The American Car Rental Association recently approved Phil Spink of SIXT Rent a Car and Tom Wood Automotive Group to fill the remaining term of board director Eric Rothman, who resigned Nov. 1, 2023.

Spink is franchise manager for SIXT Rent a Car in Indianapolis, its largest in the U.S., and operations manager at Tom Wood Auto Group, also in Indianapolis. The ACRA board voted unanimously on Dec. 20, 2023 to install Spink.

In an interview for the 2024 Auto Rental News Fact Book, Spink said his company is looking to grow its fleet size in 2024. “We are now above pre-Covid 2019 numbers,” he said. “The Indianapolis Airport location had a record year for rental car transactions. We also don’t see rental transactions slowing down in Cincinnati or our local market.”

As operations manager, Spink is responsible for several business activities, including hiring, vehicle ordering, damage control, daily rentals, and financial statements.

Spink has developed several processes to help the company reduce spending and increase revenues. When purchasing cars, he has established procedures to save money on monthly depreciation and has negotiated lower purchase rates. He has implemented a rate philosophy that has increased year-over-year revenue and worked with the fleet manager to find a better tracking service. That has reduced lost and stolen vehicles and saved the company on its monthly costs. 

In 2017, Spink won the ARN Professional of the Year Award in the operator category.