Gerald B. Blouch to Retire as President and Chief Executive Officer of Invacare Corporation
July 24 2014 - 6:35AM
Business Wire
Invacare Corporation (NYSE: IVC) today announced that Gerald B.
Blouch, President and Chief Executive Officer, will retire
effective July 31, 2014. Mr. Blouch also will retire from his
position as a member of the Board of Directors at that time. Robert
K. Gudbranson, Invacare’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer, has been named interim President and Chief Executive
Officer, while retaining his role as the Company’s Chief Financial
Officer.
The Invacare Board of Directors will be launching a
comprehensive executive search process to identify a Chief
Executive Officer and will retain a leading executive recruiting
firm to assist in the national search. The search will include a
full review of both internal and external candidates.
''It has been a privilege to be a part of Invacare’s senior
leadership team over the past 24 years, most notably as Chief
Executive Officer for the past four years. My decision to retire
was a difficult one, but it is the right choice for both me and for
the Company. I am confident that, despite its short-term
challenges, Invacare has an incredibly strong future. Its
fundamental business is driven by the continued movement of
consumers from acute care facilities into the homecare setting. I
have full confidence in Rob Gudbranson and the senior leadership
team to drive the necessary business improvements to complete the
third-party certification audit, as well as turn around the core
business,'' said Mr. Blouch.
Mr. Blouch joined Invacare in 1990 as the Company’s Chief
Financial Officer. In 1994, he became Chief Operating Officer and
was responsible for the operations of all domestic and
international business units. He was named President and a Director
of the Company in 1996. He assumed the role of Chief Executive
Officer in January 2011.
Commented Mr. Gudbranson, ''I personally want to thank Gerry for
his commitment to Invacare. We remain focused on completing the
final third-party certification audit and demonstrating our quality
systems compliance to the FDA. During this challenging time, we
have three additional critical priorities, which include improving
cash flow, restoring profitability in Invacare’s North America/Home
Medical Equipment and Asia/Pacific businesses and working to
establish a new credit facility with our banks, as our existing
credit facility matures in October 2015.''
Mr. Gudbranson has served as Invacare’s Senior Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer since 2008. Prior to that, Mr.
Gudbranson was Vice President of Strategic Planning and
Acquisitions for Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., a $2 billion
global manufacturer of welding, brazing and soldering products.
Prior to joining Lincoln Electric, he held various financial roles
of increasing responsibility for Invacare including: Director,
Business Development and Investor Relations; Assistant Treasurer;
and European Finance Director.
Mal Mixon, Chairman of Invacare’s Board of Directors, said, ''We
are grateful to Gerry for his contributions to Invacare over the
past 24 years. He was an integral part of building Invacare into
the $1.4 billion world leader of home and long-term care medical
devices. The Board will be actively searching for a successor who
can take the Company to the next level. In the interim the Board
has full confidence in Rob Gudbranson, who has distinguished
himself as Chief Financial Officer.''
The terms of Mr. Blouch's retirement and Mr. Gudbranson’s
compensation as interim President and Chief Executive Officer are
detailed in a Form 8-K to be filed with the SEC on or about the
date hereof.
Invacare Corporation (NYSE:IVC), headquartered in Elyria, Ohio,
is the global leader in the manufacture and distribution of
innovative home and long-term care medical products that promote
recovery and active lifestyles. The Company has 5,400
associates and markets its products in approximately 80 countries
around the world. For more information about the Company and its
products, visit Invacare's website at www.invacare.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Terms such as “will,”
“should,” “could,” “plan,” “intend,” “expect,” “continue,”
“believe” and “anticipate,” as well as similar comments, denote
forward-looking statements that are subject to inherent
uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results and
events may differ significantly from those expressed or anticipated
as a result of risks and uncertainties, which include, but are not
limited to, the following: compliance costs, limitations on the
production and/or distribution of the Company's products, inability
to bid on or win certain contracts, unabsorbed capacity
utilization, including fixed costs and overhead, or other adverse
effects of the FDA consent decree of injunction; any circumstances
or developments that might further delay or adversely impact the
results of the final, most comprehensive third-party expert
certification audit or FDA inspection of the Company's quality
systems at the Elyria, Ohio, facilities impacted by the FDA consent
decree, including any possible requirement to perform additional
remediation activities or further resultant delays in receipt of
the written notification to resume operations (which could have a
material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial
condition, liquidity or results of operations); the failure or
refusal of customers or healthcare professionals to sign
verification of medical necessity (VMN) documentation or other
certification forms required by the exceptions to the FDA consent
decree; possible adverse effects of being leveraged, including
interest rate or event of default risks, including those relating
to the Company's financial covenants under its credit facility
(particularly as might result from the impacts associated with the
FDA consent decree); the Company's inability to satisfy its
liquidity needs, including efforts to negotiate a new bank
agreement, or additional costs to do so; adverse changes in
government and other third-party payor reimbursement levels and
practices both in the U.S. and in other countries (such as, for
example, more extensive pre-payment reviews and post-payment audits
by payors, or the Medicare National Competitive Bidding program;
impacts of the U.S. Affordable Care Act that was enacted in 2010
(such as, for example, the impact on the Company of the excise tax
on certain medical devices, which began on January 1, 2013, and the
Company's ability to successfully offset such impact); legal
actions, governmental enforcement actions, regulatory proceedings
or the Company's failure to comply with regulatory requirements or
receive regulatory clearance or approval for the Company's products
or operations in the United States or abroad; product liability or
warranty claims; product recalls, including more extensive recall
experience than expected; exchange rate or tax rate fluctuations;
inability to design, manufacture, distribute and achieve market
acceptance of new products with greater functionality or lower
costs or new product platforms that deliver the anticipated
benefits; consolidation of health care providers; lower cost
imports; uncollectible accounts receivable; difficulties in
implementing/upgrading Enterprise Resource Planning systems; risks
inherent in managing and operating businesses in many different
foreign jurisdictions; ineffective cost reduction and restructuring
efforts; delays, disruptions or excessive costs incurred in
facility closures or consolidations; decreased availability or
increased costs of materials which could increase the Company's
costs of producing or acquiring the Company's products, including
possible increases in commodity costs or freight costs; heightened
vulnerability to a hostile takeover attempt arising from depressed
market prices for Company shares; provisions of Ohio law or in the
Company's debt agreements, shareholder rights plan or charter
documents that may prevent or delay a change in control, as well as
the risks described from time to time in the Company's reports as
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except to the
extent required by law, the Company does not undertake and
specifically declines any obligation to review or update any
forward-looking statements or to publicly announce the results of
any revisions to any of such statements to reflect future events or
developments or otherwise.
Invacare CorporationLara Mahoney, 440-329-6393
Invacare (NYSE:IVC)
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