Avis CIO leaves after three years behind the wheel

Adam Gerrard oversaw cost cuts and moves into social media at car hire firm

Avis has confirmed that CIO Adam Gerrard is to leave the car hire company after over three years in the position.

In conversation with Computing recently, he explained that his focus there had been on cost reduction as a result of the recession.

"The recession forced us to take a hard look at how we were structured and how best to realign IT to the business," he said at the time.

"We went from having a large IT department to a significantly smaller one, and were able to cut 25 per cent of our headcount," he added.

Gerrard also spoke about the company's push to use social media as a tool to drive additional volume. Avis is experimenting with Facebook and Twitter.

"A lot of firms are trying to find value in social media, but there is a need to protect the brand, which can prevent full use of this channel," said Gerrard.

Gerrard was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.