Gates spent 11 years (1985-1996) at the helm of Rent-A-Center, steering the nation’s largest rental company through incredible growth and some challenging times.

Former Rent-A-Center CEO and pioneer of the rent-to-own industry Bud Gates will keynote the March, 2008 RentDirect Nationwide convention being held during the Nationwide PrimeTime! buying show in at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas.

Listen to RTO Online's March, 2007 podcast interview with Bud Gates.

Former Rent-A-Center (RCII) CEO and pioneer of the rent-to-own industry Bud Gates will keynote the RentDirect session being held during the Nationwide PrimeTime! buying show in at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas March 2-5, 2008.

James MacAlpine, Executive Director of RentDirect, describes Gates as a visionary. "Bud Gates was instrumental in transforming an idea into an industry," said MacAlpine. "It was Gates' vision that brought consistency and professionalism to a misunderstood transaction in the 80s and legitimized the RTO industry on Wall Street and Main Street. RentDirect is proud to offer our members the unique opportunity to hear from an industry legend."

In a career that spans nearly forty years, Bud Gates has had the chance to pretty much be anything he wanted. From an early start as a popular math teacher in the town of Weston, Massachusetts before paying his way through the storied Harvard MBA program, Gates has embarked on a one-way road to success.

Gates spent 11 years (1985-1996) at the helm of Rent-A-Center, steering the nation’s largest rental company through incredible growth including the 1987 sale to Thorn EMI Home Electronics (UK) Ltd. Once things were running smoothly under the new ownership, Gates had to deal with the fallout from the infamous Wall Street Journal expose piece where undercover reporters gained access to a Rent-A-Center annual meeting and categorically skewered the company and its efforts to provide merchandise to hard-working but credit-constrained consumers.

"Seeing that piece by the Journal was like being punched in the stomach," gates told RTO Magazine in a recent interview. Two-and-a-half weeks later the Journal printed a major retraction.

After leaving RAC in 1996, Gates continued his affiliation as a franchisee, owning and operating both Rent-A-Center and ColorTyme stores throughout New York State for nearly a decade, before selling them just last year.

Ready for his next challenge, Gates has now teamed up with Canadian RTO company easyhome as a master franchisor for 38 states throughout the U.S.

Gates predicts the rental industry is on the verge of another wave of consolidation plays. He says that when the dust settles years from now  there’s still going to be a Rent-A-Center and there’s still going to be an Aaron’s, but independent rent to own companies must execute at a high level to survive.

As RentDirect's keynote speaker, Gates will share his recommendations for high-level performance and compare the life cycle of the rental industry to other sectors. "We'll look at the history of the rental industry and postulate what it will look like in the next 10-20 years," he said. "I'm excited to spend time with a group of experienced rent to own operators at RentDirect."

MacAlpine said all rent to own dealers, members and non-members of RentDirect are invited to attend the RentDirect Nationwide show. "We're thrilled to offer the opportunity to attend Bud Gates' session and the rest of PrimeTime! to any rent to own dealer in the country - RentDirect members and non-members alike," MacAlpine said.

For more information on RentDirect-Nationwide and the March, 2008 PrimeTime! buying show, contact James MacAlpine at 336-722-4681 or via email at jamesm@nationwidegroup.org.