Hertz Global Holdings president and CEO John Tague is
stepping down to be replaced by former GE executive Kathryn Marinello. Tague
will depart Jan. 2, after leading the car rental company for a little more than
two years. Financially, Hertz has had a rough past
few quarters, and shareholders have been "very frustrated and
vocal" about the company's performance this year, MKM Partners analyst
Christopher Agnew wrote in a research note. "Although we believe some of
the frustration with management is unfair (given what they inherited), a change
at the top and new leadership was possibly necessary."
Marinello, who will take over on Jan. 3, currently is a
senior advisor at asset management firm Ares Management and previously served
as CEO of several other companies, including outsourcing firm Stream Global
Services, HR software supplier Ceridian, GE Fleet Services and GE Insurance
Solutions. Hertz's largest shareholder, Carl Icahn, who doubled his stake in
Hertz in November, called her the right person to lead the company. "Her
consistent track record of successes in consumer and financial services, as
well as technology businesses, is impressive," he said. "She was
extremely well-regarded at GE and successfully turned around Ceridian and
Stream."
The
three longest-serving directors on Hertz's board—nonexecutive chair Linda Fayne
Levinson, compensation committee chair Carl Berquist and financing committee
chair Michael Durham—also will leave their positions when Tague departs. Agnew
said their resignations were appropriate, given they had approved Hertz's
headquarters relocation from New Jersey to Estero, Fla., when Hertz
acquired Tulsa-based Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group in 2012. Agnew called
the move "an unmitigated disaster with hemorrhaging of employees and the
exposure of inadequate systems in the absence of employee experience."