Effective March 1, 2005, Erik Olsson has been appointed chief operating officer for Rental Service Corp., Scottsdale, Ariz. Erik Olsson has served as chief financial officer for Rental Service since joining the company in January 2001. In his new position as COO, Olsson will oversee the effort to fulfill the equipment rental needs of the more than 200,000 RSC customers in North America.
"Erik brings a proven track record of driving change and achieving results. He has been an integral part of the team that has restored the profitability of Rental Service and he has an extensive international experience, including many senior financial positions in Sweden, Brazil and the United States," said Tom Zorn, CEO of RSC.
Erik Olsson has served Atlas Copco, the parent company of Rental Service, for more than 16 years. After graduating from the University of Gothenburg with a degree in business administration and finance, he joined Atlas Copco in 1988 as a controller. He then took a position as financial manager for Atlas Copco¹s CMT Brazil division in Sao Paulo before returning to Sweden in the position of vice president of finance for Secoroc, another Atlas Copco division. In 1998, Olsson was appointed chief financial officer for Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., Milwaukee, and held that position for three years before being promoted in 2001 to CFO for RSC.
"As the COO, I want to continue to build on the strategies that have proven successful in the turnaround of the company, based on the Atlas Copco concept of stability, profitability and growth and further differentiate our company in the eyes of our customers to become and remain "First in Mind First in Choice." said Olsson, "To our company management team and me this means focusing on our people programs and culture to make sure that we recruit, develop and retain the best people in the industry."
