European Rental Association elects new board

The European Rental Association (ERA) has elected a new board of directors led by Vesa Koivula, CEO of Cramo, who will officially take on the role of ERA’s president after the board holds it first meeting on 26 June.

Mr Koivula succeeds Loxam’s Gerard Deprez, who is retiring as founding president after seven years in the post. The voting was held during the second day of ERA’s annual convention, held on 15 and 16 in Paris, France.

The new board comprises a mix of continuing members – Zeppelin’s Peter Schrader, Marzia Giusto of Nacanco and Mr Koivula – with new members, comprising Pierre Boels (CEO of Boels Rental), Chris Davies (CEO of HSS), Herve Rebollo (secretary general of DLR) and Magnus Rosen (CEO, Ramirent).

Mr Koivula, speaking to the convention after the election of the board, paid tribute to Mr Deprez; “I wish to warmly thank Gerard Deprez, our first president, who was the driving force behind the creation of the association. You can be very proud of what you have achieved.”

When the new board meets in Brussels in June it will officially vote in Mr Koivula as president and set the agenda for the activities of the association. In particular it will look at the results of the recent membership survey in assessing its priorities, with members looking for the association to make further efforts to promote rental among European institutions and in new markets and industries.

The ERA convention was deemed a success, with more than 350 registered participants and a lively mix of speakers and topics. More reports on the convention will appear in the June issue of International Rental News (IRN).