Avis Budget Group on Monday said its board of directors has appointed president of the Americas division Joe Ferraro as interim chief executive officer.

Ferraro’s appointment was effective Wednesday and takes place in the wake of former president and chief executive officer Larry De Shon departing at the end of last year.

The company also said its chief financial officer, Americas, Izzy Martins will serve as interim president, Americas. For 15 years, Martins has served in various senior strategic and financial roles for Avis Budget Group.

Chairman of the board Leonard Coleman said in a news release that Ferraro has been a “strong and dynamic leader” during his 40 years at Avis Budget Group.

“As president of the Americas division for the last five years, Joe has driven operational excellence across our business in the Americas,” Coleman said.

He continued, “We are fortunate to have a deep bench of talent at Avis Budget Group, and we are confident that Joe and the rest of our management team will continue to provide steady leadership as we continue our search for a permanent CEO.”

Coleman also thanked De Shon for his contributions and “years of extraordinary leadership.”

Ferraro said, “Over the course of my career with the company, I have seen firsthand how our success is driven by our commitment to delivering quality service for our customers and performance for our shareholders.”

He added, “I look forward to working with our entire global team to continue to execute on our strategy.”