Jeff Fenton to Retire as Head of Business Development for United Rentals
United Rentals, the world’s largest equipment rental company, announced that Jeff Fenton, senior vice president, business development, will retire on June 30. He will be succeeded by Alfredo Barquin, who will lead the company’s M&A growth strategy as vice president, business development. Fenton will continue working with the company as a senior advisor through December 31, 2022.
Fenton joined United Rentals in his current position in 2012. Over the past decade, he has been instrumental in the successful completion of dozens of acquisitions and other transactions to expand the scale and depth of the company’s service offering and built a high-performing business development team to support strategic growth.
“I want to personally thank Jeff for his many contributions to a landmark decade of growth for our company, and wish him the very best in his retirement,” said Matthew Flannery, United Rentals CEO. “Jeff’s done an outstanding job of furthering our vision in line with our values. As Alfredo takes the reins in June, his strong track record with strategic expansions and our world-class team will ensure a smooth transition.”
Barquin joined United Rentals in January from SWM International, a global manufacturer of engineered industrial performance materials. He most recently served as chief growth officer of SWM, following roles as general manager and CEO of company subsidiaries and vice president, corporate development. Previously, during an 11-year tenure with GE Energy (now GE Power), he led M&A initiatives as managing director, global business development, and earlier managed development activities for Eaton Corp. Barquin holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of South Florida and a master’s degree in international business from Thunderbird School of Global Management.
United Rentals is the largest equipment rental company in the world. The company has an integrated network of 1,288 rental locations in North America, 11 in Europe, 28 in Australia and 18 in New Zealand. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. Based in Stamford, Conn., United Rentals is No. 1 on the RER 100.
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.