Element Fleet Management has tapped Jay Forbes as its new chief executive officer to replace the retiring Brad Nullmeyer, and will reshuffle its board, the Toronto-based fleet management company has announced.

The changes, which are effective June 1, will include the departure of Steve Hudson — the company's founder who spearheaded acquisitions of fleet business units from PHH Corp. in 2014 and GE Capital in 2015.

"Jay Forbes has a demonstrated track record of success for helping organizations understand and realize their full potential," said Brian Tobin, chairman of the board. "His skills and experience will be invaluable to us as we look to realize the promise inherent in the global fleet management platform that Element has created over the past seven years." 

Forbes comes to Element from Winnipeg-based Manitoba Telecom Services, where he served as president and chief executive from 2015 to 2017. Prior to that role, he served as president and CEO of Teranet, Inc., a Toronto developer of land registration systems. He served in that role from July of 2009 to January of 2013.

Forbes has also held leadership roles with Ingram Micro, Inc., where he restructured the business ahead of the Great Recession and Aliant, Inc., where he repositioned the telecom services provider in North America.

Element is also adding four independent board members, including Rubin McDougal, Keith Graham, Andrew Clarke, and Alexander Greene. McDougal, Graham, and Forbes joined the board on May 14. The full slate will be nominated at the June 26 annual meeting.

The four new board members bring financial and logistics backgrounds to their roles. McDougal served as chief financial officer with CEVA Logistics from 2014 to 2017. Graham founded Rondeau Capital, a private investment firm. Greene served as a managing partner and head of U.S. private equity wat Brookfield Asset Management. Clarke served as the chief financial officer with C.H. Robinson, a Minneapolis-based logistics provider, from 2007 to 2013.

Nullmeyer announced his retirement in February. At the time, Element appointed Dan Jauernig as its acting chief executive officer. On June 1, Jauernig will return to his former role as president and chief operating officer. Forbes was named following a comprehensive search that included external and internal candidates.

Related: Element's Fleet Revenue Rises From Year Ago