Rent-A-Center, Inc. has announced a new Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer, Fahmi Karam. Karam will join the Plano, Texas-based Rent-A-Center effective October 31, 2022, leaving Santander Consumer USA, where he served as CFO. He replaces Maureen Short.
Previously at Santander, Karam was Head of Pricing and Analytics and Executive Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development. Prior to Santander, he worked at JP Morgan Investment Bank and Deloitte Audit Assurance Services. Karam earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting at Baylor University.
“Fahmi’s extensive experience and leadership in finance and strategic initiatives, including in the consumer finance industry, will be a valuable addition to our executive team as we continue to position our company for growth opportunities,” said Mitch Fadel, Rent-A-Center CEO. “I would also like to thank Maureen for her many years of service and contributions to the company, and we wish her the best.”
Fadel also addressed economic changes affecting the RTO environment this year, while expressing optimism about Rent-A-Center’s strength.
“External economic conditions have continued to deteriorate over the past few months, affecting both retail traffic and customer payment behavior,” Fadel said. “While the recent inflationary conditions have been especially challenging for our customers, we remain confident in the longer-term resiliency of the business, even during economic downturns.”
