The Manitou Group has appointed Sylvain Blaise as its next president and CEO, replacing Michel Denis, who is stepping down after 12 years. Denis will remain in his post until the eve of the company’s next General Meeting on June 24.
Blaise is an agronomist by training and a graduate of AgroSup Dijon. Blaise, 53, has more than 25 years of international experience in the agricultural equipment and industrial vehicle sectors. He began his career at the Alfa-Laval Group, and then spent more than 20 years in strategic and operational leadership roles within CNH Industrial and Iveco Group.
He led the global activities for the Tractor product line for the Case IH and Steyr brands, before being appointed president of the Bus Division (Iveco Bus and Heuliez). Most recently, he served as president of the Powertrain Division at FPT Industrial and was a member of the senior leadership team at Iveco Group, where he spearheaded major commercial, technological, and industrial transformations. His leadership and extensive experience will be invaluable assets in leading the group toward its new goals, the company said.
“I would like to thank the board of directors for their trust, and it is with great pride and a deep sense of responsibility that I join Manitou Group,” said Blaise. “Its global stature, family roots, long-term and responsible vision, as well as its leading market position, are all remarkable strengths. Aware of the value of this heritage, I will be fully committed to making it thrive. The ambitions of the LIFT 2030 strategic plan already offer strong prospects for growth, transformation, and innovation, which are particularly unifying for the entire group. My immediate priority will be to build bonds of trust with our 6,100 employees, our dealers, our customers, and our partners to strengthen our international leadership and pursue our mission: set the world in motion.”
Manitou Group is headquartered in Ancenis, France.
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.