Holding the top job at Greyhound Lines is the highest profile position in the motorcoach industry. It's also its toughest challenge.
For that reason, the tenure of CEOs at Greyhound tend to become eras. The Gerald Trautman epoch that lasted from the mid-1960s to 1982. The John Teets' reign to 1987. The Fred Currey disaster of the late 1980s. And, the Frank Schmeider schizophrenia of the early 1990s.
Now, the book has been closed on the Craig Lentzsch era. Lentzsch led Greyhound with a strong hand for nine years, taking over the mess Schmeider left him in 1994.
From the outside, Lentzsch's departure from Greyhound appeared swift and, to many, surprising. The late June announcement that Lentzsch was being replaced on July 1, seemingly caught the industry flat-footed. To a few, however, the change seemed predictable. After all, Lentzsch was the last major holdover from the period before its parent company, Laidlaw Inc., went belly up under crushing losses of more than $2 billion in 2000.
During the two weeks since Lentzsch was shunted aside, the industry has been rift with speculation about his future. Because Lentzsch is a 25-year veteran of the motorcoach industry and because he cut such a wide swath, many believe he will remain in the industry.
For years, Lentzsch was chief financial officer of Motor Coach Industries, which was once owned by Greyhound. He also co-founded a company called BusLease, which owned and leased coaches to charter and tour companies and Greyhound. BusLease was merged with Greyhound in 1987.
Some have Lentzsch as being a leading candidate to manage the Coach USA companies that are being acquired by the investment company of Kohlberg & Co. Others suggest he might start a new BusLease. After that, the talk gets bizarre.
Many hope he will remain in the industry, while others would just a soon see him go. He's dynamic, tough and strong willed. He frequently is described as both the smartest financial man in the industry, as well as the biggest classroom bully.
Regardless of how he's viewed by outsiders, there is little question about the impact Lentzsch has had on Greyhound.

Online ticket ordering,
ticket prices held down,
new ticket price options

Greyhound rebounded by figuring out who its customers were and going after them. Those customers are Middle American grandmothers, young people with no money, minorities and immigrants.

"They're not buying a trip experience. This is basic transportation, not a curise or any airline package tour," Lentzsch to Fortune in 1999.

"Riders would rather have a cheap ticket than flash," Lentzsch to WSJ in 2001.

"We have a good product, a good reliable product. We let people travel where they want to travel, at an affordable price."

Greyhound has taken riders from other modes. Increase in first-time riders, young travelers, migrant workers.

Coordinated service with other carriers.

"We think if you have more places for customers to go, you get more customers."

"If the pie is bigger, it's easier to split up the pie. We don't see any reason to fight the other bus companies for customers."

Long winding road for Greyhound.