PRG Welcomes Richard J. Porter as New CEO
NEW YORK, NY (January 24, 2024) – PRG (Production Resource Group, LLC), the world’s leading provider of production solutions for entertainment and live events, has announced that Richard J. Porter has been named CEO, effective February 1, 2024. His appointment follows the departure of Stephan Paridaen, who resigned from the company for personal reasons.
Porter comes to PRG after successfully leading and operating the Tool and Equipment Rental division of The Home Depot, which serves both professional and DIY customers across the United States and Canada. Porter has a proven track record of success, growing and optimizing Compact Power Equipment Rental as their COO prior to its acquisition by The Home Depot in 2017. Porter also led the Reverse Logistics division of The Home Depot during this tenure.
Under his leadership, Porter helped lead the strategic growth and performance optimization of The Home Depot rental business, one of the five largest tool, vehicle and large-equipment rental providers in North America. He has a history of working with philanthropic causes that give back to local communities, such as ToolBank USA, caring for children in impoverished regions via Give Hope Global and serving our homeless veteran heroes though the Home Depot Foundation.
“Richard has a track record of driving growth through his adept management and focus on the needs of a large and diverse base of customers. Building off of a solid foundation, PRG is well positioned to grow and excel even further under Richard’s leadership,” said Lauren Krueger, Managing Director of KKR, on behalf of the Board of Directors.
Jere Harris, Executive Chairman, Chief Creative Officer and founder, said “Richard brings a new dimension of experiences and skillsets to the company that make him especially well-suited to this chapter in our evolution. I look forward to working closely together and introducing him to the production community.”
Porter said, “With every project, PRG brings to life its tagline of “People. Production. Possibility” thanks to the most seasoned and knowledgeable professionals in the business. I’m honored to be leading this incredible team, building a collaborative culture and a future of growth and innovation. Working closely with Jere and the leadership team, I’m excited to create new opportunities for our people and uniquely valuable experiences for our customers around the globe.”