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Industry Veteran Gordon Downing Dies

LOS ANGELES – Gordon Downing, vice president of sales and marketing for Beverly Hills Rent A Car, died of cancer this week. Downing's career in car rental began 30 years ago at National Car Ren...

by Staff
April 23, 2004
1 min to read


LOS ANGELES – Gordon Downing, vice president of sales and marketing for Beverly Hills Rent A Car, died of cancer this week.

Downing's career in car rental began 30 years ago at National Car Rental. While at National, he held a number of executive positions, including vice president of sales and marketing from 1987 to 1991.

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From 1991 to 1993, Downing was vice president of sales and marketing for General Rent A Car. He joined Beverly Hills Rent A Car in 2001.

"Gordon was such a hard worker and was taken from us way too quickly, after just months ago being diagnosed with cancer," said Marylin Hemenway, one of his colleagues at Beverly Hills Rent A Car. "There is a large amount of young, talented men and women that owe a lot to Gordon for what he has shared with us."

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