MILWAUKEE, April 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A. O. Smith
Corporation (NYSE: AOS) announced today that executive chairman
Ajita Rajendra will be retiring
effective May 1, 2020.
The Company's Board of Directors has elected Kevin J. Wheeler as chairman of the Milwaukee-based water technology company
effective upon Rajendra's retirement. Wheeler will continue to
serve as president and chief executive officer of the company.
Rajendra will remain a member of the company's Board of
Directors.
"Ajita has been an inspiring and visionary leader since the
moment he joined the company in 2005 to run A. O. Smith's water
products division, as well as during his time at the helm of A. O.
Smith as chief executive officer and president from 2013 to 2018,"
said William Greubel, lead director.
"He built a strong team and developed the strategy that has
resulted in the Company's current success in water
technology."
"A. O. Smith has flourished under Ajita's guidance and tenure as
chairman and CEO," Greubel noted. "A. O. Smith went from being a
$1.9 billion company when he began as
chief executive officer and president to a $3 billion organization, and our earnings per
share had a compound annual growth rate of 22.3%. Under his watch,
A. O. Smith acquired two water treatment companies in North America and built a stronger presence in
China, India, and Vietnam, further building and cementing A. O.
Smith's position as a global leader in water technology."
"The Board has the utmost confidence about the Company's future
with Kevin as our tenth chairman and chief executive officer," said
Greubel. "He and Ajita have worked together 15 years in shaping the
company's strategy. Like Ajita, Kevin has an obsessive focus on
caring for our customers and rewarding our shareholders. He is an
outstanding businessperson with strong values, strategic vision and
excellent leadership skills."
Rajendra joined A. O. Smith in January
2005 as president of its Water Products Company, a
manufacturer of residential and commercial water heaters and
boilers, and he was named an executive vice president of the
corporation in 2006. He was promoted to president and chief
operating officer in August 2011 and
was elected to the company's Board of Directors in December of that
year. Rajendra was named executive chairman of the corporation in
September 2018 as he continued to
lead the company's Board of Directors.
In addition to the A. O. Smith Board, Rajendra is a member of
the Board of Directors of Donaldson Company and the Timken Company.
He is currently a member of the Advisory Board for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Lubar School of
Business, the Board of Trustees of Alverno
College in Milwaukee and a
member of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Milwaukee
Association of Commerce.
Wheeler joined A. O. Smith in 1994 as a regional sales manager
for the former Water Products Company. Prior to being named
president and chief executive officer, he held numerous senior
leadership positions during his two and a half decades with the
company, including vice president-international with responsibility
for all European and Asian water heating operations, senior vice
president and general manager of the U. S. retail water heater
business, and senior vice president and general manager of the
North America, India, and Europe water heating business.
Wheeler is a member of the Business Roundtable, Manufacturers
Association of Productivity Improvement (MAPI) division leadership
council and the President's Roundtable. He has served as an
at-large director of the Air-conditioning, Heating, and
Refrigeration Institute
(AHRI).
Forward-looking statements
This release contains
statements that the company believes are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can
be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "expect,"
"intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "forecast,"
"continue," "guidance" or words of similar meaning. All
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated as of the date of this release. Important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from these
expectations include, among other things, the following: a further
weakening of the Chinese economy and/or a further decline in the
growth rate of consumer spending or housing sales in China; negative impact to the company's
businesses from international tariffs and trade disputes; potential
weakening in the high efficiency boiler segment in the U.S.;
significant volatility in raw material prices; inability of the
company to implement or maintain pricing actions; potential
weakening in U.S. residential or commercial construction or
instability in the company's replacement markets; foreign currency
fluctuations; the company's inability to successfully integrate or
achieve its strategic objectives resulting from acquisitions;
competitive pressures on the company's businesses; the impact of
potential information technology or data security breaches; changes
in government regulations or regulatory requirements; and adverse
developments in general economic, political and business conditions
in key regions of the world. Forward-looking statements included in
this press release are made only as of the date of this release,
and the company is under no obligation to update these statements
to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. All subsequent
written and oral forward-looking statements attributed to the
company, or persons acting on its behalf, are qualified entirely by
these cautionary statements.
About A. O. Smith
A. O. Smith Corporation, with
headquarters in Milwaukee, Wis.,
is a global leader applying innovative technology and
energy-efficient solutions to products manufactured and marketed
worldwide. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the
company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of residential
and commercial water heating equipment and boilers, as well as a
manufacturer of water treatment and air purification products. For
more information, visit www.aosmith.com.
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SOURCE A. O. Smith Corporation