Hertz names Goldman ex-finance chief Stephen Scherr as CEO

[NEW YORK] Hertz Global Holdings tapped former Goldman Sachs Group finance chief Stephen Scherr to lead the car-rental company from bankruptcy and into the digital and electric-vehicle era.

Scherr will take over as chief executive officer (CEO) from Mark Fields, who has been serving as interim CEO for the past 4 months, Hertz said in a statement Friday (Feb 4).

Scherr, who will assume his role at the end of February, spent 3 decades at Goldman, departing as finance chief at the end of last year. Fields, a former Ford Motor CEO, will remain on Hertz's board.

Hertz rose 0.5 per cent in New York trading at 9.35 am. Through Thursday, the stock had fallen 23 per cent to start the year, compared with a 11 per cent drop in the Nasdaq Composite Index.

Scherr arrives at a pivotal time as Hertz starts to electrify its fleet and give customers a digital experience. About 4 months after emerging from bankruptcy, Hertz in October announced a US$4.2 billion deal to buy 100,000 Tesla cars, looking to tap the growing interest in electric vehicles while aligning itself with the industry's leader. The plan will eventually encompass almost all of Hertz's half-million cars and trucks worldwide.

The biggest US car-rental company after Enterprise Holdings, Hertz is also making a broad revamp of its digital business. One component of that will be expedited rental bookings on the Hertz app.

While Scherr does not have experience running a fleet business, his role at Goldman established relationships that could help Hertz form lucrative business partnerships.

He was involved in the launch of digital customer-facing services such as Goldman's credit-card partnership with Apple, as well as the bank's Marcus product, which offers clients a suite of financial management tools.

"I have worked with Stephen for many years and have deep respect for his work ethic and his financial and operational expertise," Apple chief financial officer Luca Maestri said.

"He's proven to be a great leader and a deep thinker and I'm excited to see what he does next."

Scherr will be Hertz's third CEO since Kathy Marinello left, just before the Estero, Florida-based company filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2020.

Electrification is the latest turn in Hertz's wild journey through the Covid-19 pandemic. When demand for rental cars collapsed in early 2020, the company, whose brands also include Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly, was forced to file under Chapter 11 and began liquidating its fleet.

By last year, thanks to a sharp rebound in travel and the global shortage of new cars, Hertz was thriving. BLOOMBERG