Humble Leadership and Service
Twenty-three years later, Davre joined with Bill Fishman to form ARA Services. Together, their company posted revenues of $37 million in 1959. Under Davre's leadership, the company grew to revenues of more than $5 billion. After 16 years as CEO, he retired in 1977. Davre passed away in 1995, bringing to a close a life of humble leadership and service.
Davre Davidson – an Aramark Pioneer
Davre Davidson, Aramark’s founder, was in every sense, a pioneer. Forced to leave college for economic reasons to manage the family retail business, at the age of 23 he decided to buy a few penny peanut vending machines. Why? He said later that although most businesses considered vending machines an unnecessary luxury, he knew they could actually fill an unrecognized need in the workplace.
Motivated by an entrepreneurial spirit and a keen business sense, he built a small peanut vending business into today’s world leader in managed services. In building this business, Davidson overcame many obstacles, including limited offerings due to rationing during the war, vulnerable machines, and stolen merchandise. And to those customers he served, he forged lifelong partnerships. He was hands-on, provided outstanding service, and went about his business with the utmost integrity: you could say that he was Aramark’s original frontline manager, and his legacy still serves as the model for how we go to market. Davidson showed what it takes to please customers, to continuously improve, to grow the business, and to give something back to the community.
Davidson often used the phrase “People, Planning, Progress” to describe the company he founded. He knew that employees were the key to success and that progress only stemmed from the ability to find something new and innovative to improve the business. For over 40 years, Davre never stopped searching for the innovations that could give the company he founded a competitive advantage.
“Davre was not only a great businessman and leader, he was an exceptional person,” said Joe Neubauer, former Executive Chairman of the company, who took the reins when Davidson retired. “To him, success was always ‘we,’ and failure was always ‘I.’ He truly believed that he was here to serve others and he lived his life true to that belief.”
