NAPLES, Fla. -

Roughly two-and-a-half months after it was announced that chairman and chief executive officer Mark Frissora resigned from the position for personal reasons, Hertz Global Holdings will have a new president and CEO effective Friday.

Appointed to the post and to the company’s board of directors is John Tague, who was most recently chairman and CEO of transport and logistics provider Cardinal Logistics Holdings. Among other roles in the travel industry, Tague’s experience has included serving as president and chief operating officer of United Airlines.

The Hertz board’s CEO Search Committee led the search process.

Linda Fayne Levinson, the independent non-executive chair of the Hertz board, said: “John is a leader whose record shows a relentless focus on execution and high performance, having driven the successful turnaround of other large, complex consumer facing companies such as United Airlines. The board was very clear about what we needed in a new CEO for Hertz.

“We were looking for a world class global leader who knows the travel industry and its players, has an intimate understanding of the revenue optimization equation, drives operational excellence, has driven turnarounds, is a superb people leader, and most of all, understands how to create shareholder value. In John we have found that leader,” Levinson said.

On that committee are five independent directors, two of which were appointed recently under an agreement with Carl Icahn. The committee was assisted by an executive search firm.

Icahn said: “My team and I, along with Linda Fayne Levinson and other members of the Hertz Search Committee, spent a significant amount of time with a number of highly qualified candidates. The Committee performed an extensive search for the CEO position before the Committee and the Board unanimously selected John Tague as the next CEO of Hertz. I have been involved in a number of CEO searches during the last decade and have been quite impressed by the knowledge and imagination of a number of these candidates, many of whom have turned into very successful CEOs.

I am happy to say that after listening to John's ideas concerning Hertz and evaluating what he has accomplished at United, I believe he ranks at or near the top of the group. Importantly, Glenn Tilton, the former Chairman and CEO of United Airlines, informed me that John Tague was a key player in the United Airlines turnaround, and as president and the former COO, he would have been Glenn's recommendation to be the next CEO of United once Glenn retired, had the United / Continental merger not occurred.”

Tague added: “I am honored to have been selected to lead Hertz to its full potential at a time of unprecedented opportunity for the Company and industry. I look forward to partnering with Hertz employees as we work to earn sustained industry leadership for the benefit of our shareholders, customers and team.”

When news of Frissora stepping down was announced back in early September, it was also revealed that the board of directors had appointed Brian MacDonald, the president and CEO of Hertz Equipment Rental Corp., to serve as interim CEO.

“On behalf of the Hertz Board, we thank Brian MacDonald for his selflessness in stepping into the interim leadership role. Strategic actions he and the Hertz team have taken over the past months have enabled a smooth transition and put Hertz on stronger footing to address our challenges and achieve success,” Levinson said in Thursday’s announcement.