Element Fleet Management Corp. announced the appointment of Jay Forbes as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective June 1, 2018 and a significant refresh of the company's board of directors that includes the planned addition of four new independent directors. 2018.

This follows a comprehensive CEO search process undertaken by the board and its external advisors, in which both internal and external candidates were considered. Until June 1, Dan Jauernig will remain Acting Chief Executive Officer of the company and will then resume his responsibilities as President and Chief Operating Officer of the company. Along with the rest of the executive leadership team at Element, Mr. Jauernig will ensure continuity and smooth onboarding for Mr. Forbes.

Mr. Forbes is a proven business leader who has brought a fresh strategic perspective to a variety of industry settings to create immediate and lasting value for investors, customers and employees. With a deep passion for serving customers, Mr. Forbes brings operational expertise, strong financial acumen, and a firm grasp of technology. The company also announced that as a result of agreements with some of the company's significant shareholders, and its own normal course board process to refresh the board, the company will undertake a reconstitution of its board that will result in eight of nine nominees at the 2018 annual meeting being independent of the company.

Rubin McDougal and Keith Graham, two independent directors, have been appointed to the board, effective immediately. Mr. McDougal brings extensive public company, finance, credit, logistics and financial reporting experience to the Board. Mr. Graham has extensive business and investment and asset management expertise.

The Company also announced that it will nominate for election at the 2018 Annual Meeting two additional independent directors, Andrew Clarke and Alexander Greene. Mr. Clarke and Mr. Greene each have strong backgrounds in transportation services, logistics and finance, as well as a broad range of public company executive and board-level experience. In addition, Steven Hudson and Richard Venn have advised the Company that they will not be standing for re-election to the Board at the 2018 Annual Meeting.

Rubin McDougal provides advisory support to a broad range of privately held enterprises and has served in global finance leadership roles in Asia, Europe and the United States. From 2014 to 2017, Mr. McDougal was a director of Novitex Enterprise Solutions, where he also acted as Chair of the Audit Committee. Keith Graham is the Founder and President of Rondeau Capital Inc., a private investment and advisory company.

Mr. Graham has over 25 years of experience as a Portfolio Manager and Senior Executive with firms such as AGF Funds Inc., a diversified global asset management firm, Trimark Investments, a privately-owned investment management firm, and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.