WHY IT RATES: Travel agents who book car rentals for their clients through Hertz should be aware of the leadership change behind the scenes.—Donald Wood, Breaking News Senior Writer.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. announced Wednesday that Paul Stone will be joining the company as executive vice president and chief retail operations officer (CROO), North America. Stone, who will join Hertz on March 6, brings more than 30 years of operational expertise from his leadership roles with retail giants Sam's Club/ Walmart and Cabela's.

Stone began his 28-year career with Sam's Club/ Walmart as a store manager and was quickly elevated through the ranks to Western U.S. divisional senior vice president. He led operations for upwards of 200 locations with more than 30,000 employees.

Most recently, Stone has served as senior vice president and chief retail officer at Cabela's, one of the leading outdoor outfitter retail companies. Stone delivered strategy, service, people development and full-scale retail operations leadership.

"Paul is a proven leader with experience from arguably the top retailer (Walmart) and has success driving process excellence, developing top talent and building high-performing teams," said Kathryn V. Marinello, president and chief executive officer of Hertz. "His sincere passion for people and his depth of operations expertise will be a tremendous asset to our already strong bench of talent."

SOURCE: Hertz Corporation press release.