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© History Oasis / Created via Midjourney
1918-1923
Walter Jacobs founded Rent-a-Car Inc. in Chicago with just 12 Model T Fords. He grew it into a 600-vehicle operation generating $1 million in annual revenue.
Jacobs established the rental car concept before cars were widespread.
He sold to John D. Hertz and remained as president and COO for nearly four decades.
1923-1925
John Hertz purchased Jacobs’ rental business and renamed it “Hertz Drive-Ur-Self System.” He merged it with his existing Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Company.
Hertz provided money for its expansion.
After three years of ownership, Hertz sold the rental business to General Motors.
1925-1953
GM’s resources fueled Hertz’s growth.
During this period, Hertz pioneered the first rental car charge card (1926), established the first airport rental location at Chicago’s Midway Airport (1932), and introduced the first one-way rental plan (1933).
Expansion continued into Canada (1938) and France (1950).
1953-1961
At age 74, John Hertz repurchased the company from GM through his Omnibus Corporation, renamed it The Hertz Corporation, and took it public in 1954.
Under his second tenure, Hertz acquired Metropolitan Distributors, adding 4,000 trucks to its fleet of 12,900 passenger cars.
The company expanded into South America in 1961. A blueprint for its future international expansion.
1961-2006
This era saw multiple ownership changes, including the acquisition by RCA (1967), UAL Corporation (1985), and Ford Motor Company (1987).
The company introduced the #1 Club rewards program (1972), a customer loyalty program.
Hertz became the first international car rental company in China (2002).
Afterward, it was sold to private equity firms Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, The Carlyle Group, and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity (2005) for about $15 billion, including debt.
July 2006-September 8, 2014
Mark Frissora brought Hertz back to the New York Stock Exchange in November 2006.
He oversaw a $2.3 billion acquisition of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group in 2012.
Frissora launched the Simply Wheelz economy brand (later rebranded as Advantage Rent-a-Car) and relocated headquarters from New Jersey to Estero, Florida, in 2013.
Frissora resigned amid an accounting scandal.
September 8, 2014-November 20, 2014
As interim CEO and president of Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation, Brian MacDonald managed the company through the fallout of accounting irregularities, withdrawing full-year 2014 guidance.
MacDonald dealt with activist investor Carl Icahn’s entry into Hertz’s ownership structure with an 8.5% stake.
November 20, 2014-January 2, 2017
A former United Airlines executive, John Tague, implemented $100 million in operating cost reductions.
Tague completed the Estero headquarters construction and moved all corporate operations to the building.
He confronted the emerging threats from ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, which were eroding market share.
January 3, 2017-May 18, 2020
Kathryn Marinello, Hertz’s first female CEO, launched the “Ultimate Choice” program, allowing customers to select theirexact car at pickup.
Marinello’s tenure ended abruptly as COVID-19 devastated the travel industry. Car rentals fell 10% during lockdowns.
She resigned three days before Hertz filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 22, 2020, after failing to reach agreements with creditors to renegotiate $19 billion in debt backed by a fleet of idle vehicles.
May 18, 2020-October 5, 2021
Paul Stone was appointed CEO just days before Hertz’s bankruptcy filing.
Stone sold approximately 200,000 vehicles to reduce debt.
Stone’s team pursued a $1 billion equity raise while in Chapter 11, with the SEC halting the effort after $29 million in sales.
He led Hertz through its emergence from bankruptcy on July 1, 2021.
October 5, 2021-February 28, 2022
Mark Fields, the former Ford CEO, executed one of the most ambitious fleet transformations in rental history, ordering 100,000 Tesla vehicles (worth approximately $4.2 billion) in October 2021.
The move boosted Hertz’s stock price and signaled the industry’s shift toward sustainability.
Fields arranged Tesla vehicle availability to Uber drivers and oversaw Hertz’s November 2021 relisting on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol HTZ.
February 28, 2022-March 31, 2024
Former Goldman Sachs CFO Stephen Scherr expanded Hertz’s electric vehicle ambitions, ordering 65,000 Polestar and up to 175,000 GM electric vehicles.
Scherr partnered with BP to develop charging stations but later faced a devastating $245 million write-down due to Tesla’s price cuts and higher-than-expected EV repair costs.
In January 2024, Scherr announced plans to sell one-third of Hertz’s electric fleet and return to gas-powered vehicles after EVs proved unprofitable.
April 1, 2024-Present
Gil West is a former Delta Air Lines and General Motors Cruise executive.
West has reorganized the executive team with former Delta colleagues, including appointing Sandeep Dube as Chief Commercial Officer.
Despite guiding Hertz through a $2.86 billion loss in 2024, West secured investor confidence from Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square, which acquired a significant 20% stake in the company.
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