Jay Forbes addresses investors at Element Fleet Management's investor day on Nov. 29, 2022.Supplied
The Woodbridge Co. Ltd. has appointed Jay Forbes as its next president and chief executive officer, choosing a veteran executive with broad experience in a number of industries.
Mr. Forbes will start as Woodbridge’s CEO on Sept. 23, succeeding David Binet, who took over as the company’s CEO in 2013, and last year stepped down as a director of Thomson Reuters Corp.
Woodbridge is the private holding company and primary investment vehicle for Canada’s Thomson family, which also owns The Globe and Mail and is the controlling shareholder of Thomson Reuters Corp TRI-T.
Most recently, Mr. Forbes was the CEO of Element Fleet Management Corp. EFN-T, the world’s largest automotive management company. He retired from that role last year, handing over leadership of the company to current CEO Laura Dottori-Attanasio.
Mr. Forbes took over Element Fleet in 2018 and over five years at the helm, the company’s share price increased by more than 260 per cent.
He was previously CEO at four other companies, headquartered from Manitoba to Belgium, and his experience spans the technology, finance and telecommunications sectors.
“Jay brings significant leadership experience, as well as a deep understanding of operations and client service,” Woodbridge chairman David Thomson said in a statement. “His proven ability to design and implement value-creation strategies will be a great asset as he develops a blueprint to sustain Woodbridge’s success for its shareholders.”
In a statement, Mr. Forbes called Woodbridge one of Canada’s “preeminent private holding companies” and said he intends to position it to deliver “an exceptional level of service to the family shareholders.”