Executives on the Move – Former Hertz CEO moves on, Waymo taps dual CEOs

When will the economic boom begin? That’s the question on executives’ minds right now. The stimulus has been activated and vaccination rates are rising. C-suites withstood challenge after challenge over the past year, and the boardroom is ready for brighter days. 

As the temperature heats up, here are some of the most interesting executive changes we’ve seen lately. 

Former Hertz CEO lands with PODS

Kathryn “Kathy” Marinello has had a wild ride since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Last year, Marinello was serving as president and CEO of Hertz – a role she’d held since 2017 – and the car rental company was reportedly hitting its stride under her leadership. Then, the pandemic hit. 

Suddenly, Hertz’s business went into freefall, along with much of the travel sector. Marinello responded by giving up her base salary to help as the company rolled out furloughs. A little over a month later, she stepped down from the CEO role, and Hertz ultimately filed for bankruptcy. 

Today, both Marinello and Hertz are looking at a fresh start. Hertz is entertaining multiple offers to emerge from bankruptcy, and Marinello is back in the CEO position at PODS. She replaces retiring longtime CEO John Koch.

Based in Clearwater, Florida, PODS is a moving and storage provider, known for its portable units. In addition to her time at Hertz, she comes to the role with CEO experience at Stream Global Services, Ceridian HCM and GE Capital’s fleet commercial finance division. 

Waymo promotes co-CEOs from within

One of the leaders in autonomous vehicles now has two executives in the driver’s seat. Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet, has chosen Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov as co-CEOs. The move comes as CEO John Krafcik has stepped down after four years at the helm. He will remain with the company as an advisor.

Mawakana previously served as COO, where she helped lead the company’s commercialization efforts. Before joining Waymo, Mawakana was a lawyer by trade, serving in executive and legal roles at Yahoo, eBay and AOL. She earned her JD degree from Columbia Law School. 

Dolgov was most recently CTO for the company, where he spearheaded software development. His tenure harkens back to the company’s early roots as a Google project. Waymo was spun off under Alphabet in 2017. Before joining the project, Dolgov was a researcher in AI and robotics at Toyota. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Michigan. 

While Waymo has made substantial progress in driverless tech – for instance, its fully autonomous ride-hail service operates in Arizona – it has so far struggled to scale up commercially. The company relied on safety drivers until late 2020. 

Apollo co-founder steps up as CEO

It’s the beginning of a new era at Apollo Global Management, and it starts with a familiar face. 

The private equity firm recently announced co-founder Marc Rowan as CEO, replacing longtime leader and partner Leon Black. 

Black departed Apollo abruptly on March 22, following a sexual harassment allegation and an examination into Black’s business connections with financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Black reportedly paid Epstein more than $150 million over a five-year period for financial advice and services, though the examination did not report any misconduct. Black cited health reasons for his departure.

Before ascending to the top role, Rowan had served as senior managing director and had been on a sabbatical in 2020. Rowan has been described as the “brainchild” behind Athene Holding, an insurance company that Apollo is expected to merge with in 2022. Rowan also owns several restaurants in the Hamptons.

Apollo held $329 billion in assets under management as of December 2020, according to the company’s website. The company is seeking inclusion in the S&P 500 index.

More executives on the move…

• Sherry Aaholm is now Chief Digital Officer, Cummins Inc.
• Jeremy Balkin is now Head, FinTech & Innovation, Wholesale Payments, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Titus Ball is now VP, Finance and Segment CFO, Carlisle Fluid Technologies, Inc.
• Alfredo Barrios is now Chief Commercial Officer, Rio Tinto Group.
• Bold Baatar is now CEO, Copper, Rio Tinto Group.
• Scott Blackley is now CFO, Oscar Insurance Corporation.
• Alysia Borsa is now President, Digital, Meredith Corporation.
• Rosalind Brewer is now CEO, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.

• Yves Caseau is now Group Chief Digital and Information Officer, Michelin.
• Eric Chaniot is now General Manager, Cross Industry Solutions, Microsoft Corporation.
• Henk Derksen is now EVP and CFO, Viavi Solutions Inc.
• Brice Dixon is now SVP, Operations and Leasing, US, Campus Living Villages.
• Jason Dolgoff is now COO, Zaelab.
• Allisha Elliott is now Chief Human Resources Officer, Bose Corporation.
• Mark Erceg is now EVP and CFO, Cerner Corporation.
• Jacob Ferro Jr. is now Global CIO, eResearch Technology, Inc.
• William Galvin is now Co-Founder and CEO, Equity Distribution Acquisition Corp.
• Robin Gordon is now Chief Data and Analytics Officer, MetLife Inc.
• Russell Hagen is now SVP and Chief Development Officer, Weyerhaeuser Company.
• Relle Howard is now VP and CIO, Trinity Industries, Inc.
• David Kornberg is now CEO, Maurices. 
• Michael Kourey is now CFO, Okta, Inc.
• Amy Lokey is now SVP and Global Head, Design, ServiceNow, Inc.
• Mariana Loose is Chief Marketing Officer, Alston & Bird LLP.
• Merrilee Matchett is now EVP and Head, Global Customer Service and Operations, MetLife Inc.
• Laura Miller is now CIO, Macy’s.
• Darla Morse is now EVP and CIO, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.
• Earl Newsome is now CIO, Cummins Inc.
• Alegra O'Hare is now CMO, Tommy Hilfiger Licensing LLC.
• Nancy Quan is now SVP, Chief Technical and Innovation Officer, Coca-Cola Company.
• Lisa Ross is now CEO, US, Edelman.
• Dean Salter is now Group Executive, Global Business Services, Telstra Corporation Limited.
• Christie Smith is now Senior Managing Director, Strategy & Consulting and Global Lead, Talent & Organization/Human Potential, Accenture plc.
• Arnaud Soirat is now COO, Rio Tinto Group.
• Vasiliy Suvorov is now CTO, FileWave International Holding AG.
• Jeffrey Titterton is now COO, Zendesk, Inc.
• Gerard Williams III is now SVP, Engineering, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., Qualcomm Inc.
• Jürgen Wolf is now Director, Deloitte Consulting, LLP
• Andrew Young is now CFO, Capital One Financial Corporation.

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