Happy 50th Anniversary: Celebrating Five Decades of Innovation

This is a special month for all of us at Agero, as we celebrate our 50th anniversary.  For Sid Wolk, Agero’s founder, who started Agero (then known as Cross Country Motor Club) in October of 1972, this has been the journey of a lifetime, both personally and professionally.  But this is a milestone that is to be shared and celebrated by so many in Agero’s vast ecosystem of employees, clients, service providers, partners, and customers. Our company may have been founded by Sid, but as he says “it was built by everyone involved.”

2022-Agero-50-Yrs-anim-newOur continued stability and growth all started with the decision to build and create the first  private label roadside assistance business, which upended the traditional motor club industry and fully embraced offering our clients a white label experience - putting their customers and their brand first. Over the course of five decades, Agero has grown to more than 150 client programs, protecting over 120 million motorists, and completing 12 million events a year.

poster-50-years-center-Blog-473x760As we look back and take stock of all that we have built, and plan to build, we want to especially celebrate what makes our organization special.  A few things stand out:

We provide valuable partnership to our clients

We are blessed to have some of the most well-known and respected companies in the world as our clients, and we have never taken those relationships for granted.  From our earliest clients to our newest clients, we work hard on their behalf, offer insights that only our volume and data can provide, and try to do better for them each day.  We are eager to listen, willing to own up to mistakes, and always try to build on our relationship.  As a result, we have many client relationships that span decades. They are the cornerstone of our success.

We genuinely care about the customer experience we provide

One thing that is consistent across our product and services portfolio is a relentless focus on serving our customers, whether they are ours or our client partners.  We have pioneered a new digital forward roadside experience, integrating with the best in the business to ensure customers have choice, transparency, and empathy. And when we hit a roadblock, we have built a purpose-built culture ready to go the “extra mile” to help a customer in need. Our customer satisfaction ratings and net promoter scores continue to beat industry standards, despite the complex situations we handle on behalf of customers, and bear witness to this vital success factor.

We are nothing without our passionate and talented associates

Sid often says “people make businesses. They don’t simply grow by themselves.” And we take those words to heart.  We have an exceptionally diverse workforce in which everyone finds a way to contribute, and many newcomers often marvel at the spirit of collaboration and accessibility for all. We are continuously impressed with the level of talent that has joined our company, how hard they work to reach our goals, how much they grow as individuals, and what they collectively are able to achieve. We work everyday to nurture our culture of genuine respect, camaraderie and common purpose, as well as our ability to have some fun in the process.

We never stop innovating

Sid’s most famous mantra is “the best is yet to come.”  This is much more than a soundbite. It is a belief that we have embraced throughout our five decades, and has led to us continuing to invest in the future – new technologies, new talent, new ideas.  This belief has helped us withstand the test of time, especially in challenging economic periods.  We are a 50-year-old growth company, and we hope everyone we partner with, serve, and employ, can feel it.  While celebrating our legacy is important, especially on our 50th year, looking toward our future is a necessity.  

Thank you for celebrating this incredible milestone with us, and for all of your support along the way. Stay tuned for more reflections, and yes, even some video, from our past five decades and we reflect on our successes of yesterday and plan for our progress tomorrow.

Sidney, Jeffrey and Howard Wolk
Dave Ferrick

 
 

Meet the Author: The Wolk Family & Dave Ferrick

Sidney D. Wolk is Chairman and CEO of The Cross Country Group (CCG). Sid is active in a number of philanthropies and has served on several non-profit boards. He lives in Boston with his wife Deanna. Howard L. Wolk is Co-President of The Cross Country Group (CCG). Howard is an active member of non-profit and social entrepreneurship organizations, including founder of the Boston Bridges Initiative. He is also the co-author of Launchpad Republic: America’s Entrepreneurial Edge and Why It Matters (Aug. 2022, Wiley). Jeffrey C. Wolk is Co-President of The Cross Country Group (CCG). Jeff is also founder and chairman of Madavor Media, a Boston-based specialty consumer publisher. He serves on the boards and committees of a number of not-for-profit and political organizations. Dave Ferrick is CEO of Agero, and oversees business development and operational strategies for Agero’s growing global portfolio of roadside, accident management and telematics offerings.
 
 

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