Supreme Industries Inc, announced several senior management changes:
• Robert W. Wilson, president and chief operating officer and president and chief executive officer of the company’s wholly-owned operating subsidiary, Supreme Indiana Operations Inc. (“Supreme Indiana”), has announced his retirement. He will work with the company to support a successful transition in leadership as an adviser to the board on special projects. He will continue in his position on the board of directors;
• Herbert M. Gardner, chairman of the board and CEO and the chairman of the board of Supreme Indiana, will continue as chairman of the board, but has relinquished the role of chief executive officer. He will be actively involved in supporting the transition of management;
• Kim Korth, president and owner of IRN Inc., a consulting firm in the vehicle and transportation industry, has been appointed president and CEO of Supreme and Supreme Indiana in an interim capacity. Korth and her firm have been working with the company for the last year, and she is well positioned to provide leadership during this transition period. Korth was added to the company’s board of directors this week;
• The new executive leadership team is comprised of Tom Beard, vice president of operations; Bob Besse, vice president of sales and marketing; Mike Oium, vice president of systems management; and Jeff Mowery, vice president of finance. This team will be responsible for day-to-day decisionmaking at the company and will report directly to Korth; and
• A special committee has been formed of the current board members – including Gardner, William J. Barrett, Mark C. Neilson and Korth – to assist the leadership team during the transition and to begin a process to identify and hire the new president and CEO of the company and Supreme Indiana. They anticipate that process will be completed in the third quarter of 2011.
“The entire board is extremely grateful for Bob Wilson’s many years of service and the leadership he has provided to Supreme during his six years as president,” says Gardner. “We are also very pleased that Kim Korth has formally joined our executive team, as she has the background and skills to help ensure continued improvements in Supreme’s performance.”
