I’m founder and former CEO of Zipcar, the largest carsharing company in the world. Ten years after its founding, Zipcar has over 400,000 members driving 7,000 cars parking in 7,000 parking spaces. Zipcar has transformed the way cities are used and built, and the way people think about car ownership and use. Because of Zipcar more than 150,000 cars were not bought in the US (about half a percent of the US car market), 150,000 parking spaces did not need to be built in cities, and more than 600,000 tons of CO2 were not emitted. I also founded GoLoco, an online ride sharing community that combines social networks with the sophisticated
use of mapping and mobile devices and easy payment systems to encourage people to share more car trips. I currently serve on the Board of the World Resources Institute, the Secretary of Commerce’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the US Department of Transportation’s Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee, and formerly on the World Economic Forum Transportation Council, the Governor of Massachusetts Transportation Transition Working Group, and the Mayor of Boston’s Wireless Task Force. All of my work involves ways to use technology (particularly wireless) to enhance people’s lives, lower CO2 emissions and increase sustainability. I accomplish this by utilizing an individual’s, company’s, and government’s self-interest as
the motivating force.