IC Bus Hosted a First-of-its-Kind Event with Thought Leaders within the School Bus Industry and Beyond at the Next Stop Innovation Summit
NEWS PROVIDED BY
IC Bus, LLC
Feb 27, 2017, 08:00 ET
LISLE, Ill., Feb. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — On Wednesday, February 22, IC Bus hosted a cross-section of thought leaders from within the school bus transportation industry and beyond for a first-of-its-kind event at The Next Stop Innovation Summit to understand current market trends and challenges and to begin mapping out the future of the school bus industry and its impact on millions of lives. To highlight the entrepreneurial spirit of the summit, bus leaders from various backgrounds in education, technology, innovation, safety, and sustainability convened at 1871 in Chicago for an honest conversation about the industry of today and where technology and macro trends are leading it. With a diverse mix of speakers, panels, and working sessions, the interactive summit helped to lay the groundwork for the school bus transportation industry ahead.
“Our industry touches so many people, and although the yellow school bus is an icon of safety and reliability in transporting millions of children to and from school each day, here at IC Bus, we recognize that the evolution of the school bus is always in progress,” said Trish Reed, vice president & general manager, IC Bus. “We created the Innovation Summit with an attitude toward modernizing and innovating the school bus industry in order to meet the ever changing demands of tomorrow.”
Participants at the summit included innovators from outside the industry providing fresh perspectives on top trends that could affect the school bus industry. Individuals such as Howard Putnam, former CEO of Southwest Airlines, Howard Tullman, CEO of 1871, Adam Alonso, executive director of BUILD, Inc. shared unique understanding on disruptive ideas that affected their organizations and how this might affect the school bus transportation market.
“This is one of the more unique speaking experiences in my professional career and I enjoyed sharing my lessons learned as an airline industry executive who looked to shake things up and try new things,” said Howard Putnam, former CEO of Southwest Airlines. “As I attended sessions and spoke with participants, it is clear to me that the school bus transportation leadership are prepared to change the way the game is played, rather than just simply play the game.”