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Vice President of Fleet & Risk Management Steve Pederson
I began my ridesharing career in Minneapolis with a small company called Public Service Options (PSO) in 1978. It is there I met Jeff Henning, who at that time was VPSI's only employee. On my first day of work he came down to my office and asked if I'd like to join him for lunch. When we approached the cash register he informed me it was tradition for the new guy to buy lunch. Not much has changed in thirty years.
Seriously, that auspicious start introduced me to a whole new world, and a great bunch of people. My business degree and graduate work in transportation and marketing research had new meaning. I was no longer going to have to work for Burlington Northern railroad or EZ Truck Trailer Leasing. This was a brand new industry and offered an exciting opportunity. I met Randi Alcott, Clarence Shallbetter, Bob Owens (the man credited with starting vanpooling), Herb Wood, Tom McDonald, and the rest of the NAVPO (the precursor to ACT) group. I was off and running.
I worked in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area for PSO and then Ridesharing, Inc. before Jeff hired me in 1980. I ran the Minnesota vanpool office for VPSI and then developed a rideshare marketing and matching initiative for the Minneapolis area under a contract with the Minnesota DOT. After that I was off to Denver as the Western Regional Manager and then to Washington, D.C.
In 1985 I was relocated to the VPSI headquarters in the Detroit area as the National Marketing Manager. Not having a creative bone in my body should have given me a clue that this assignment wasn't going to work. In light of that I was later named National Operations Manager (thank goodness for everyone involved). I've served as the Vice President of Field Operations, Fleet Operations and now as the Vice President of Fleet & Risk Management. I've been very fortunate over my lifetime, but if there is one blessing Jeff has given me that means the most to me and the Company, it is the opportunity to surround myself with the very best people in the industry.
My primary job responsibility is to make sure the owners of VPSI sleep comfortably every night. I accomplish that by doing everything I can to make sure our vanpool customers arrive at work and at home safely everyday.
