Tag Archives for: Icon Parking

Icon Parking Chairman & CEO John Smith Named National Parking Association “Innovator of the Year”

September 20, 2023

 

Icon Parking Chairman & CEO John Smith Named National Parking Association “Innovator of the Year”

 

 

 

NEW YORK—-John D. Smith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Icon Parking, has been presented with the prestigious Innovator of the Year award by the National Parking Association (NPA) at their annual convention this week in New Orleans. The NPA’s Innovator of the Year award is presented to a parking industry leader who has demonstrated significant industry or organization success; advanced innovative ideas, products, or practices; or has demonstrated exemplary leadership in and positively contributed to the industry.

NPA President & CEO, Christine Banning, IOM, CAE, said, “John is an exemplar of a great leader and innovator. His dedication to the industry and his innovative approach to technology, customer service and safety demonstrated a way to serve, scale, and sustain dynamic parking services during and beyond the pandemic.”

“My team’s commitment, collaboration, and entrepreneurial spirit have played a vital role in my success,” said Icon Parking Chairman and CEO John Smith. “Furthermore, I am genuinely humbled to be among the accomplished individuals who have come before me and received this award.”

The NPA recognized Mr. Smith’s application of his knowledge and experience in growing companies and brands and his extensive leadership background, which he leveraged to transform a 76-year-old traditional parking operation into a digitally enabled consumer-centric brand elevating the customer experience.

Smith joined Icon as CEO just before the pandemic, following successful executive roles in retail, hospitality, gaming, and restaurants. He had the challenge of starting this transformation as a worldwide health emergency hit. And as he has done many times, Smith combined his business expertise, an understanding of the customer and the marketplace, and a respect for his team members with his own determination to transform Icon Parking.

Smith worked with his Icon colleagues to leverage digital technology during the pandemic to go from 99%+ paper tickets to 99+% digital transactions under Icon’s ParkSafe program, protecting both his team and Icon’s customers. The result was safe interactions at the height of the pandemic which have endured post-pandemic due to the removal of significant friction from the customer journey, while creating major efficiencies for Icon – a win-win.

The results of Smith’s innovative approach to the parking industry, his personal leadership style, and business expertise are exemplified by Icon’s TrustPilot scores of 4.5 out of 5 across the garage portfolio, ranking Icon as a leader in customer satisfaction in the US parking industry.

Smith helped his team create new parking products that never existed in the New York City or U.S. parking industry and remain unique to Icon through leveraging digital technology and analytics, such as monthly subscriptions and instant consumption. Icon’s digital initiatives now drive digital demand directly to consumers, who can easily book parking, resulting in Icon generating significant digital traffic.

Under Smith’s leadership, Icon implemented dynamic pricing and mix optimization algorithms and introduced new performance metrics to normalize and measure results.

In addition to reshaping the way Icon does business, Smith in April led a management buyout, making Icon the nation’s largest minority-owned parking management and transportation services provider. He has positioned Icon to scale nationally to service the unmet needs of corporate, educational institutions, event and sports venues, professional sports leagues and government entities who have committed to spend billions with minority suppliers but are not able to partner with vendors of scale with a national footprint. This has provided a roadmap for owners and entrepreneurs, particularly minorities, to leverage private direct investments to acquire and build businesses of scale to close the wealth gap in America.

About Icon Parking

Founded in 1947, Icon is the largest minority-owned parking management and mobility services provider in the New York City metro and one of the largest in the nation with almost 200 locations. Icon leverages its digital and advanced analytics platform to provide parking operations, management, and related services to clients through extraordinarily engaged team members across Commercial Office Buildings and Real Estate, Food and Beverage, Municipalities, Sports and Entertainment, Retail, and Healthcare, resulting in exceptional customer, resident, and tenant experiences. Icon’s mission is to simplify city life, one customer at a time by connecting them to where they live, work, and play; and believes, “Parking is just the start!” For more information, please go to www.iconparking.com.

Contacts

Michael Aburas
maburas@iconparking.com

Icon Parking Acquired by President/CEO John D. Smith and Arkview Capital

April 05, 2023

 

 

 

Icon Parking Acquired by President/CEO John D. Smith and Arkview Capital

 

 

 

Creates one of the largest minority-owned parking and mobility service providers in the U.S.

New ownership team seeks to deploy largest EV charging infrastructure in NYC, expand Icon nationally, and evolve its breadth of services to a fully integrated facilities service provider

 

New York –  – Icon Parking announced today a management buyout, led by its President and CEO John D. Smith and Arkview Capital, a leading minority-certified private equity fund focused on investing in minority business enterprises, to create the largest minority-owned parking and mobility service provider in New York City and one of the largest in the U.S. As a minority-owned business, Icon will seek to expand nationally, growing its existing footprint of nearly 200 locations in the New York City metropolitan area, New Jersey, and Boston.

“As a leading parking management and mobility services provider in one of the most complex parking markets in the world, Icon is uniquely positioned to leverage its brand — with 76 years of operating history along with its new digital and advanced analytics platform — to accelerate the transformation of the US parking industry,” said Smith, who has led Icon since January 2020.  “When you combine our leadership talent, operating scale, and capabilities with minority ownership, it affords us access and opportunity to harness this tremendous growth opportunity.”

Under the new ownership, Icon will accelerate its commitment to EV infrastructure and add up to 2,000 EV charging units across its portfolio of nearly 200 garages. The company will also look for expansion opportunities into other top gateway cities, such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.

“John and his team have transformed Icon, disrupting the parking industry with an unsurpassed customer experience, and unique digital and analytics capabilities, creating the perfect platform to scale nationally,” said Joon Chang, a Co-founder of Arkview Capital, an MBE certified fund. “Under John’s stewardship we are excited to invest in Icon’s growth, as they are poised to capitalize on new revenue opportunities nationwide.”

“We’re thrilled to have an equity partner in Arkview that not only shares our vision of scaling nationally as a minority-owned business but has an established track record of working with management teams for long-term success and significant value creation,” said Smith.

“I am excited to see private equity capital supporting an impressive management team to create one of the largest minority-owned parking operators and to help them execute on an ambitious business plan,” stated Joset Wright-Lacy, former President of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (“NMSDC”) and advisor to Arkview. “The acquisition of Icon is a prominent example of how minority-owned businesses can access capital and help corporations to increase their use of and spend with diverse suppliers.”

Genesis Bank facilitated the transaction. Greenberg Traurig served as legal counsel to Arkview Capital and Davis Polk served as legal counsel to the sellers.

 

About Icon Parking

Founded in 1947, Icon is the largest minority owned parking management and mobility services provider in New York City metro and one of the largest in the nation with almost 200 locations.  Icon leverages its digital and advanced analytics platform to provide parking operations, management, and related services to clients through extraordinarily engaged team members across Commercial Office Buildings and Real Estate, Food and Beverage, Municipalities, Sports and Entertainment, Retail, and Healthcare, that result in exceptional customer, resident, and tenant experiences.  Icon’s mission is to simplify city life, one customer at a time by connecting them to where they live, work, and play; and believes, “Parking is just the start!” For more information, please go to www.iconparking.com.

About Arkview Capital

Arkview Capital is a minority-certified private equity fund focused on investing in diversity-oriented businesses. As a Minority Business Enterprise (“MBE”) certified by the NMSDC, Arkview believes that companies aligned with their diverse customer base will outperform long-term. Arkview provides capital to businesses serving diverse communities, partners with diverse founders, and promotes diversity within procurement and supply chains of leading Fortune 1000 companies.

 

Icon Parking Signs An Exclusive Advertising Anchor Tenancy In Playbill Passport

February 19, 2016

Mobile app will steer theatergoers to discounted parking nearby

Icon Parking Systems, New York’s leading parking company, announces that it has signed an exclusive annual advertising contract with Playbill Inc. to be one of the anchor tenants in its newly introduced mobile app, Playbill Passport.

Playbill

 

Playbill Inc. is the publisher of the iconic program exclusively servicing all Broadway theatres, and has recently announced a partnership with Broadway Voice Inc. and the launch of its first-ever app called Playbill Passport, a mobile, interactive companion to the classic Playbill magazine. Icon Parking Systems, as one of the anchor tenants, will now be able to exclusively provide Broadway theatregoers that have Playbill Passport and are driving to the theatre, a fully integrated and seamless solution that will take the headaches out of knowing where to park in the theatre district.

The advertising deal will be introduced in phases during 2016. The first phase has already been introduced that includes a full run app advertising program that offers drivers who have Playbill Passport a discounted offer to park in any Icon parking facility in the city. Additionally, Icon is optimizing Playbill Passport’s technology by using its location and proximity-based technology to alert drivers with a push message and discount coupon to park when they are within a one block radius of an Icon garage within the Times Square area. Subsequent phases to be introduced later in the year will incorporate the Icon API giving drivers a complete parking tool within the Playbill Passport user interface that will include maps, directions and reservations.

“Icon is delighted to be partnering with a theater industry legend like Playbill,” said Jerry Skillett, CEO of Icon Parking Systems. “Their Passport interactive app opens a whole new world to the theater experience by leveraging cutting edge technology to deliver an unprecedented experience to the theatre patron. Participating with Passport provides Icon customers easier access to closer Broadway Theatre Parking, a real benefit for those busy Broadway nights. We are excited about this partnership and the potential it holds for New York.”

“Playbill Passport allows us to expand on the services we’ve been offering to Broadway audiences for over 130 years,” said Philip Birsh, President and CEO of Playbill. “Broadway just had its best-attended and highest-grossing year to date. We are in the midst of an exciting theatrical renaissance. Times Square is booming with new businesses, thousands of offerings and no real touchstone to maximize the experience. Theatergoers have come to rely on their Playbill and the information therein for over a century. Playbill Passport will expand on that service by giving audiences a way to learn and interact with the show they are seeing, attend other shows of interest, obtain practical theatre-related information, use discounts, and take advantage of all Times Square has to offer.”

Playbill Passport is currently available in the iTunes app store. An Android edition will be launched in 2016.

About Icon Parking Systems

Icon Parking Systems is the premier provider of parking services in New York City. The Company has been in business for more than 50 years and operates over 200 parking facilities in virtually all of Manhattan’s most high profile, prestigious neighborhoods and business districts. Icon Parking Systems is on the forefront of providing unsurpassed value to city residents, commuters and visitors to the City’s numerous restaurants, Broadway theatres and concert halls, event destinations, shopping outlets and medical facilities by continuing to deliver affordable parking and prompt and courteous service. For more information, please visit www.IconParking.com.

About Playbill Inc.

Since its inception in 1884, Playbill has become synonymous with the legitimate theatre and is an internationally known trademark and symbol of the arts. Playbill Magazine, which can be found in theatres and classical arts venues throughout the country, proudly serves every Broadway house as well as the country’s most prestigious fine arts institutions, including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. In 2016 Playbill presses will roll out 3.5 million programs monthly for nearly 100 theatres in 24 cities. Playbill.com was established in 1994 and has since grown to become the leading source of theatre information on the web and has expanded to a suite of online offerings including Playbill Vault, Playbill EDU, Playbillder, and more. Visit www.playbill.com for more information.

About Broadway Voice Inc.

Broadway Voice is a technology media company that provides state-of-the-art mobile solutions to the live theatre industry. Using a complete suite of integrated technologies for Apple iOS and Google Android, Broadway Voice seeks to engage Broadway theatergoers in an amazing, social infotainment experience creating a one-of-a-kind, and all immersive, contextual and personal mobile interaction that drives significant social engagement and entirely changes how audiences view live theatre. Visit www.bwayvoice.com for more information.

For Icon Parking: Jerry Skillett, jskillett@iconparking.com, 212.686.9800
For Broadway Voice: Anhthu Nguyen, anguyen@bwayvoice.com, 212.655.9883