When James Wang first started working at Peoria Charter in 2010, he never imagined he would one day own the company. In fact, he wasn’t even sure where his career would take him. What he did know was that he loved driving buses.
“I honestly really wanted to drive buses at the time,” Wang said. “I wanted to find a way to somehow be involved with buses. But it didn’t seem like a possibility.”
Born with an entrepreneurial spirit, Wang, 40, had already built a business repairing and selling computers while earning his master’s in marketing and business administration. His parents had different dreams for him, envisioning a career as a doctor or something traditionally prestigious.
“My parents would have been very, very frustrated if I remained a bus driver,” he admitted.
Sliding into bus career
But Wang found himself drawn to the road. What started as a simple driving job turned into something more when he began helping Peoria Charter’s then-owner, Bill Winkler, with technical support. Over time, he moved up in the company, becoming director of operations in 2018. That year, Winkler and his wife, Cindy, invited him to lunch, where they presented an unexpected opportunity – an offer to become co-owner and oversee operations.
“They forgave me when I made bad decisions, and they guided me to making better decisions,” Wang said of his mentors, Winkler and Vice President Dennis Utley. “The biggest lesson they taught me was how to show compassion for your employees and make them feel valued, but at the same time, how to not get taken advantage of.”
As Wang climbed the ranks, he found himself stepping away from the thing that had drawn him to the industry – driving.
“At some point, I realized in order for me to stay in this industry, I have to just take days where I’m behind the wheel of a bus and go take trips,” he said. “I realized I can’t give that up.”
In 2023, following the passing of his father, Wang took time off to grieve. Then, during one of the hardest weeks of his life, he received a call from Winkler that would change everything.
“Bill said he wanted to focus more on his passion, which was ministry. He told me he wanted to step away from overseeing Peoria Charter.”
At first, Winkler considered selling control of the company to a competitor, and Wang was faced with an excruciating decision.
“I had dinner with him and the CEO of the competitor, and it was a very friendly conversation. They even offered me a great position, but it would require laying off people in our company,” Wang said.
His wife finally voiced what Wang hadn’t considered.
“She said, ‘Why don’t you just buy it?’ And that idea had never come into my head at that point.”
Unlikely candidate for ownership
It was a daunting prospect. Peoria Charter had been in the Winkler family for generations. Wang, by contrast, didn’t come from wealth.
“I had maybe $100,000 saved up,” Wang said. “That’s all I had with the house. Usually, if you look at people who own bus companies the size of Peoria Charter, they’re very wealthy. They have a lot of generational wealth. I was just a blue-collar guy that had been boots-on-the-ground for the last 15 years.”
But with his wife’s encouragement, he made the call.
“I told Bill, ‘If you let me buy it, I will keep the family name, the Winkler legacy. I won’t change the recipe.’”
Winkler agreed, and Winkler’s family supported the decision as well.
“Bill did say that he thinks of me as a second son. He’s definitely a father figure to me,” Wang said. “And he promised to back me and help me get through my challenges.”
Two days after purchasing Peoria Charter, Wang did what most CEOs wouldn’t. He got behind the wheel.
“I was driving a wedding shuttle,” he said with a laugh. “I will never let myself not have access to driving bus trips.”
Exudes passion for the industry
His love for buses extends beyond the driver’s seat. In 2020, Wang launched a YouTube channel, Motorcoach World, to share his passion.
“At first, Bill told me, ‘Hey, put the camera away and run the company.’ But when it started to grow, he realized Peoria Charter was now known worldwide,” Wang said.
His channel has over 39,000 subscribers and has helped recruit drivers and shine a light on the motorcoach industry. But it also comes with challenges.
“It created fans who wanted to drive and people who could drive — I had to differentiate between the two,” he admitted.
Despite these challenges, Wang believes in the future of Peoria Charter and its legacy.
“The scariest thing about running a bus company is being responsible for things that are out of your control,” he said.
Yet, against all odds, Wang has found a way to blend business with passion. His father may not have lived to see him become CEO, but in the end, Wang believes he earned his respect.
“Towards the end, he started to see how far I climbed and how much I enjoyed it. He never directly told me, but he did show, in his own way, that he was very proud.”
