2018 Top 40 Under 40: Joseph F. Mirabile ESQ, MBA, LL.M

• One word to describe yourself: Intense
• Alma Mater: University of Pennsylvania, Temple University (graduate school) JD. MBA. LLM.
• Favorite book: "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" by Angela Duckworth
• Favorite TV show: "The Wire"
• Favorite movies: "The Godfather"
• Favorite hobby(s): "Playing sports and watching all Philadelphia sports teams, because they are the best."
• Fun fact about yourself: "I played D1 tennis and coached D1 tennis to help pay for graduate school." 
• Favorite station or stop that you have ever visited or frequent (and why): "30th Street Station in Philadelphia — it feels like home when I arrive."

From his undergraduate days at the University of Pennsylvania where he successfully earned a Bachelor of Arts degrees in four years, to the five years following when he simultaneously obtained his MBA and his JD, law degree followed immediately by his pursuit and receipt of his LLM all from Temple University, Joseph Mirabile has proven that, with commitment, more things are possible than one might initially imagine.

While in pursuit of his MBA/JD, Mirabile assisted USSC as a consultant focused on business operations and legal matters. Early on he was the driving force behind organizational changes that divested underperforming divisions and aggressively developed business lines complimentary to the agencies mission of safety and survivability. After graduation, Mirabile worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers for a year before returning to USSC as general counsel and vice president of business development where he was responsible for driving USSC into new markets, specifically the first responder and fire suppression markets. Mirabile’s impact was both immediate and positive. Since day one he has continued to undertake more and more responsibility within the agency up to and including his time as president and CEO of USSC and FMNA.

He has an intense focus on customer needs, including a relentless energy in driving product innovation. His understanding of market trends and new opportunities is enlightened. He has a transparency with customers as well as all levels of his organization. His personal commitment to the business and industry drives the entire company to demonstrate similar attitudes.  This desire to be the best for customers has resulted in a rapid threefold increase in our business and an outlook that will be positive for years to come. USSC’s growth in all business sectors, especially public transit. has led to a move to a new state of the art headquarters and manufacturing facility later this year to accommodate this continued expansion.

Mirabile is totally committed to making USSC the best it can be, and since he has taken over the leadership of the company as president and CEO, the company has improved tremendously — not just in its short-term profitability, but also in terms of its strategic vision and overall leadership within the industry. This success is attributed to the entire USSC team, however, Mirabile has provided the overall leadership and focus. He is a hard worker, and is capable of addressing diverse challenges that he is faced with as CEO. With his expanded roles as CEO and the demands on his time — strategic planning, financial planning, directing the executive management team, stakeholder and board relations, etc., Mirabile has quickly taken on those responsibilities and has done extremely well.  He has empowered his executive team, and they have bought into his vision and overall direction of the company. As a result, the company has achieved major market share penetration for the products it provides  — seating and fire suppression, and USSC has differentiated itself as the top provider of those products and the solutions it provides to its customers.

Mirabile is a hard-driving, committed, passionate executive who inspires loyalty and leads through example with a focus on personal accountability and innovation. This can be witnessed with the newly released advanced technologies through USSC's Clear Motion Active suspension seat, the eco-friendly fire suppression system produced by Fogmaker and his vision of service, through traditional avenues, engineering and investments in field support. Mirabile was instrumental in pushing the organization to an ISO 14001 environmental certification. These achievements, products and services offer our customers best in class performance and coverage while striving to increase the safety and quality of life standards in the industry.

Mirabile continues to drive the business with a focus on safety and survivability, never losing sight that in doing so the company positively impact drivers, operators and passengers through the products and services USSC offers. Under his leadership, and with these new products, USSC’s business has grown significantly in all business sectors, but especially public transit. USSC will be moving in to its new state-of-the-art headquarters and manufacturing facility later this year to accommodate this continued expansion. 

Mirabile is supportive of USSC’s direct involvement in industry activities investing time and money in everything from legislative advocacy to transportation and maintenance roadeo events at the state and federal level. He sees, first hand, the connection between industry development and corporate achievement.

While continuing to impact the public transit industry through new and innovative products, enhanced customer experiences and improved service levels, Mirabile ensures that the employees at USSC have an equally outstanding experience and that USSC remains a positive community contributor.  

"I come from an immigrant Italian family. In our family my father and grandfather always taught me that with the right work ethic anything was achievable. They also taught me the value of a good education. I went to work at the age of 12 at a local restaurant, and had my first corporate internship (getting coffee) at Advanta Corp. at the age of 13."

"Easy question, the people. I feel incredibly lucky to work with our internal team as well as our customer’s everyday. We have such a hard-working and passionate team that genuinely cares about the customer. I look forward to coming into the office as well as meeting with customers and learning what we can do to better support them."

"Finding a new location for our building expansion was very challenging and was years in the making. We were lucky to find a great new location and will be moving in August 2018."

"The accomplishment I am most proud of is my wonderful children RJ and Mia."

"Work hard, as a team, and with persistence. Talent is one thing, but hard work is worth much more. With the right team, I believe anything is possible."

"Public transit is full of some of the brightest minds I have come across. I enjoy meeting and learning from the talented group of people in this industry."