PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
Europcar Mobility Group (Paris:EUCAR) starts into a new chapter in its history, following today’s approval of the Combined Shareholders’ Meeting to establish a new governance structure. Holger Peters was elected as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board has appointed the experienced travel and technology executive Peter Gowers as the new Chairman of the Management Board and Group Chief Executive Officer. Peter Gowers succeeds Caroline Parot, who has decided to move onto a new challenge after more than a decade with the company, following the successful tender offer by Green Mobility Holding, a bidder consortium consisting of Volkswagen, Attestor and Pon Holdings. The Supervisory Board further announced the appointment of experienced finance leader Philip de Klerk as Chief Financial Officer. Peter Gowers and Philip de Klerk’s appointments will be effective immediately, ensuring a smooth transition from the previous management team.
Holger Peters, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Europcar Mobility Group: “We are delighted to welcome Peter and Philip to their new roles. Peter is a highly experienced global executive with a background in brands, travel and technology transformation. His appointment will add key international leadership skills to complement the extensive capabilities in car rental and mobility services within the company and its shareholders. Philip brings great experience as a CFO in the consumer space. With this new, strong leadership team, Europcar Mobility Group will further accelerate its ongoing transformation into a leading mobility company, building on the company’s strengths and the milestones already achieved.”
Experienced travel, technology and transformation executive Peter Gowers becomes Chairman of the Management Board and Group Chief Executive Officer.
Peter Gowers is an international travel and technology executive, with more than twenty-five years’ experience in driving brands, customer experience, technology and transformation in Europe, Asia and the Americas, in both listed and private businesses.
He joins Europcar Mobility Group from European budget hotel operator Travelodge, where he recently served as Chief Executive. Prior to this, he was Chief Executive of Safestore Holdings, an Anglo-French services and real estate business. His experience also includes ten years with the global hotel operator InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), serving successively as its Head of Strategy, Group Chief Marketing Officer and CEO for Asia-Pacific, and with the technology and strategy consulting firm Arthur D.Little.
Peter Gowers commented: “Europcar Mobility Group is a great international mobility player with a proud history and an excellent team. People around the world have a growing need to access the right form of transport, on demand, with the least impact on the environment and at a price they can afford. With its scale and expertise in innovation, Europcar Mobility Group is ideally positioned to meet those needs and to become the leader in sustainable mobility. I look forward to working closely with the team over the years ahead to reach the next level in the company’s development.”
New CFO Philip de Klerk brings extensive experience in the consumer space.
Philip de Klerk is an experienced finance executive, with a particular focus on consumer brands. He recently served as Group CFO of international shoe manufacturer and retailer Clarks. Philip de Klerk started his career at Unilever, where he spent sixteen years in various roles, including CFO for Switzerland and the Benelux region. Following this, he served in senior finance roles with chemicals company Ineos and brewing and beverage company SAB Miller, before he was appointed CFO at the regional airline FlyBe and then CFO and CEO of materials manufacturer Low & Bonar.
Philip de Klerk said: “I am delighted to be joining Europcar Mobility Group for the next stage of its journey and to deliver both transformational and operational improvements. We have strong shareholders and a platform to drive our investments in building a leadership position in mobility.”
Combined Shareholders’ Meeting approves new government structure.
Prior to the appointments of Peter Gowers and Philip de Klerk, Europcar Mobility Group’s Combined Shareholders’ Meeting was held on June 29. Following the successful tender offer of Green Mobility Holding, the consortium of Volkswagen, Attestor and Pon is the controlling majority shareholder of Europcar Mobility Group with 87.38 percent of the share capital and at least 87.36 percent of the voting rights.
The Shareholders’ Meeting approved the transition from the previous one-tier Board of Directors to a two-tier board structure with a Supervisory Board and a Management Board. Imelda Labbé (Member of the Board of Management for Marketing, Sales and After-Sales at Volkswagen Passenger Cars effective July 1, 2022), Holger Peters (Head of Transformation Office at Volkswagen AG), Jan-Christoph Peters (Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Attestor), David Alhadeff (Partner at Attestor) as well as Janus Smalbraak (CEO of Pon
Holdings) were elected as members to the newly created Supervisory Board. While Imelda Labbé and Holger Peters from Volkswagen bring experience in platform development and a proven track record in sales and scaling, Jan-Christoph Peters and David Alhadeff of Attestor offer deep transformation expertise, and Janus Smalbraak from Pon Holdings brings broad expertise of customer preferences across a wide range of mobility solutions, including cycling.
The complete results of the votes on the resolutions are available in the investor section, “Financial Information”, sub-heading “Shareholders' Meetings” of the Group’s Investor Relations website: http://investors.europcar-group.com.
Newly elected Chairman Holger Peters thanks outgoing CEO.
Following the Combined Shareholders’ Meeting, the newly created Supervisory Board held its constituent meeting in which Holger Peters was elected Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Europcar Mobility Group.
In this first meeting, the Supervisory Board also decided to appoint Peter Gowers as CEO and Philip de Klerk as CFO.
As already announced on June 16, Alexandre de Juniac, Carl Leaver and Simon Franks have resigned with immediate effect from their roles as members of the Board of Directors following today’s Shareholders’ Meeting and the approved governance change. Outgoing CEO Caroline Parot will remain as an advisor to the business until the end of July 2022 to support a smooth transition to the new management team.
Holger Peters commented: “Caroline Parot is an outstanding leader, who, together with the company’s well trained and highly motivated staff, successfully kicked off Europcar Mobility Group’s transformation into a digitally driven mobility provider, while, at the same time, stabilizing the business in the midst of economic and geopolitical turmoil. The Supervisory Board and the company thank her for her great service throughout her time with the business and we wish her well for the future.”
As a reminder, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has announced that the tender offer for Europcar Mobility Group shares initiated by Green Mobility Holding S.A., which has been reopened since June 16, 2022, is closed on June 29, 2022. The results of the reopened offer will be announced shortly by the AMF and the settlement-delivery will take place on July 11, 2022 (see Euronext notice No. PAR_20220615_16245_EUR dated June 15, 2022).
About Europcar Mobility Group
Europcar Mobility Group is a major player in mobility markets and listed on Euronext Paris. Europcar Mobility Group’s purpose is to offer attractive alternatives to vehicle ownership, in a responsible and sustainable manner. With this in mind, the Group offers a wide range of car and van rental services – be it for a few hours, a few days, a week, a month or more – with a fleet equipped with the latest engines, and which will be increasingly "green" in the years to come. Customers’ satisfaction is at the heart of the Group’s ambition and that of its employees. It also fuels the ongoing development of new offerings in the Group's three service lines - Professional, Leisure and Proximity - which respond to the specific needs and use cases of both businesses and individuals. The Group’s 4 major brands are: Europcar® - the European leader of car rental and light commercial vehicle rental, Goldcar® - the low-cost carrental Leader in Europe, InterRent® – ‘mid-tier’ car rental and Ubeeqo® – one of the European leaders of roundtrip car-sharing (BtoB, BtoC). Europcar Mobility Group delivers its mobility solutions worldwide through an extensive network in over 140 countries (including wholly owned subsidiaries – 18 in Europe, 1 in the USA, 2 in Australia and New Zealand – completed by franchises and partners).
Further details on our website: www.europcar-mobility-group.com