RICHARD Davies has been appointed country manager Hertz UK, reporting to the new vice president Europe, Francis Waddington.
In addition, Rafael Girona has been named vice president, field operations and customer experience. Mr Girona and Mr Waddington report directly to Michel Taride, Group President, Hertz International.
As UK country manager, Richard Davies is responsible for developing and executing the strategy and business plan for Hertz in the country. In addition, he will drive employee development and focus on customer satisfaction as well as representing Hertz to employees, customers, suppliers, partners and regulators in the UK.
He has a profound understanding of the car rental business and a long professional trajectory at Hertz UK, having held various positions both in operations and the UK head office over a 25-year period.
Mr Waddington said: “Richard Davies, our new UK country manager, is an excellent operator and charismatic leader with a strong focus on customer service excellence. With his knowledge of both the industry and the company, I trust he will succeed at the helm of Hertz UK.”
Richard Davies said: “Having started my career at Hertz as a customer service representative 25 years ago, I feel honoured to now lead the company’s operations in the UK.
“With a strong team, a modern, diverse fleet of vans and cars, an expanding footprint and prominent partnerships, Hertz UK boasts a strong proposition for leisure and business customers alike. I will continue to work hard to ensure Hertz’s customers have an excellent experience when renting a vehicle in the UK.”
Francis Waddington, as vice president, Europe, will be primarily responsible for defining the operational strategies for all corporate countries in the region, which will report to him.
Mr Waddington, who most recently served as Vice President, South Europe, has more than 37 years of operational leadership and management experience, including 16 years serving in a general manager capacity at Hertz Italy, Hertz France and Hertz Spain.
Rafael Girona is now responsible for leading all operational support functions, including operations services, customer experience and local business development of both Hertz Car Rental and Hertz 24/7 in corporate Europe. In addition to this, he will continue to oversee specialist projects and services, including Hertz Accident Support in the UK.
Mr Girona most recently served as vice president, North Europe at Hertz. During his time at Hertz, he successfully led the development of the North Europe corporate operations, including serving as general manager for Hertz in Germany. He joined the company in 2014 after a 26-year career in Europcar, where his latest role was chief operating officer for 12 years.
Michel Taride, group president, Hertz International, said: “Francis’ and Rafael’s new roles are part of our strategy to gear up the performance of our European operations even further.
“I am confident that their multiple geography experience, leadership skills and focus on key strategic areas will bring strong value to the business and have great impact on our customers’ rental experience.”
Francis Waddington commented: “I am very pleased to see my role expanding to oversee Hertz’s strategies across all our corporate country operations in Europe. I will work closely with our great teams across Europe to ensure we continue to strengthen our already solid division to offer our customers the best car rental products and services.”
