systems, we can implement our technological advancements around the world."
Specifically, Quirk said that Avis' direct-connect capabilities in all four global distribution systems enable corporations to book car rentals with equal ease throughout the world. Those capabilities connect travel agents or other users booking through the global distribution systems directly into Avis' inventory on a real-time basis and, hence, instantly advises them of the availability of the car and other details. It also allows Avis to extend its centralized billing to more people within a corporate account spread out across the globe.
Another benefit of the new global sales initiative is that it "will improve our synergies with a number of Cendant brands, which also sell globally," Quirk said, although he wouldn't specify which brands.
New York-based travel conglomerate Cendant Corp., which franchises a number of budget hotel brands and recently also purchased Budget Group Inc., is Avis' parent company.
Quirk started out at Avis 24 years ago as a sales agent in Nice, France. He served in various sales and marketing positions with Avis in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Ireland and for the past four years managed the inbound and outbound travel for many different countries within the Avis network as vice president of international sales. Quirk will report to Chuck Fallon, who is vice president of sales for Avis.
Meanwhile, Daryl Thrasher, a 20-year veteran of Avis, is leaving his position as vice president of the northeastern region, but will continue to serve Avis as a senior consultant. He recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Travel Agents.
"Daryl Thrasher has been instrumental in helping set the new travel strategy for the Avis sales group, and we are fortunate that he'll be continuing on to support the transition," Fallon said in a prepared statement. "Gerard Quirk is uniquely qualified to handle the new responsibility given his many years of experience within Avis and the travel industry. We expect that the consolidation of our domestic and international travel industry efforts will offer immediate benefits to sales and marketing worldwide."
While business travel is still down, Quirk said leisure rentals continue to be strong. Avis has been getting through this difficult period by managing its fleet more efficiently. "Because of the fleet actions we've taken, which have kept our costs way down," he said, "we think we'll come out stronger in the end."