Rentokil appoints new North America boss after weaker trading

Rentokil Initial has hired a new CEO for the North American region, which has suffered from weaker performance this year.

The Crawley-based pest control group appoints Brad Paulsen, the boss of electricity supplier Rexel USA, as CEO of its North America region.

Rentokil warned in October that North American performance would miss annual forecasts after third-quarter sales were up just 2.2 percent and the division faced lower orders for chemicals used in pest control.

The company also announced Friday that it has appointed Will Lin as vice president of performance and digital marketing in North America.

Andy Ransom, CEO of Rentokil Initial, said: '(Paulsen) has significant leadership experience from his years at Rexel, HD Supply and Home Depot, in a mix of multi-site retail and route-based service organisations.

'We have a significant opportunity for growth and value creation as we integrate Terminix into North America and (Paulsen) has a proven track record of successful delivery.;

Paulsen said: “I am excited to join this world-class company and very much look forward to working with (US Pest Control CEO) John Myers and the team to deliver the integration, building on the strong foundations that have already been laid. and using our strengths of brilliant people, brands, innovations and technologies to drive profitable growth and deliver even better service to customers. I can't wait to get started.'

In October, Rentokil shares tumbled after the company warned its performance in North America would miss annual forecasts.

It showed that organic sales across the region, its largest market, rose just 2.2 percent in the third quarter, compared to 9.5 percent growth in Europe.

Trading was affected as the US wholesale division experienced lower orders for chemicals used in pest control, as well as in the turf and ornamental end markets.

Rentokil shares fell 0.23 percent to 427.70p in Friday morning trading.