FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct. 30 /PRNEWSWIRE/ -- Republic Industries, Inc.
(NYSE: RII) announced today a series of personnel moves in its Corporate
Communications Department that reflect the Company's continued growth as
America's leading automotive retailer.
Joining Republic as Director, Corporate Communications, is Scott Mall, a
23-year veteran of the public relations profession who most recently served as
Senior Director of Corporate Communications at Scientific Games International.
He will report to Jim Donahue, Vice President for Corporate Communications.
Prior to Scientific Games International, Mr. Mall was Director of
Communications at The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, where among
other accomplishments, he organized the PR response to several crises during
the Games. He also previously ran the Atlanta office of Ogilvy & Mather Public
Relations, serving clients such as BellSouth, DuPont, FMC, Hardee's and
Shoney's, and he was Public Affairs Manager at the Miller Brewing Co. for nine
years. Scott began his career in public relations as Congressional and Media
Relations Manager for the Grocery Manufacturers of America. He also taught
undergraduate PR theory at the University of Southern California.
Republic has also promoted Leslye Mundy, formerly Vice President, Auto
Rental Communications, to the broader position of Vice President, Internal
Communications. Ms. Mundy will play a key role in managing internal
communications for Republic Industries, a Company that has seen its employee
base grow from a few hundred employees in 1996 to nearly 85,000 today.
"The dramatic growth in the number of Republic Industries employees,
combined with the increasing scope of our Company's business, demands that we
place even greater emphasis on our internal communications programs," said Mr.
Donahue.
Working with Mr. Mall and Ms. Mundy are two more hires:
* Oscar Suris joins the Company as Manager, Corporate Communications. He
comes to Republic Industries from The Miami Herald Publishing Company, where
he served as Executive Assistant to the Publisher of The Miami Herald and
co-led a project to re-vamp that paper's business news section. Prior to
joining The Herald in 1997, Mr. Suris worked as a reporter in the Atlanta and
Detroit bureaus of The Wall Street Journal, where he spent four years focused
exclusively on the global auto industry, with particular emphasis on the Ford
Motor Co. He was one of the first journalists to cover Republic Industries.
Prior to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Suris was a reporter at The Orlando
Sentinel. He will report to Mr. Mall.
* Valerie Buschman joins Republic as Manager, Internal Communications. Shecomes to Republic from Blockbuster Entertainment Corp., where she was
Director, Corporate Communications. In that capacity, she developed and
implemented internal communication strategies for the company's more than
85,000 employees worldwide. Prior to joining Blockbuster, Ms. Buschman was
President of her own PR and marketing company, Buschman Associates of Miami,
and she earlier served as Director of Communications for the Design Center of
the Americas. She will report to Ms. Mundy.
Republic Industries, Inc. operates subsidiaries in the automotive
retailing and automotive rental industries. The Company owns the nation's
largest chain of new vehicle dealerships and is building a chain of used car
megastores which it operates under the AutoNation USA brand name. Republic
also owns National Car Rental System, Inc., Alamo Rent-A-Car, Inc. and
CarTemps USA. The Company owns 63.9 percent of Republic Services, Inc.
(NYSE: RSG), one of the leading providers of non-hazardous solid waste
collection and disposal services in the United States.
SOURCE Republic Industries, Inc.