Canton, Oh., USA - September 6, 2013, Canton, Oh., USA - The Timken Company names Richard G. Kyle as chief operating officer of the B&PT business, and as the new president and CEO upon the separation of the company's steel business.
Article continues below
James W. Griffith will continue as president and chief executive officer of The Timken Company until the separation is complete, at which time he plans to retire after 30 years of service.
Mr. Griffith joined The Timken Company in 1984 and has held positions as plant manager, vice president of manufacturing in North America and managing director of the company’s business in Australia. From 1996 to 1999, he led Timken’s automotive business in North America and the company’s bearing business activities in Asia and Latin America. He was elected president, chief operating officer and director in 1999 and was named chief executive officer in 2002.
Mr. Griffith is vice president of the World Bearing Association and chairman of the board of the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET). He is president of the Management Executives’ Society and serves on the boards of directors of the US-China Business Council and Illinois Tool Works Inc. He also serves on the board of the University of Mount Union.
Mr. Griffith holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University.
The board plans to name Richard G. Kyle as The Timken Company's new president and chief executive officer, succeeding Mr. Griffith. Until then, Mr. Kyle has been named chief operating officer of the B&PT business.
Mr. Kyle is group president at The Timken Company. Named to the position in 2012, he is responsible for the company’s Aerospace and Steel segments. Prior to being named to his current role, Mr. Kyle served as president of the Aerospace and Mobile Industries segments.
For two years beginning in 2007, he served as vice president of manufacturing for the Mobile Industries segment. He also managed the Bearings and Power Transmission Group’s global manufacturing operations.
Mr. Kyle joined Timken in 2006 as vice president of manufacturing for the company’s former Industrial Group. Previously, he served as vice president of operations for a division of Hubbell, Inc. and in management positions with Cooper Industries. Mr. Kyle serves on the board of directors of the Ohio Steel Council and the United Way of Greater Stark County.
He received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and a master’s degree in management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
The board also plans to name Ward J. Timken, Jr. to lead the new engineered steel company as its chairman and chief executive officer.
Mr. J. Timken, Jr., is chairman of the board of directors of The Timken Company. He started his career in 1992 in the company's Steel Business, was elected to the board in 2002, and served as vice chairman and president of steel prior to being named chairman in 2005.
In 2000, J. Timken, Jr. was named corporate vice president in the Office of the Chairman, responsible for strategy development. He played a pivotal role in diversifying and expanding the company's product portfolio into industrial market sectors, including the acquisition of The Torrington Company in 2003.
His other positions at the company included sales and marketing management roles in the Steel Business and key postings in Europe and Latin America in the 1990s. While in Europe, he led a team to establish Timken manufacturing in Romania and to advance business in other regions of Central and Eastern Europe. In Latin America, he was responsible for all operations and sales, from Mexico to Argentina.
Before joining the company, he opened and managed the Washington, D.C., office of McGough & Associates, a Columbus, Ohio-based government affairs consulting firm. Mr. J. Timken, Jr. serves on the board of directors of Pella Corporation.
He also serves on the boards of Team NEO and the American Iron and Steel Institute, both of which he previously served as chairman. Additional board memberships include the National Association of Manufacturers Executive Committee, the Ohio Business Development Council, the Ohio Business Roundtable Executive Committee, the Stark Development Board, the Timken Foundation and the Timken Charitable Trust.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Georgetown University and a Master of Business Administration from the Darden School at the University of Virginia. He will continue to serve as chairman as well as oversee the steel business until the separation.
Following the separation, the board plans to name John M. Timken, Jr., non-executive chairman of The Timken Company. ■