Eric Weiner

Eric Weiner’s resume is simple yet revealing. He went to Johnson & Wales University and graduated in 1993. And he is still the CEO of the company he founded while a student at JWU, All Occasion Transportation.
But Weiner also lists his three-month stint as the “general manager” of “Lemonade Stand,” when he was 8 years old, not to mention being “director/producer” for “Backyard Theater Production” from ages 9 to 11.
Clearly Weiner is someone who enjoys life. But he is also a very serious businessman. In a May 12 Providence Business News story on the occasion of his being named the 2008 Small Business Person of the Year in Rhode Island by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Weiner was praised by his first corporate client, Cookson America, which is still using All Occasion.
“They always have managed to get [transportation] for us,” said Avis Corrao, who has been booking transportation for Cookson executives for 23 years. “We’ve never, ever been turned down, even … when we called at the very last minute.”
Weiner started the business as a college sophomore when he borrowed $20,000 to buy a used limousine and a cell phone. The phone allowed him to answer calls any time of day or night, and thus build up his clientele. By the time he graduated from JWU, he had three vehicles and two part-time drivers. And he has kept growing since then.
Today All Occasion boasts 25 vehicles and 55 full-time employees, including a hybrid Prius among the town cars, SUVs and stretch limos, and it serves 600 cities worldwide. It’s a far cry from operating out of his bedroom 20 years ago. •