ELKHART, Ind., July 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Thor Industries,
Inc. (NYSE: THO) announced today that Andy
Graves will assume the position of Chairman of the Board
effective August 1, 2019. Mr.
Graves will be the Company's first independent Chairman.
Andy Graves has spent the past 35
years in leadership roles in global manufacturing businesses.
He has extensive international experience having managed
significant international operations while at FMC Technologies, CNH
Industrial (Case Corporation), Dresser Industries, as well as nine
years at Brunswick Corporation as President of the Brunswick Boat
Group. His expertise in brand management, product development
and design, operations, and managing independent dealer networks
have been invaluable to Thor during his nearly nine years of
service on the Board of Directors.
Mr. Graves' most recently served as President and CEO of
privately held Motorsport Aftermarket Group (MAG) for four years,
where he broadened his consumer durables experience beyond the
recreational boat market and into the powersports
marketplace. Additionally, MAG's distribution and e-commerce
businesses, as well as the company's brand portfolio of leading
aftermarket accessory products, focused beyond new unit sales and
into aftermarket sales and service. These industries have
significant parallels to the RV industry, allowing Andy to offer
unique insights to the Thor leadership team. He is adept at
managing decentralized businesses, and has a track record of
maintaining a strong brand and distinct cultural focus while also
capturing value from working across businesses to leverage scale
advantages. Andy retired as a full time CEO in August
2018. He currently serves on the board of privately held S2
Yachts, and provides consulting and advisory services on a contract
basis.
"I'm honored by the opportunity to be Thor's first independent
Chairman," commented Mr. Graves. "Over the nine years of time
on the Board, I have come to know and admire the management
team. As I look forward to leading our Board as Chairman, I
am confident that our management team has the leadership and vision
to successfully navigate the global RV market."
The Company also announced that Jan
Suwinski, who has served as a member of Thor's Board of
Directors since 1999, will step down as Lead Director but remain on
the Board. During his time with the Board, Mr. Suwinski
chaired both the compensation and the audit committees. He
has served as the Company's Independent Lead Director since Fiscal
Year 2013.
"As a company, Thor has been blessed to have had only two
Chairman, both of whom were our founders and Executive Chairmen,"
commented Jan Suwinski.
"Establishing Andy Graves as our first independent Chairman removes
the necessity of an Independent Lead Director, so I am stepping
down from that role effective August
1. I'm proud of the Company's performance during my time on
the Board and look forward to serving on the Board through the end
of our fiscal year 2020."
"Jan has been an important voice in our Board room for many
years. He's been instrumental in the setting and monitoring
of our strategic path. As we look ahead, our Board will
continue to be best in class with Andy
Graves in the Chairman role. Andy's deep experience in
the recreation industry is invaluable to our boardroom discussion,"
offered Bob Martin, Thor's President
and Chief Executive Officer.
Additionally, the Company announced that as Andy Graves assumes the role of Chairman, he
will resign as Compensation and Development Committee Chairman,
effective October 1, 2019, and Board
member Wilson Jones will assume that
role on that date.
ABOUT THOR INDUSTRIES
Thor is the sole owner of
operating subsidiaries that, combined, represent the world's
largest manufacturer of RVs. For more information, please visit:
https://www.thorindustries.com/.
Forward Looking Statements
This release includes
certain statements that are "forward looking" statements within the
meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
These forward looking statements are made based on management's
current expectations and beliefs regarding future and anticipated
developments and their effects upon Thor, and inherently involve
uncertainties and risks. These forward looking statements are not a
guarantee of future performance. We cannot assure you that actual
results will not differ materially from our expectations. Factors
which could cause materially different results include, among
others, raw material and commodity price fluctuations; raw
material, commodity or chassis supply restrictions; the impact of
tariffs on material or other input costs; the level and magnitude
of warranty claims incurred; legislative, regulatory and tax law
and/or policy developments including their potential impact on our
dealers and their retail customers or on our suppliers; the costs
of compliance with governmental regulation; legal and compliance
issues including those that may arise in conjunction with recently
completed or announced transactions; lower consumer confidence and
the level of discretionary consumer spending; interest rate
fluctuations; the potential impact of interest rate fluctuations on
the general economy and specifically on our dealers and consumers;
restrictive lending practices; management changes; the success of
new and existing products and services; consumer preferences; the
ability to efficiently utilize production facilities; the pace of
acquisitions and the successful closing, integration and financial
impact thereof; the potential loss of existing customers of
acquisitions; our ability to retain key management personnel of
acquired companies; a shortage of necessary personnel for
production; the loss or reduction of sales to key dealers;
disruption of the delivery of units to dealers; increasing costs
for freight and transportation; asset impairment charges; cost
structure changes; competition; the impact of potential losses
under repurchase or financed receivable agreements; the potential
impact of the strength of the U.S. dollar on international demand
for products priced in U.S. dollars; general economic, market and
political conditions; the impact of changing emissions standards in
the various jurisdictions in which our products are sold; and
changes to investment and capital allocation strategies or other
facets of our strategic plan. Additional risks and uncertainties
surrounding the acquisition of Erwin Hymer Group SE ("EHG") include
risks regarding the potential benefits of the acquisition and the
anticipated operating synergies, the integration of the business,
the impact of exchange rate fluctuations and unknown or understated
liabilities related to the acquisition and EHG's business. These
and other risks and uncertainties are discussed more fully in Item
1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
July 31, 2018 and Part II, Item 1A of
our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended
January 31, 2019 and April 30, 2019.
We disclaim any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any
updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained in
this release or to reflect any change in our expectations after the
date hereof or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on
which any statement is based, except as required by law.
Contact
Investor Relations:
Mark Trinske, Vice President of
Investor Relations
mtrinske@thorindustries.com
(574) 970-7912
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SOURCE Thor Industries, Inc.