Colfax Names Matthew Trerotola Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Simms notified the Board early this year that he planned to retire, and the Board subsequently undertook a search for a replacement.

Mr. Trerotola, 48, has spent most of his career at DuPont, Danaher Corporation, and McKinsey & Company. He was most recently an Executive Vice President and a member of DuPont’s Office of the Chief Executive, responsible for DuPont’s $6.3 billion Electronics & Communications and Safety & Protection segments. He also had corporate responsibility for DuPont’s Asia-Pacific business. Many of his roles at DuPont involved applying innovation to improve margins and accelerate organic growth in global businesses. Prior to rejoining DuPont in 2013, Mr. Trerotola had served in leadership roles at Danaher since 2007, and was most recently Vice President and Group Executive for Life Sciences, which is comprised of four companies with approximately 7,000 associates and $2.5 billion in revenue. Previously, he was Group Executive for Product Identification from 2009 to 2012, and President of the Videojet business from 2007 to 2009. While at McKinsey & Company from 1995 to 1999, he focused primarily on helping industrial companies accelerate growth.

“We are thrilled that Matt is joining Colfax,” said Mitchell P. Rales, Chairman of the Board of Colfax. “He is an extremely talented executive with an ideal combination of strong leadership skills, a track record of driving organic growth and significant expertise in global manufacturing and engineering businesses. While at Danaher, where Steve and I got to know Matt well, he developed a deep understanding and appreciation for the Danaher Business System and the focus on continuous improvement, which will help ensure a smooth transition into his new leadership role at Colfax. His proven management skills, commercial and operational expertise – as well as his deep international experience – will be invaluable as we continue to grow our businesses and evolve into an even more effective competitor. On behalf of the Board, I also want to thank Steve who has done a superb job at Colfax over the past three years. We understand his desire to return to retirement and, while we will miss him, we are pleased that he will remain as an advisor and Board member.”

Mr. Trerotola said, “I am excited about the opportunity to lead Colfax, a company that is synonymous with high-quality manufacturing and which has tremendous opportunities in front of it. Under Steve’s leadership, Colfax has enhanced its already strong competitive position. I look forward to working with the world-class Colfax team to further develop the Company’s international footprint and continue to deliver significant growth, strong performance and shareholder value well into the future.”

Mr. Simms said, “I have immensely enjoyed my three years at the helm of this great company, and believe this is now the right time for me and my family to transition back into retirement. Colfax has made tremendous progress against our strategic priorities and we have successfully transformed the Company. We have grown our leadership talent pool, effectively integrated the Charter acquisition, and added multiple strong brands to our portfolio to create a truly unified global business. We’ve also enhanced our position in attractive vertical and geographic markets, expanded our long-term organic growth runway and identified opportunities for further operational improvement. With this strong competitive foundation in place, now is a good time for a new leader to take Colfax forward into its next phase of growth. I am pleased that Matt will be succeeding me – he’s a seasoned executive who I know understands our culture and will blend well with the leadership team and employees at Colfax. I have no doubt that Matt will successfully drive the Company’s growth trajectory over the coming years.”

Mr. Trerotola received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia in 1989 and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School in 1995.