Dive Brief:
- Hertz Global Holdings appointed Scott M. Haralson, 51, the finance chief of Spirit Airlines, to become the rental car giant’s CFO, replacing outgoing finance chief Alexandra Brooks by the end of June, according to a company release. Brooks, a four-year veteran of the company, is leaving Hertz just over a year after the then-chief accounting officer was named interim CFO and then elevated in July to permanent CFO.
- The Estero, Florida-based company also said Chief Operating Officer Justin Keppy agreed to resign from the company, effective Monday. The continued leadership churn comes about three months of after the company tapped another airline executive — Gil West, former chief operating officer of Delta Airlines and GM's Cruise unit — to lead the company as CEO, effective April 1.
- The company has been struggling with financial headwinds from electric vehicles. In January, it announced in a securities filing that it would sell about 20,000 EVs or about one-third of its global EV fleet, resulting in the recognition in the fourth quarter of a $245 million incremental depreciation related to the sale. In the first quarter, it incurred a $195 million charge to vehicle depreciation to write down the EVs held for sale which were remaining in inventory at quarter-end.
Dive Insight:
Hertz made a bold bet in 2021 when it announced it would buy 100,000 EVs from Tesla, and later that it would buy more from General Motors and Polestar, according to a March CNN report. But fallout including an EV price war drove down the value of EVs that Hertz could expect to recoup from reselling its old EV vehicles, according to CNN.
Now the company it looking to shift gears. West, in a statement in the release Monday, said he welcomed Haralson’s partnership in leading the company through what he called a transition year into its next phase of growth.
"His deep expertise in financial management and leveraging the capital markets to drive business transformation will be invaluable to Hertz as we rotate our fleet, deliver operational excellence, build greater cost discipline and undertake other key initiatives to improve our financial performance,” West said in a release, which called Haralson a seasoned executive and veteran who helped Spirit navigate the pandemic.
Haralson has served as Spirit’s finance chief since 2018. He joined the budget airline in 2012, holding various senior roles including vice president of financial planning and analysis, according to a securities filing. He also previously held CFO posts at Guardian Gaming and Swift Aviation and senior finance roles at Dish Network, the filing states. At Spirit, Brian McMenamy, vice president and controller, was named to succeed Haralson as interim CFO, effective June 14.
At Hertz, Haralson’s compensation will include an annual base salary of $750,000 and he will be eligible for an annual short-term incentive plan with a target of 100% of his base salary and an annual long-term incentive plan with a target equity award value of $2.5 million starting in fiscal year 2025, according to a filing. For the first pay period after his first 30 days of employment, he will also receive a $500,000 cash award, according to the release.
The company declined to comment beyond the release.
