30.07.2008

New chairman for URI

United Rentals, the world's largest equipment rental company, has appointed Jenne K. Britell, 66, as its new chairman.

Britell, a director since 2006, has been chairman and chief executive officer of Structured Ventures, advisors on financial services and product strategy, since 2001.

From 1996 to 2000 she was a senior executive of GE Capital where she most recently was executive vice president of Global Consumer Finance and president of Global Mortgage and Consumer Banking. She also served as president and chief executive officer of GE Capital, Central and Eastern Europe.

From 1993 to 1996, Britell was executive vice president, chief lending officer and general manager, Mortgage Banking at Dime Bancorp and also held significant leadership positions with Citicorp and Republic New York Corporation.

In 1992, she was the founding chairman and chief executive officer of the Polish-American Mortgage Bank in Warsaw, the first American to be approved by the National Bank of Poland to run a Polish bank.

Britell said: "I am honored to be elected chairman of the board of United Rentals and thank my fellow directors for their confidence. United Rentals is well-positioned for success in its markets and has many attractive opportunities for growth. The coming years will be exciting as we pursue a strategic path towards creating long-term value for our shareholders."

Britell is also a director of Crown Holdings, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated and West Pharmaceutical Services, a Sustaining Trustee of the Fox Chase Cancer Center and a director of the U.S.—Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law.