Hertz has named former Ford chief executive Mark Fields as interim CEO, with the car rental giant looking to set a new course towards becoming a leader in mobility and travel. Fields had joined Hertz Global Holdings’ board back in June and will take up the mantle as CEO effective immediately.
Apart from having worked at Ford for 28 years, Fields is also Lead Independent Director of Tanium and serves on Qualcomm’s Board of Directors. In order to make room for Fields, Hertz moved former CEO Paul Stone to the position of president and chief operations officer.
What some of you might not know is that Hertz was once a unit of Ford Motor. The Blue Oval bought the 103-year-old car rental firm (once owned by GM) back in 1994 and sold it in 2005 for a sweet $5.6 billion. Subsequent owners included RCA and United Airlines parent company UAL Corp.
“Hertz is a global icon, and I’m honored to help lead the company into its next 100 years,” said Fields, who will work closely alongside the Board in order to implement the company’s strategic vision for the future.
“Hertz’s unmatched global footprint will be combined with forward-looking investments that completely change the face of travel and mobility. The world is going to be hearing a lot from Hertz in the weeks and months ahead,” he added.
This management switch comes just three months after Hertz surfaced from bankruptcy and is currently trying to rebuild its global operations. The company did post strong financial results in past months thanks to lighter travel restrictions.
Ironically, Fields had to leave Ford back in 2017 because the carmaker’s board was unhappy with the progress he was making regarding the brand’s transition from internal combustion engines to a fully electric and self-driving future. Hopefully, for Hertz’s sake, he’ll be on top of his game regarding those things moving forward.
What some of you might not know is that Hertz was once a unit of Ford Motor. The Blue Oval bought the 103-year-old car rental firm (once owned by GM) back in 1994 and sold it in 2005 for a sweet $5.6 billion. Subsequent owners included RCA and United Airlines parent company UAL Corp.
“Hertz is a global icon, and I’m honored to help lead the company into its next 100 years,” said Fields, who will work closely alongside the Board in order to implement the company’s strategic vision for the future.
“Hertz’s unmatched global footprint will be combined with forward-looking investments that completely change the face of travel and mobility. The world is going to be hearing a lot from Hertz in the weeks and months ahead,” he added.
This management switch comes just three months after Hertz surfaced from bankruptcy and is currently trying to rebuild its global operations. The company did post strong financial results in past months thanks to lighter travel restrictions.
Ironically, Fields had to leave Ford back in 2017 because the carmaker’s board was unhappy with the progress he was making regarding the brand’s transition from internal combustion engines to a fully electric and self-driving future. Hopefully, for Hertz’s sake, he’ll be on top of his game regarding those things moving forward.