Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: LECO)
announced today that Christopher L. Mapes, Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who has served as President and CEO
since 2012, will retire as President and CEO on December 31, 2023,
and will be designated as Executive Chairman of the Board,
effective January 1, 2024. Steven B. Hedlund, who has been with the
Company for 15 years and serves as Chief Operating Officer, will be
named President and CEO, and appointed as a member of the Board,
effective January 1, 2024. As Executive Chairman, Mapes will work
closely with Hedlund to ensure a seamless transition for all
Lincoln Electric stakeholders and support the Company’s Higher
Standard 2025 Strategy initiatives.
“This leadership transition reflects a structured,
multi-year succession planning process to ensure strong continuity
and execution of our long-term strategy and we are confident that
Steve’s leadership and track record of driving growth and
operational excellence will continue to generate superior value for
our stakeholders,” said Curtis Espeland, Lincoln Electric’s Lead
Independent Director. Espeland continued, “Chris’ planned
retirement marks the end of an incredible career. His invaluable
leadership and contributions have transformed the Company’s
performance to position it to excel in the years ahead. On behalf
of the entire Board, I would like to thank Chris for his service to
date and his accomplishments as our CEO.”
Mapes has achieved a distinguished 38-year career
in global manufacturing and joined Lincoln Electric in 2010 as a
member of the Board of Directors and was named President and CEO in
2012. He has served as Chairman, President and CEO since 2013.
Under his leadership, Lincoln Electric has extended its global
leadership through innovation and growth, including over 20
acquisitions and established the industry’s leading automation
portfolio. In addition, Mapes and his leadership team have advanced
operational excellence, the Company’s high-performance culture with
top-quartile employee engagement, and its focus on sustainability.
These initiatives have generated record performance, over 11%
earnings CAGR, top-decile ROIC, and a 523% increase in total
shareholder return, which has positioned the Company as one of the
highest performing industrial companies over the last decade. These
achievements, as well as his leadership anchored by ‘The Golden
Rule’ and a commitment to ethics and integrity, have been
recognized by Ethisphere™, who ranked Lincoln Electric 5-times as
“One of the World’s Most Ethical Companies,” and by Forbes, who
awarded the Company as one of the “World’s Best Employers” and one
of the “World’s Top Female Friendly Companies,” during his
tenure.
“It has been a privilege to lead Lincoln Electric
and work alongside our incredibly talented and committed
employees,” said Mapes. “I am grateful for the support the
organization has given me and I am proud of what we have
accomplished together. I believe this is the right time to
transition leadership as we complete our Higher Standard 2025
Strategy and move to the Company’s next strategic plan.” Mapes
concluded, “I have worked closely with Steve during my entire
tenure at Lincoln Electric and he is a very talented and decisive
leader who sets high standards of performance and is well prepared
to succeed me. I look forward to working with him through the
transition to maintain the strong momentum we have achieved
together as a leadership team to ensure the Company’s continued
success.”
Hedlund stated, “I am honored by Chris’ and the
Board’s confidence in my ability to lead our organization and
advance our strategic initiatives as we complete our Higher
Standard 2025 Strategy and pursue the many exciting growth
opportunities ahead.”
Hedlund joined Lincoln Electric in 2008 as Vice
President, Strategy and Business Development and a member of the
executive leadership team, where he led an accelerated acquisition
strategy to expand the Company’s automation portfolio. In 2015, he
was promoted to Senior Vice President, President of Global
Automation. In 2017, he served as Executive Vice President,
President of International Welding, where he oversaw the
optimization of our European platform. In 2020, Hedlund was named
Executive Vice President, President of Americas and International
Welding, to further align the Company’s global welding technologies
and strategies. In 2022, Hedlund was promoted to Chief Operating
Officer, where he has been leading our record performance. Prior to
joining Lincoln Electric, Hedlund held various executive leadership
roles at Fortune Brands, Inc. and served as principal with the
management consulting firm, Booz Allen & Hamilton. Hedlund
earned a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Dartmouth College.
About Lincoln Electric
Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the
engineering, design, and manufacturing of advanced arc welding
solutions, automated joining, assembly and cutting systems, plasma
and oxy-fuel cutting equipment, and has a leading global position
in brazing and soldering alloys. Lincoln is recognized as the
Welding Expert™ for its leading materials science, software
development, automation engineering, and application expertise,
which advance customers’ fabrication capabilities to help them
build a better world. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Lincoln has
71 manufacturing locations in 20 countries and a worldwide network
of distributors and sales offices serving customers in over 160
countries. For more information about Lincoln Electric and its
products and services, visit the Company’s website
at https://www.lincolnelectric.com.
Forward Looking Statements
The Company’s expectations and beliefs concerning
the future contained in this news release are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These statements reflect management’s
current expectations and involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Forward-looking statements generally can be
identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,”
“intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “forecast,”
“guidance” or words of similar meaning. Actual results may
differ materially from such statements due to a variety of factors
that could adversely affect the Company’s operating results.
The factors include, but are not limited to: general economic,
financial and market conditions; the effectiveness of commercial
and operating initiatives; completion of planned divestitures;
interest rates; disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the
credit markets that may limit our access to capital; currency
exchange rates and devaluations; adverse outcome of pending or
potential litigation; actual costs of the Company’s rationalization
plans; possible acquisitions, including the Company’s ability to
successfully integrate acquisitions; market risks and price
fluctuations related to the purchase of commodities and energy;
global regulatory complexity; the effects of changes in tax law;
tariff rates in the countries where the Company conducts business;
and the possible effects of events beyond our control, such as the
impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, political unrest, acts of
terror, natural disasters and pandemics on the Company or its
customers, suppliers and the economy in general. For
additional discussion, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2022.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3dd65e1a-ae21-4924-b31e-e68983804456
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c74dd945-6039-41a9-b703-7f51dd11ac83
Contact
Amanda Butler
Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications
Tel: (216) 383-2534
Email: Amanda_Butler@lincolnelectric.com
Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO)
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