IT Organization Change Brewing at Hertz

Hertz announced yesterday that it had hired a new CIO. The rental car company chose Joseph Eckroth for his experience leading turnarounds. He was a member of the management team at Mattel when the toy company was going through its big restructuring a few years ago.

According to the press release announcing Eckroth’s hire, the new CIO is charged with restructuring Hertz’s IT department. Here’s what Hertz chairman and CEO Mark Frissora had to say about Eckroth’s role in the press release:

Joe Eckroth brings Hertz strong, senior information systems leadership at a time when the Company is about to restructure its IT operations to be significantly more efficient, utilizing sourced expertise where appropriate, and customer-focused.

Since that quote suggested–to me at least–the prospect of outsourcing and layoffs within Hertz’s IT department, I called the PR department for clarification. Hertz’s spokesperson had this to say:

We will be evaluating outsourcing in the IT area, but no decision has been made whether we will source work or whether there will be job reductions as a result.

To learn more about Eckroth’s management style and his approach to turnarounds, read the profile of him my colleague Stephanie Overby wrote while he was at Mattel. It may give you some insight into Eckroth’s personality and M.O.