By Greg Hazley
Rick Bluntzer, who led regulatory and government affairs for NRG Energy, has landed at Austin-based EZCorp, the publicly traded pawn shop and payday lending giant, in a top corporate communications and public affairs slot.
EZCorp runs 1,350 company-owns pawn (EZPawn) and payday loan locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and holds investments in U.K. lenders and pawnbrokers. It also provides services like prepaid debit cards. Fiscal 2012 revenue was $987M on net income of nearly $144M.
Bluntzer takes oversight of the company's messaging, PR and government affairs, reporting to president and CEO Paul Rothamel.
He was previously a managing director of Austin-based Public Strategies, now merged with Hill+Knowlton Strategies, and held posts at the the Lower Colorado River Authority after starting out in the Texas legislature. |