Parker Board Elects Kurt Keller as Corporate Vice President and President of the Seal Group
Parker Hannifin Corporation announced that its Board of Directors has elected Kurt Keller, age 51, as Vice President and President-Seal Group. Mr. Keller succeeds Heinz Droxner, who recently announced plans to retire effective September 30, 2009 after more than 36 years of dedicated service to the company.
"Kurt s capabilities and experience make him ideally suited for this role," said Executive Vice President and Operating Officer Lee Banks. "Working closely with Heinz Droxner in the Seal Group for several years now, Kurt is an obvious choice to step into this role and represents the depth of management talent we so carefully cultivate within Parker. We anticipate Kurt s continued success as he takes on full leadership responsibility for the Seal Group and its ongoing expansion and profitable growth."
Keller began his career with Parker in 1980 as a sales trainee in the Fluid Connectors Group and has since served in a number of progressively responsible sales, marketing and management positions, including Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Seal Group. Since 2005, Mr. Keller has been Vice President of Operations for the Seal Group, having had responsibility for several operations in North America, Europe and Asia. Keller earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Banks added, "I would like to thank Heinz for his enduring dedication to Parker throughout his career. His leadership within the Seal Group has been instrumental in expanding the international presence of the group and extending the company s global leading market position in this industry. We wish him well in retirement."
About Parker
With annual sales exceeding $10 billion in fiscal year 2009, Parker Hannifin is the world s leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. The company employs approximately 52,000 people in 48 countries around the world. Parker has increased its annual dividends paid to shareholders for 53 consecutive years, among the top five longest-running dividend-increase records in the S&P 500 index.
Source: Parker Hannifin Corp
