Dale Asplund Steps Down as United Rentals COO; Michael Durand to Replace Him
United Rentals announced that Dale Asplund, executive vice president and chief operating officer, will be leaving the company on September 29 to take the role of president and CEO at another public company outside of the equipment rental industry. Asplund (pictured) joined United Rentals in 1998 and was named chief operating officer in 2019. He will remain in an active role with United Rentals through September 29 to ensure a smooth transition to Michael Durand, who is being promoted to chief operating officer.
Durand joined United Rentals in 2002 as a branch manager and has held roles of increasing scope through the present, including district manager, region vice president, and his current role of senior vice president of sales and operations. Durand has been an integral leader across all aspects of sales and operations at United Rentals, including the company’s go-to-market strategy, large acquisition integrations, operations strategy, and operational excellence. He has built strong and enduring relationships within United Rentals and its customer base over his more than two-decade career.
“We expect this to be a seamless transition between two seasoned leaders who have worked closely together for many years,” said United Rentals CEO Matthew Flannery. “Mike is a proven leader whose numerous contributions have delivered strong results across the company. I’m confident that his operational expertise and demonstrated ability to lead our business will play a key role in our continued focus to drive profitable growth and generate shareholder value.
“We deeply appreciate Dale’s truly extraordinary contributions to making United Rentals the company it is today. On a personal note, I want to thank Dale for his incredible partnership, leadership, and commitment to our employees and shareholders.”
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.