04.09.2024

CFO designate for Ashtead

Michael Pratt, the chief financial officer of the Ashtead group – owner of Sunbelt Rentals in the USA, Canada and the UK, is to retire in September next year., when he will be 61.

As a result, the company has recruited Alex Pease as his chief financial officer designate, he will join the company in October from a similar role with Atlanta, Georgia based packaging and containers manufacturer WestRock.

Pease, 52, has been in the role with WestRock Company since 2021, but the company was acquired by Smurfit Kappa in July, with the two companies merging in to Smurfit WestRock. With Ashtead he will be based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and over the next 12 months will work with Michael Pratt to ensure a smooth transition.

Alex Pease started out in 1994 as a Navy Seal in the elite special operations division of the US Navy, after serving just over six years, he returned to college for an MBA , after which he joined the global consulting business McKinsey & Company, becoming a partner in 2004. In 2011 he left McKinsey for industrial machinery manufacturer EnPro Industries to take up his first role as chief financial officer.
After four and a half years with the company he moved to a similar position with chip and pretzel manufacturer Snyder's-Lance. 18 months later he left for telecommunications company CommScope where he remained until taking up the WestRock post three and a half years later.

Ashtead chief executive Brendan Horgan said: "On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Michael for his relentless commitment to the organisation's success and many contributions he has made to the group over the last 21 years in a variety of senior finance roles and as CFO since 2018. Through Michael's financial leadership, we have enhanced our balance sheet and financial capabilities to a position which provides us with great flexibility and optionality to grow and improve this business over the years to come.”

“I look forward to Alex joining the group in October. He brings with him over 20 years of experience in finance, corporate strategy, M&A, capital markets, portfolio optimisation and broad based business transformation. He is well placed to join the team as we begin the delivery of our Sunbelt 4.0 strategy."