The organization of long-term car rental companies and Rent a Car has chosen new authorities

The Polish Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (PVRLA), the only organisation in Poland that brings together long-term car rental companies and Rent a Car (car rental companies), has elected a new authority. The PVRLA was headed by Robert Antczak, the President of the Management Board of the organization, and the head of the largest long-term car rental company in Poland, Arval Polska. The new authorities were elected for a 2-year term. The PVRLA currently brings together the largest and most important long-term car rental companies in Poland, representing more than 80% of this market in the country and large chain Polish and international car rental companies.

Robert Antczak has replaced Grzegorz Szymański, Regional Manager of Central Europe at Arval. Since December 1, 2019, he has been General Manager of the largest long-term car rental company in Poland, Arval Poland.

Robert Antczak has been associated with the BNP Paribas Group to which Arval belongs since 2017. He was the Managing Director of the Business Development and Organisation Division for SMEs and Corporate Banking. He started his career in banking in 2002 in Bank Handlowy w Warszawie S.A. (Citigroup). From 2004 to 2009 he worked there as Head of the Leasing Department. In the years 2009-2013 he was the Managing Director in the Corporate Banking Department in Kredyt Bank S.A., and in the years 2013-2017 he was the Director of the Product Sales Department in the Business and Corporate Division in Santander Bank Polska S.A. and was responsible for Sales of Transactional Banking Products, Trade Finance and support for Polish companies in entering foreign markets.

Taking up these functions and being able to lead the work of the Polish Vehicle Rental and leasing association we treat together with other Board Members as an expression of trust, and as a commitment to further develop the industry, implementing the best standards and solutions that respond to the challenges facing this market segment. At this point in time it is also a serious challenge from COVID-19 - says Robert Antczak, President of the Management Board of PVRLA, General Director Arval Poland. - PVRLA is currently a strong and well recognized organization on the Polish automotive market, representing the long-term car rental industry and Rent a Car. The scale of the challenge facing the new Board of Directors is all the greater because at the very beginning of our work we have to face the coronavirus pandemic, which will certainly also affect the industries represented in our organization. We are already observing the related challenges and, as the Board of the Association, we are taking action to support the solution of the most important problems that the whole industry will have to face. Currently, PVRLA actively participates in discussions on aid programmes or support opportunities for our Members and their clients. Therefore, the priority, at least in the initial phase of the new term of the PVRLA authorities, will undoubtedly be the fight against the effects of COVID-19 in long-term car rental and in the Rent a Car industry. At the same time, however, our goal will be to implement a slightly different formula for the functioning of the organization, which will be based on the maximum possible use of the internal potential of the companies and experts of the PVRLA in joint work for the benefit of the car rental industry in our country. We intend to place great emphasis and develop the organization's activity in such important areas as digitalization of key processes, development and implementation of new technologies, or broadly defined social and business responsibility activities. Moreover, we will try to broaden and strengthen the activity of PVRLA in a new area of the car sharing market.

The authorities of the PVRLA in the next two-year term were elected during the General Meeting of the organization. The Board of the Association, as before, consists of 5 people. Apart from Robert Antczak, who took the position of the President of the Board, the Board is also composed of 5 people: Rafał Merk, Member of the Management Board of PVRLA, Managing Director of Athlon Polska; Jacek Studziński, Member of the Management Board of PVRLA, Financial Director and Member of the Management Board of LeasePlan Polska; Maciej Tórz, Member of the Management Board of PVRLA, President of Rentis SA and Paweł Piórkowski, Member of the Management Board of PVRLA and President of Hertz (Motorent Sp. z o.o.).

In addition to the Management Board, PVRLA member companies have also elected an Audit Committee of the Association, which will operate in the new term of office. It is again composed of Hubert Laszczyk, President of Express, Dariusz Tucharz, Director of CFM Department at mLeasing and Marcin Nivette, President of NFM.

The Polish Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association is the only trade organization in Poland for long-term car rental companies (CFM) and car rental companies (Rent a Car). Currently, 19 companies belong to the PZWLP. The PZWLP has a separate structure - The Rent a Car Group of Companies, which brings together 7 large chain, both Polish and international, car rental companies.

The organization has a significant and still growing influence on the development and current and future shape of the fleet market in Poland. In October 2017, in cooperation with PVRLA and SKFS (Association of Car Fleet Managers), the first Polish post-graduate fleet studies "Car Fleet and Mobility Management" were launched at the Faculty of Transport of the Warsaw University of Technology. The programme of the studies was co-created by the organisation, and a significant part of the lecturers are experts from companies belonging to the Association. PVRLA is involved in activities to improve safety and promote ecology in Polish fleets, as well as influencing the quality of services offered on the fleet market. For 12 years now, the Polish Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association has been awarding its prestigious awards in the industry. The organization is a member of the Polish Leasing Association and Partnership for Road Safety.