CLEVELAND, Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Lincoln
Electric Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: LECO) today announced that
Curtis E. Espeland, Senior Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer of Eastman Chemical Company,
has been elected to Lincoln's
Board of Directors.
"We welcome Curt Espeland to the
Lincoln Electric Board and look forward to his contributions and
guidance," said John M. Stropki,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Curt brings an
extensive financial background, international experience and an
appreciation of the global manufacturing environment. He will
be an excellent addition to our Board."
With Mr. Espeland joining the Lincoln Electric Board, the number
of Directors will total 12.
Mr. Espeland has been Senior Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer of Eastman Chemical Company, a chemical, fiber and plastics
manufacturer, since 2008. He joined the company in 1996 and has
held a number of positions of increasing responsibility within
Eastman's corporate and finance organization. He was Vice
President, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer from 2002 to 2008.
In addition, he has served as Vice President of Finance for the
company's Polymers Business Group; Vice President, Finance of its
Eastman Division; and Corporate Vice President and Controller for
the company. Mr. Espeland has also led Eastman's corporate
planning, forecasting and internal audit functions. His
international assignments include Singapore, where he was Director of Finance,
Asia Pacific.
Prior to joining Eastman, Mr. Espeland was an audit and business
advisory manager with Arthur Andersen LLP, in the United States, Europe and Australia.
A graduate of Iowa State University
with a BBA in accounting, Mr. Espeland earned an MBA with honors
from the University of Chicago and
completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development
and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc-welding
systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading
global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market.
Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio,
Lincoln has 42 manufacturing
locations, including operations and joint ventures in 19 countries
and a worldwide network of distributors and sales offices covering
more than 160 countries. For more information about Lincoln
Electric, its products and services, visit the Company's website at
http://www.lincolnelectric.com.
SOURCE Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.