Leading Executives in Heavy Equipment Rental
Matthew (Matt) Flannery
Chief Executive Officer, United Rentals
Leads the world’s largest equipment rental company; under his leadership, United Rentals continued record growth into 2025 and reaffirmed guidance amid robust demand.
Brendan Horgan
Chief Executive, Ashtead Group (Sunbelt Rentals parent)
Runs Ashtead Group, parent of Sunbelt Rentals; elevated from Sunbelt US leadership to Group CEO in May 2019 and continues to drive North American expansion.
Phil Parker
Chief Executive Officer, Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland
Succeeded Andy Wright as CEO on May 1, 2024, steering the UK’s largest rental company through its Sunbelt 4.0 growth phase.
Larry H. Silber
President & Chief Executive Officer, Herc Rentals (Herc Holdings)
Industry veteran who expanded Herc’s footprint and completed the acquisition of H&E Equipment Services on June 2, 2025, boosting scale across North America.
Jabbok Schlacks
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, EquipmentShare
Co-founded EquipmentShare and scaled it into a top U.S. tech-enabled rental provider built around the T3 platform and rapid branch growth.
Scott Cannon
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, BigRentz
Chairman & CEO of the largest online rental marketplace; has led BigRentz’s evolution into an AI-enabled procurement platform serving 6,000+ suppliers.
Pierre Boels Jr.
Chief Executive Officer & Owner, Boels Rental
Owner-operator credited with building Boels into Europe’s No. 2 rental specialist and expanding via major deals including Cramo (2020) and Riwal (2024).
Olivier Colleau
Executive Chairman, Kiloutou
Long-time Kiloutou leader who became Executive Chairman, guiding the group’s multi-country expansion and portfolio diversification across Europe.
Gérard Déprez
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Loxam
Chairman & CEO who has led Loxam’s rise to Europe’s No. 1 and a global top-4 rental player, including the transformative Ramirent acquisition.
Erik Bengtsson
Group President & Chief Executive Officer, Ramirent (Loxam Group)
Heads Loxam’s Nordic platform, Ramirent, steering its growth across Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Baltics since becoming Group CEO in 2020.
Murray Vitlich
Chief Executive Officer, Coates (Australia)
Appointed CEO in 2019; has pushed strategic M&A and sustainability initiatives as Coates strengthens its nationwide leadership in Australia.
Norty Turner
President & Chief Executive Officer, Sunstate Equipment (Sumitomo Corp. Group)
Took the helm as President & CEO on February 10, 2025, bringing decades of global rental leadership to accelerate Sunstate’s next growth chapter.
Paul McDonnell
Chief Executive Officer, Maxim Crane Works
Leads the largest coast‑to‑coast crane rental provider in the U.S.; driving fleet expansion and strategic acquisitions to deepen specialty lift capabilities.
Naohito Konuma
President & Chief Operating Officer, AKTIO Corporation (Japan)
Oversees operations and growth for one of Japan’s ‘Big Four’ rental groups, advancing AKTIO’s nationwide network and ‘Rensulting’ solutions model.
Tetsuo Kanamoto
President & Chief Executive Officer, Kanamoto Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Third‑generation leader driving Kanamoto’s extensive construction equipment rental network across Japan and overseas.
Masashi Nishio
President & Chief Executive Officer, Nishio Holdings (formerly Nishio Rent All)
Heads one of Japan’s largest rental groups following its 2023 rebrand to Nishio Holdings, expanding across Asia and beyond.
Dan Evans
Chief Executive, Speedy Hire (UK)
Long‑time Speedy executive elevated to CEO in 2022; focusing on digitisation and service breadth across the UK’s tool and equipment hire market.
Doug Dougherty
Chief Executive Officer, Cooper Equipment Rentals (Canada)
Co‑led Cooper’s expansion to a coast‑to‑coast Canadian platform through organic growth and acquisitions like Hub Equipment (2023).
Wim Sarens
Chief Executive Officer, Sarens (Belgium)
Fourth‑generation leader of the global heavy‑lift and crane rental specialist; reinforced family ownership and international project delivery.
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