Jack Taylor
Founder
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Laureate 2006
As a kid Jack despised Monday mornings.
He knew the teacher would call on him and he wouldn’t have the answer.
He had knots in his stomach. And even though school never agreed with Jack, he graduated from Clayton High School and attended both Westminster College and Washington University. Jack always liked things mechanical and loved to tinker with cars and drive fast — just a few of the many reasons why he enlisted with the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Jack was proud to serve his country as a Navy Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter pilot in World War II. It was flying combat missions from the U.S.S. Essex and U.S.S. Enterprise where Jack learned the simplicity and power of teamwork. Jack put those lessons to good use when he founded Executive Leasing in 1957. With only seven cars and a hunch that customers would embrace the concept of leasing automobiles, Jack set out to be the best by taking care of his customers and employees. He believed if he did those two things well, that financial success would take care of
itself — and it has. In fact, Enterprise Rent-A-Car as it is known today (named after the U.S.S. Enterprise), has locations in Europe and is the largest rental car company in North America. But what makes the Enterprise story so fascinating is that today Jack’s philosophy and entrepreneurial spirit are still at the root of Enterprise’s success
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