Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK), a leading manufacturer of specialty
vehicles and vehicle bodies, today announced a planned succession of the
Company’s senior executive leadership.
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Oshkosh Corporation CEO Charles Szews (Photo: Business Wire)
Charles L. (Charlie) Szews, chief executive officer (CEO), has decided
to retire, effective December 31, 2015. Consistent with the Company’s
long-range succession plan, the Oshkosh Corporation Board of Directors
elected Wilson R. Jones as chief executive officer, effective January 1,
2016. Mr. Jones has been with the Company since 2005 and is currently
Oshkosh Corporation president and chief operating officer (COO).
Mr. Szews, who has served as CEO for five years, will also retire from
the Company’s Board of Directors on which he has served since 2007. He
joined Oshkosh in 1996 as chief financial officer and served as
president and COO from 2007 to 2011, when he was appointed CEO. Mr.
Jones will replace Mr. Szews on the Company’s Board.
“The Board of Directors is very grateful for the strong leadership
demonstrated by Charlie Szews through the last five years as he led the
Company to successfully overcome significant U.S. Department of Defense
(DoD) spending reductions and the lingering effects of the Great
Recession,” said Richard M. Donnelly, chairman of the Oshkosh
Corporation Board of Directors. “During his career, Charlie led our
Company through numerous historical milestones and contributed to the
Company’s growth from $400 million in sales in 1996 to more than $6
billion expected in 2015. Most recently, he and the entire Oshkosh team
worked fervently to win the revolutionary DoD Joint Light Tactical
Vehicle contract.
“We expect the transition of Wilson Jones to CEO to be seamless as
Charlie and the Board have been preparing for this for several years.
Wilson has been with the Company for a decade, gaining greater
leadership and business responsibilities, as well as successfully
serving as president for two of Oshkosh’s business segments prior to his
August 2012 appointment to president and COO.”
Mr. Szews said, “I have been honored to lead this great Company and our
employees in providing vehicles and equipment that make a difference in
our communities by saving lives and protecting people and property at
work around the world. It has been a tremendous experience, and I have
confidence that Wilson Jones will lead this Company to higher levels of
shareholder performance and customer satisfaction.”
Wilson Jones – Biography
Wilson R. Jones is the president and chief operating officer (COO) of
Oshkosh Corporation, a position he was appointed to in August 2012. Most
recently, Mr. Jones served as executive vice president and president,
Access Equipment where he drove domestic and international growth,
customer experiences with access products and strategically developed
the segment’s global position. Prior to joining the Access Equipment
segment, Mr. Jones was executive vice president and president, Fire &
Emergency, a position which he was promoted to in September 2008. Mr.
Jones was also the president of Pierce Manufacturing Inc.; he was
appointed to this position in July 2007.
In addition, Mr. Jones has served as vice president of sales and
marketing for the Fire & Emergency segment. Mr. Jones joined Oshkosh
Corporation in 2005, as the vice president and general manager of the
Airport Products Business Unit, where he led a strategic international
initiative for the company.
Mr. Jones has been in specialty vehicle manufacturing for more than 25
years. He serves on the Board of Directors for Thor Industries, Inc.,
one of the world’s largest manufacturers of recreational vehicles and
the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. He has also served on the
Board of Directors for the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association and
the American Ambulance Association. Mr. Jones holds a bachelor’s of
business administration degree from the University of North Texas.
About Oshkosh Corporation
Oshkosh Corporation is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of
a broad range of access equipment, commercial, fire & emergency,
military and specialty vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh Corporation
manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of
Oshkosh®, JLG®, Pierce®, McNeilus®,
Jerr-Dan®, Frontline™, CON-E-CO®, London®
and IMT®. Oshkosh products are valued worldwide by rental
companies, concrete placement and refuse businesses, fire & emergency
departments, municipal and airport services and defense forces, where
high quality, superior performance, rugged reliability and long-term
value are paramount. For more information, visit www.oshkoshcorporation.com.
®, ™ All brand names referred to in this news release are
trademarks of Oshkosh Corporation or its subsidiary companies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that the Company believes to be
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than
statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements
regarding the Company’s future financial position, business strategy,
targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital expenditures, debt
levels and cash flows, and plans and objectives of management for future
operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press
release, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,”
“anticipate,” “believe,” “should,” “project” or “plan” or the negative
thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally
intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to
risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are
beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These factors include the cyclical nature of the Company’s
access equipment, commercial and fire & emergency markets, which are
particularly impacted by the strength of U.S. and European economies;
the Company’s estimates of access equipment demand; the strength of the
U.S. dollar and its impact on Company exports, translation of foreign
sales and purchased materials; the expected level and timing of DoD and
international defense customer procurement of products and services and
funding thereof; risks related to reductions in government expenditures
in light of U.S. defense budget pressures, sequestration, an uncertain
DoD tactical wheeled vehicle strategy and uncertainties associated with
government contracts; risks related to the JLTV production contract
award that the Company recently received, including those associated
with commencement of production under the contract; the Company’s
ability to finalize international contracts for a significant quantity
of M-ATVs, with sales beginning in fiscal 2016; the Company’s ability to
increase prices to raise margins or offset higher input costs;
increasing commodity and other raw material costs, particularly in a
sustained economic recovery; risks related to facilities expansion,
consolidation and alignment, including the amounts of related costs and
charges and that anticipated cost savings may not be achieved; global
economic uncertainty, which could lead to additional impairment charges
related to many of the Company’s intangible assets and/or a slower
recovery in the Company’s cyclical businesses than Company or equity
market expectations; projected adoption rates of work at height
machinery in emerging markets; the impact of severe weather or natural
disasters that may affect the Company, its suppliers or its customers;
risks related to the collectability of receivables, particularly for
those businesses with exposure to construction markets; the cost of any
warranty campaigns related to the Company’s products; risks related to
production or shipment delays arising from quality or production issues;
risks associated with international operations and sales, including
compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; the Company’s ability
to comply with complex laws and regulations applicable to U.S.
government contractors; cybersecurity risks and costs of defending
against, mitigating and responding to a data security breach; and risks
related to the Company’s ability to successfully execute on its
strategic road map and meet its long-term financial goals. Additional
information concerning these and other factors is contained in the
Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press
release. The Company assumes no obligation, and disclaims any
obligation, to update information contained in this press release.
Investors should be aware that the Company may not update such
information until the Company’s next quarterly earnings conference call,
if at all.
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