42 | JANUARY 9 • 2020
business SPOTlight
brought to you in partnership with
B I R M I N G H A M
T
he JN sat down with
Elliot Darvick to learn
about his new position
as Lyft’
s regional director for
the Midwest. Darvick is a native
of Metro Detroit, where he
attended Hillel Day School and
graduated from Cranbrook-
Kingswood. He has spent the
past 15 years of his career at the
intersection of technology, auto-
motive and media — with the
last three years spent building
local operations for Lyft across
Michigan, Ohio and now the
broader Midwest. He lives with
his wife and toddler in Chicago,
where they recently moved after
spending three years living in
Huntington Woods.
1. How and when did you get
involved with Lyft?
I joined the company in 2016
to start our Detroit office.
General Motors had just made
a significant investment in Lyft,
and there was an eagerness to
establish and grow a team in the
Motor City.
2. What is your new job title
for Lyft? What do you do?
I am regional director for the
Midwest, which is a territory
comprising eight states. I sit
within the Global Operations
group, which is responsible for
things like ensuring smooth
airport operations, delivering
in-person support to drivers
and building local partnerships
to solve transportation barriers.
My day-to-day is focused pri-
marily on team leadership and
management, long- and medi-
um-term strategic planning,
and problem-solving alongside
my team in pursuit of a better
customer experience for our
drivers, riders and communi-
ties.
3. What are some of the chal-
lenging aspects you face in
your career?
At best, a career is punctuated
with moments where you real-
ize that “what got me here,
will not get me there.
” I’
ve dou-
bled my team size at least five
times in the last three years.
Each time, I’
ve had to learn
something different to be the
leader my team deserves and,
with that, comes admitting you
don’
t have all the answers you
need to succeed. It requires
reinvention, humility and a con-
tinuous commitment to learn-
ing. I love the challenges that
growth creates, and I’
ve found it
humbling.
4. What is your favorite part
about working for Lyft?
It is a company deeply ground-
ed in a mission to remove trans-
portation barriers and reshape
cities around people, not cars.
That means fewer medical
appointments missed by senior
citizens, fewer jobs out-of-reach
due to the high cost of car own-
ership and less pollution as we
reduce the amount of single-oc-
cupancy car trips. I find this
mission incredibly motivating
and, with more than 30 million
active riders on the platform,
Lyft has the scale to be a mean-
ingful part of driving the change
we seek.
5. How does Lyft differentiate
itself from Uber?
I honestly think it’
s most
important for us to focus on
here’s to
Schmoozing with
Elliot Darvick
CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY OF ELLIOT DARVICK
Elliot Darvick
Rabbi Herschel Finman
of Jewish Ferndale gave the
invocation to open the Michigan
Senate on Dec. 5, 2019. Rabbi
Finman was the guest of State
Sen. Jeremy Moss.
Paul Blatt has
been appointed
to the position
of president and
chief executive
officer of JVS Hu-
man Services, effective March
1, 2020. Blatt has been with the
Southfield-based agency since
2008, serving as executive vice
president and chief operating of-
ficer of the nonprofit for the last
five years. He also works with
the board of trustees and staff
serving as an ambassador for
JVS for prospective board and
committee members, funding
sources and community leaders.
The Association of Public Treasurers of the
United States & Canada recently announced that
Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner and
his investment team have earned its highest
professional certification, the Association’
s Invest-
ment Policy Certificate of Excellence Award. The
certification demonstrates that the Oakland County Treasurer’
s
Office’
s investment policy and strategy are best practices in
municipal government, Meisner said.
The American Technion
Society announced that Joey
Selesny of Southfield has been
promoted to the position of
senior director of development.
Selesny has been recognized
for his fundraising capabilities in service
to the Jewish community through several
awards and fellowships.
The Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan an-
nounced its 2019 Industry Leadership Award honorees, which in-
clude Hall of Fame — Norm Finkelstein, Norwood Homes, Ltd.;
and Young Builder of the Year — Justin Friedman, HM Homes.
The Home association and its Sales & Marketing and Remodelers
councils announced the 2019 Sales & Design Achievement Com-
petition Winners. One winner was for Single-Family Whole House
Remodel over 2,000 square feet — Uniland Corporation (Rex
Rosenhaus and Aaron Rosenhaus).
continued on page 44