Hertz comparison hurts

Jana Partners, the activist investment firm that is the second-largest shareholder of Hertz, sent a blistering letter to the car-rental giant's board of directors recently to urge them to hire a new CEO.

Hertz still has not hired a full-time replacement for Mark Frissora, the CEO who resigned in September following a string of accounting and operational problems at the company. Frissora engineered the relocation of Hertz from New Jersey to Southwest Florida last year, where it is building an $85 million corporate campus in Estero.

In its letter to the board, Jana Partners Managing Partner Barry Rosenstein included a chart showing Hertz's total shareholder returns over time compared with its competitors. He argues the company should hire former Dollar Thrifty CEO Scott Thompson to lead the company.