Douglas Olcott ’91

Member of Adelphi University’s Profiles in Success program.

Group Vice President of Rental Enterprise Rent-A-Car®, National Car Rental, Alamo Rent-A-Car

Driven to Deliver Exceptional Service

With industry-leading rental car brands including Enterprise Rent-A-Car®, National Car Rental, and Alamo Rent-A-Car, the Enterprise family of companies owns and operates the largest fleet of passenger vehicles in the world today – more than one million cars and trucks. Other Enterprise business lines include Enterprise Fleet Management, Enterprise Commercial Truck Rental, and Enterprise Car Sales.

In his current role as Group Vice President of Rental for the Enterprise family of brands, Mr. Olcott oversees more than 1,600 employees and approximately 200 offices in Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. ”Although Enterprise is a privately owned company,” Mr. Olcott explains, “I have autonomy to run and manage the business as if I were the owner of the company.”  He is responsible for all business needs, including hiring and training employees, sales and customer service, management of profit and loss, buying and selling cars, and tapping into new markets.

Mr. Olcott’s success is clear – today he runs the fourth largest of the 53 Enterprise Groups in its U.S. operations. “At Enterprise, it’s a simple business philosophy of developing and motivating your employees to provide exceptional service with an eye on growing the business, with profits usually following along nicely,” Mr. Olcott explains. He is especially proud of the company’s recognition by J.D. Power and Associates as the leading rental car company in overall satisfaction for five years in a row.

Mr. Olcott’s life-long career with Enterprise Rent-A-Car began in 1992 as a management trainee right down the block from Adelphi in Hempstead, NY.  He worked in a number of different capacities before ascending the ranks; by 1996 he was promoted to Area Manager of Manhattan, “where there were a lot of challenges that New York City brought to our business that I hadn’t seen in rural and suburban markets,” he says.

Since 1999 he has been promoted up the ladder to run Enterprise operations in South Carolina, Missouri, and South Florida, to where he currently serves as Vice President of Rental for the Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. Group, a position he has held since 2006.

“I moved around a lot…more than the average employee,” Mr. Olcott explains. “I took advantage of opportunity…the teams of employees we hired came together quickly and produced great results.”

Panther Soccer Coach Bob Montgomery recruited Mr. Olcott to play soccer at Adelphi beginning his sophomore year.  At Adelphi, Mr. Olcott kept busy; besides playing on Adelphi’s soccer team, he was a member of The Delphianstaff and held several jobs off campus.  Mr. Olcott’s involvement in a variety of activities combined with his major in communications helped him realize his affinity for working in a team environment, and enabled him to develop discipline, a work ethic, and an ability to engage in personal interactions; qualities that would attract any future employer.

“The experience I gained at Adelphi, both in and out of the classroom, helped me to excel quickly in my Enterprise career,” says Mr. Olcott.

Today, Mr. Olcott lives in Maryland with his wife and three daughters, Molly, Jane, and Kate.  Mr. Olcott met his wife Jennifer (née Hopkins), also a communications major, in class at Adelphi.  Outside of his business and family commitments, Mr. Olcott devotes his free time to coaching youth soccer in the community.  Mr. Olcott also enjoys fishing and is still very active, playing on multiple soccer teams in the DC Region.