Essex Rental Corp. announced that its board of directors has appointed Nicholas Matthews, 41, formerly chief operating officer, to president and chief executive officer. Matthews will also serve as a director on Essex's board.
Laurence Levy, chairman of the coard, stated, "After an extensive search, we are confident that Nick is the right individual to lead the Company given his proven experience at Essex and his keen focus on driving return on invested capital that he gained from his prior executive positions."
Since joining Essex approximately nine months ago, Matthews has led a number of long-term key strategic initiatives to strengthen the company and enhance value for all Essex stakeholders including:
- Spearheading the decision to sell surplus equipment through the sealed bid auction sale process;
- Refining the Company's go to market strategy relating to its parts and service segment;
- Designing operational improvements focused on increasing utilization;
- Leading an initiative aimed at improving the Company's quality; and
- Developing a more customer centric service oriented culture throughout the Company.
Matthews commented, "I am extremely honored to take the helm and lead Essex, a company with a strong market position, extensive asset portfolio and even greater prospects for the future. I am focused on operational excellence and financial discipline in order to reposition the company for success. I am committed to driving success for the company by diversifying our products and services, repositioning the fleet by divesting underutilized rental assets and creating a differentiated value proposition for our customers. I am confident that we will create long-term value for our shareholders, employees and other stakeholders."
Matthews' experience spans across a number of asset heavy manufacturing and leasing industries. Prior to joining Essex in 2013, he served as vice president and group executive for Railcar Operations at GATX, a global leader in railcar leasing. Prior to GATX, he held a variety of executive and functional roles at FreightCar America and Trinity Industries.
