Rental car giant Hertz has appointed former Ford chief executive Mark Fields as its new interim CEO.
Fields joined the Hertz board of directors in June and succeeds Paul Stone in his position within Hertz. Shares in the company jumped by as much as 13.3 percent in response to the news and comes just a few months after Hertz emerged from bankruptcy after being crippled by the coronavirus pandemic last year.
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“Hertz is a global icon, and I’m honored to help lead the company into its next 100 years,” Fields said in a statement. “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.”
Mark Fields served as chief executive of Ford between 2014 and 2017 but was ultimately ousted by the car manufacturer due in part to his lack of vision for the electric and autonomous future, as well as the company’s lagging stock price. He was swiftly replaced by Jim Hackett who served as Ford CEO until 12 months ago when Jim Farley took over.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time for Hertz, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have Mark’s leadership, first as a Board director and now as interim CEO,” added founder and senior managing director at Certares and Hertz’s chairman of the Board, Greg O’Hara. “Mark’s extensive background in auto and technology will be critical as we remake Hertz for the future. We are building from a renewed position of strength to reimagine the future, and Mark’s continued leadership on the Board and stepping in for the moment as interim CEO are important next steps to take us there.”
