New chairman of Pentair´s board of directors
ST. PAUL, Minn., Mar 7, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Pentair (NYSE: PNR) announced today that Winslow H. Buxton will retire as chairman of Pentair's board of directors effective April 30, 2002. President and chief executive officer, Randall J. Hogan, will succeed Buxton as chairman.
Buxton has been chairman of Pentair's board of directors since 1993, and has led the company's annual sales growth from approximately $1.3 billion that year to nearly $3 billion in 2001. His accomplishments include Pentair's strategic withdrawal from the paper industry in 1995 and the ammunition industry in 1997, and a subsequent refocusing of the Company on its tools, enclosures, and water-related businesses. Buxton also led Pentair in 16 acquisitions, including the two largest in the company's history, both completed in 1999. Pentair's common stock has split twice since Buxton became CEO in 1992, while the market value of the stock increased from about $500 million that year to more than $2 billion today.
"Randy's promotion to chairman is the final step in a leadership transition process initiated as I began my retirement planning," Buxton said. "The Board and I are confident that the accomplishments of the last decade will prove a strong and stable platform for the company. Randy has proven a very capable executive and clearly has the skills and determination needed to direct Pentair's future and deliver improved returns to Pentair shareholders."
Hogan joined Pentair in March 1998 as president of the company's Enclosures Group. He was named president and chief operating officer on December 1, 1999, and was promoted to president and CEO on January 1, 2001. Prior to joining Pentair, Hogan served as an executive at both United Technologies' Carrier and Pratt & Whitney divisions, at General Electric's electrical distribution and controls, power generation, and industrial and power systems divisions, and as a consultant with McKinsey & Company. Hogan is a Civil Engineering graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with an MBA degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Pentair is a St. Paul-based manufacturer whose core businesses compete in Tools, Water Technologies, and Enclosures markets. The company employs 11,500 people in more than 50 locations around the world.
Source: Pentair plc.
