CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE: FLOW), a leading global supplier of highly engineered flow solutions, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Marc Michael as President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2016. Mr. Michael was also elected to the Board of Directors effective January 1, 2016. Chris Kearney has announced his intention to retire as President and CEO at the end of 2015. He will continue to serve on the Board of Directors of SPX FLOW as non-executive Chairman.
Mr. Kearney joined SPX Corporation in 1997 as Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel. He was named President and CEO in 2004 and appointed Chairman of the board in 2007.
Under Mr. Kearney's leadership, SPX Corporation underwent a significant transformation that narrowed the focus of the company and positioned the business in higher growth, higher return markets. During his tenure as CEO, the company divested over twenty businesses for gross proceeds of approximately $5 billion. The majority of those proceeds were returned to shareholders and invested in strategic acquisitions of flow businesses that ultimately became SPX FLOW, Inc. in the spinoff transition that was completed on September 26, 2015.
Chris Kearney said, "We've built a strong FLOW business that is well-positioned as a leading supplier across our end markets. With our transformation to a pure-play flow organization and independent public company now complete, the timing is right for Marc Michael to become SPX FLOW's next President and CEO. Marc's experience running global businesses, proven track record of improving operational efficiency and commitment to serving customers were key considerations to the Board's selection process. His ability to translate vision and strategy into improved business process and operational execution, coupled with his ability to inspire, energize and connect with employees, customers and business partners are leadership qualities that will benefit SPX FLOW as we enter our next chapter, which I am confident will be even more impactful and exciting than our last."
Mr. Michael joined SPX Corporation in 2003. In 2013, when the company aligned its FLOW segment by end market, Marc was named President of Food and Beverage. Prior to that, he served as President of FLOW's EMEA region. He has a strong understanding of all SPX FLOW products and key end markets. Marc lived in Europe for nearly six years as a business leader and has had great success in a variety of operational roles during his career, which have provided him valuable experience running global operations. He has also consistently demonstrated the ability to drive improved performance. Under his direction and leadership over the past two years, the Food and Beverage business has significantly improved its customer relationships, market position and operational execution. This improvement is underscored by over 250 points of margin expansion in the Food and Beverage segment over the past two years.
"I am honored to be selected as Chris' successor and excited to lead the next chapter in the development of SPX FLOW," said Mr. Michael. "Under Chris' leadership, our company has been transformed from a U.S.-centric automotive supplier, into a global supplier of highly engineered flow solutions in the food, energy and industrial markets; markets we believe offer attractive growth opportunities over the medium to long term. Today, we have an experienced leadership team and a talented, highly motivated employee base across the world that is recognized for world class engineering, quality manufacturing and commitment to customers. As we look towards the future, we are investing in growth, improvement and talent development initiatives that support our strategic vision to elevate SPX FLOW to a world class organization. We continue to focus on new product development, localization in high growth regions and expansion of our aftermarket service capabilities. Simultaneously, we are driving a higher level of operating performance by standardizing our business processes, optimizing our global footprint and reducing total SG&A. I am very passionate about aggressively moving forward on these initiatives, which I believe will drive significant value for all our stakeholders."
Emerson Fullwood, lead independent director on the SPX FLOW Board and Chairman of the Compensation Committee said, "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank Chris Kearney for his leadership, dedication and commitment to SPX Corporation and SPX FLOW, Inc. over the last 18 years. During his tenure, SPX Corporation was transformed into two strong, standalone public companies, a significant accomplishment. The Board went through a comprehensive process to identify Chris' successor. It was a process we took very seriously and we considered several qualified candidates with high intellect, impeccable integrity and strong leadership qualities."
Fullwood continued, "Marc Michael stood apart with an extraordinary ability to connect vision, people and ideas to drive strategy and execution. I've had the opportunity to watch Marc grow as a leader over the last 12 years and strongly believe he is the best choice to succeed Chris as the next President and CEO. The Board is highly confident in Marc's ability; we believe he is a strong leader for our employees, customers, shareholders and other key business partners. He has our full support. With Marc's charisma, energy and passion and Chris transitioning to the role of non-executive Chairman, the board is very confident that SPX FLOW has a strong leadership team in place to drive success moving forward."
About Marc Michael
Marc Michael, 52, has extensive experience running global businesses, expanding into emerging markets and managing large projects across the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. He has a long and proven track record of transforming businesses and improving operational execution. Since 2013, he has served as President of SPX FLOW's Food and Beverage business. During this time, he has led a significant improvement in the execution of food and beverage system projects and strategically expanded the company's presence in the food and beverage aftermarket service and components markets.
Career Profile:
- President, SPX FLOW Food and Beverage: August 2013 to present
- President, SPX Flow Technologies EMEA: July 2011 to July 2013
- President, SPX Global Dry Cooling: January 2008 to June 2011
- President, SPX Evaporative Cooling: July 2006 to December 2007
Marc was appointed an officer of SPX Corporation in December 2014 and was appointed an officer of SPX FLOW, Inc. in September 2015 subsequent to the spin-off of the company.
Prior to joining SPX Corporation in 2003, Marc held positions with General Electric and TDK Corporation. He earned a B.S. in accounting and finance from the University of North Alabama.
About SPX FLOW, Inc.:
Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, SPX FLOW is a leading global supplier of highly engineered flow components, process equipment and turn-key systems, along with the related aftermarket parts and services, into the food and beverage, power and energy and industrial end markets. SPX FLOW has approximately $2.5 billion in annual revenues and approximately 8,000 employees with operations in over 35 countries and sales in over 150 countries around the world. To learn more about SPX FLOW, please visit our website at www.spxflow.com.
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbor created thereby. The words "believe," "expect," "intends", "anticipate," "plan" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, estimates of future operating results are based on the company's current complement of businesses, which is subject to change. Please read this press release in conjunction with the company's documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings identify important risk factors and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from these statements. Statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release, and SPX FLOW disclaims any responsibility to update or revise such statements.
Investor and Media Contact:
Ryan Taylor, Vice President, Communications, Market Insights and Financial Planning
Phone: 704-752-4486
E-mail: investor@spxflow.com
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SOURCE SPX FLOW, Inc.
