SIRVA Names David Byers as Chief Commercial Officer

Monday, December 8, 2008 by SIRVA Relopinion



On December 5, 2008, SIRVA announced the appointment of David Byers as the Company’s new chief commercial officer. Byers brings more than two decades of operations, marketing, sales and brand management experience from H&R Block and Foote, Cone&Belding Inc. to SIRVA.

“David’s deep knowledge base in financial products and services, and his experience in developing and managing brands will help drive our relocation services business,” said SIRVA President and Chief Executive Wes Lucas. “Similarly, his background working with distribution networks will bring tremendous value to our moving business.”

Byers was with H&R Block for eight years and progressed quickly through the ranks, from senior vice president and global chief marketing officer to senior vice president of U.S. operations, and most recently, chief operating officer of retail tax services. In these roles, he was responsible for H&R Block’s U.S. operations, sales and business development functions, which comprised more than 13,000 retail locations and 100,000 employees. Prior to H&R Block, Byers’ career included working for global advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding Inc., Del Monte Corporation, and most recently, he served as chief executive officer of The Mutual Fund Store.

See Press Release
 

SIRVA Relocation Ranks 2nd in Performance & Satisfaction Among Top 6 Largest Relocation Providers

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 by SIRVA Relopinion

According to the Trippel Survey&Research LLC Seventh Annual Relocation Managers Survey: Relocation Management Company Industry©, SIRVA Relocation ranked second in overall performance and satisfaction among the industry’s top six largest relocation companies. The company achieved the highest scores among the six largest relocation providers in eight of the 24 areas surveyed, and it also placed as one of the top three providers in 22 out of 24 areas surveyed among the largest relocation providers. SIRVA Relocation LLC is a subsidiary of SIRVA Inc., a leading global relocation services provider.

“These results are a direct reflection of our steadfast commitment to providing our customers with unparalleled service and value every day,” said SIRVA Inc. CEO Wes Lucas. “Our goal is to be the most trusted and sought-after relocation services provider in the industry based on the work we do and solutions we offer. I am elated to see that customers are recognizing the value we bring to the table.”

Trippel Survey&Research conducted this survey—which launched September 12 and concluded October 1—with the goal of obtaining evaluations from corporate relocation managers regarding levels of satisfaction with firms in the relocation industry. More than 300 survey evaluations—representing 298 different relocation management companies—were received. The six largest relocation management companies in the survey accounted for nearly 75 percent of all evaluations returned.

Categories in which SIRVA Relocation achieved the top score included: Responsiveness and flexibility to your needs; Service recovery; Year-end tax reporting; Management reporting; Identifying trends and responding to them; Suggesting policy recommendations; Suggesting ways to reduce your costs; and Taking actions that control or lower direct real estate costs.

SIRVA Appoints Senior Vice President, Operational Excellence, People & Infrastructure

Friday, November 14, 2008 by SIRVA Relopinion

On November 6, 2008, SIRVA announced the appointment of Sean Fernandez as the company’s new senior vice president, operational excellence, people and infrastructure. Fernandez brings 19 years of leadership, operations and consulting experience to SIRVA. He will report to SIRVA President and Chief Executive Officer Wes Lucas, and work from SIRVA’s office in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Fernandez is a proven global executive with an excellent track record in improving business performance and growing companies. Specifically, he has driven improvements in operations, quality and customer satisfaction. In his new role, Fernandez is responsible for overseeing SIRVA’s global operational excellence initiative, building strong teams and a high-performance organization and enhancing information technology capability. This position includes the development and implementation of key process improvements designed to drive customer satisfaction, cost efficiencies and improved quality.

“We are delighted to welcome Sean to the SIRVA team,” said Wes Lucas. “He is an outstanding leader and brings valuable operational capabilities, process improvement skills, product management and a proven ability to grow companies. I am confident that he will play an integral role in helping our company to serve our global customer base.”

See full press release

SIRVA Appoints Gordon Smith as Chief Financial Officer

Thursday, November 13, 2008 by SIRVA Relopinion


On November 6, 2008, SIRVA announced the appointment of Gordon Smith as the Company’s new chief financial officer. Mr. Smith, who will work from the Company’s Westmont, Ill., headquarters, brings more than 31 years of financial leadership experience from GE Capital and Asbury Automotive Group to SIRVA. He will report to SIRVA President and Chief Executive Officer Wes Lucas.

“We take great pleasure in welcoming Gordon to the SIRVA team,” said Wes Lucas. “A highly capable and proven finance executive, with outstanding financial leadership experience, Gordon is ideal to lead SIRVA’s financial areas as we build on our strong financial position, deliver outstanding service to our clients, grow our business and continue to create the world’s premier corporate relocation and moving services company.”

See full press release

SIRVA to Participate in the 2008 Global Workforce Symposium

Wednesday, October 15, 2008 by Julian Yates
On October 27-31, 2008, ERC will host its annual Global Workforce Symposium in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. The conference offers global mobility leaders the chance to network with peers and exchange global mobility best practices.

This is a special conference because H. Cris Collie, Worldwide ERC’s CEO of 36 years, will be retiring and will be passing the torch to Lynn M. Bragg. There will be an event on Saturday, November 1, 2008, to commemorate all of Cris’ contributions to the relocation industry.

SIRVA will be exhibiting at the conference and will be offering attendees the chance to “cast their ballots early” for a chance to win one night’s stay in a Presidential Suite. Even if attendees don’t make it to SIRVA’s booth, they will be sure to attend our “Monumental Evening” event, which will be held on Thursday, October 30. This special event will be hosted at The Daughters of The American Revolution (DAR), a national historic landmark and will mark a first time meet-and-greet with SIRVA’s new CEO, Wes Lucas. The event will hold many surprises for its guest and is sure to be an evening to remember.

For more information about ERC and the Global Workforce Symposium, visit this website: http://erc.org/news_events/gws08.shtml