Avis Budget Group has appointed Joe Ferraro as interim chief executive following the departure of Larry De Shon at the end of 2019.
Ferraro was most recently president, Americas, responsible for the company’s Avis, Budget, Payless and Zipcar brands in North and South America, including Latin America and the Caribbean. He has been with the firm for 40 years, having previously served as senior vice president of operations in North America and various other leadership roles.
Commenting on Ferraro’s appointment, Leonard S Coleman, chairman of the board, said: “During his 40 years at Avis Budget Group, Joe Ferraro has proven that he is a strong and dynamic leader, and we are pleased to name him our interim CEO. As president of the Americas division for the last five years, Joe has driven operational excellence across our business in the Americas. We are fortunate to have a deep bench of talent at Avis Budget Group, and we are confident that Joe and the rest of our management team will continue to provide steady leadership as we continue our search for a permanent CEO.”
Ferraro added: “I am pleased to step into the interim CEO role. Over the course of my career with the company, I have seen first-hand how our success is driven by our commitment to delivering quality service for our customers and performance for our shareholders. I look forward to working with our entire global team to continue to execute on our strategy.”
As Ferraro steps into the role, Izzy Martins, chief financial officer for the Americas will become interim president of the Americas. Martins has been with Avis Budget Group for 15 years in a number of strategic and financial roles.
Ferraro’s appointment comes after the company named Keith Rankin as president of the International region, including EMEA, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
avisbudgetgroup.com