TOLEDO, Ohio, March 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Libbey Inc.
(NYSE American: LBY), one of the world's largest glass
tableware manufacturers, announced today that its board
of directors has named Michael (Mike) P.
Bauer as the Company's next chief executive officer,
effective March 25, 2019. Bauer was
also appointed to the Company's board of directors effective
March 25, 2019. William (Bill) A. Foley, Libbey's current CEO
and chairman of the board, will retire as CEO effective
March 24, 2019, but will remain with
the Company as executive chairman of the board.
"The board of directors is excited to welcome Mike Bauer to Libbey Inc.," said John Orr, Libbey's lead independent director.
"As part of Libbey's succession planning process, which has been
underway for some time, we undertook an extensive search and our
board believes that Mike is the ideal candidate to succeed Bill.
Mike's extensive experience and track record of success leading
strategy, growth and margin expansion in multi-channel, global
consumer product organizations are a strong fit for Libbey. In
addition, Mike's considerable knowledge of finance, supply chain,
marketing, manufacturing and e-commerce will complement our team
and help us continue to drive profitable growth, operational
excellence and organizational excellence. We are confident that
Mike, working together with our strong management team, will help
us leverage and expand upon our position as the world's leading
global glass tableware manufacturer."
"I'm truly excited to be joining Libbey and believe that our
organization has a tremendous opportunity to build upon the
foundational elements that Bill and the team have put in place over
the last few years," said Bauer. "I look forward to working with
the executive leadership team and the board of directors to
continue building a strong, dynamic and agile organization that's
focused on meeting the needs of our end-users, channel partners and
shareholders. The global consumer goods market continues to undergo
a transformational shift as changes in consumer preferences and
channels require fresh ideas and decisive leadership to effectively
navigate this environment. I believe Libbey's leadership position
across its key markets, and the breadth of investments that Bill
and the team have underway, position the organization well to
leverage our strengths and competitive advantages to create strong
value in the future."
Commenting on Mr. Foley's leadership over the past three years,
Mr. Orr said, "Bill has overseen a critical period in Libbey's
commercial transformation, including the creation of our highly
successful and expanding e-commerce platform. Further, he
reinvigorated a culture of product innovation that is now driving
creativity at Libbey, delivering a wealth of new product choices to
our customers each year. The environment that Bill has guided our
Company through during this time period, particularly the
competitive changes and challenges taking place within our
industry, has not been easy. His leadership has helped to maintain
and grow our leading industry position and we want to thank Bill
for his hard work and dedication. We are also glad that we'll
continue to have his insights and contributions as an ongoing
member of our board of directors."
Mr. Bauer has more than 30 years of experience with leading
consumer product manufacturers. Most recently, he served as
president of The Master Lock Company (the Security segment of
Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc.), from 2014 to
2018. In that role, he was responsible for all aspects of the
global consumer goods manufacturer, including the marketing and
distribution of locks, safes and other mechanical,
electromechanical and digital security products. Prior to joining
The Master Lock Company, Mr. Bauer served as president of the U.S.
business of Moen, also a Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc.
subsidiary and an international manufacturer, marketer and
distributor of residential and commercial faucets, sinks, bath
accessories and bath safety products. Mr. Bauer joined Moen as
corporate controller in 1997 and held successive roles of
increasing responsibility, including director of marketing and
product development CSI and vice president and general manager of
Moen's retail business, before assuming the role of president of
the U.S. business in 2011.
Mr. Bauer holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Cleveland State University and an MBA in Finance
from Case Western Reserve University in
Cleveland, Ohio.
The Compensation Committee of the board of directors has
authorized the issuance to Mr. Bauer, on March 25, 2019, of 116,827 restricted stock units
(RSUs) that are scheduled to vest in equal installments on
March 25, 2020, March 25, 2021 and March
25, 2022, respectively. In addition, Mr. Bauer will receive
an award of 150,000 non-qualified stock options (NQSOs) that will
cliff vest on March 25, 2022 and have
a 10-year term. These 150,000 NQSOs will be divided into four
groups of 37,500 NQSOs each. The exercise price of the first group
of NQSOs will be $7.00 per share, the
exercise price of the second group of NQSOs will be $8.50 per share, the exercise price of the third
group of NQSOs will be $10.00 per
share, and the exercise price of the fourth group of NQSOs will be
$11.50 per share. These awards
of RSUs and NQSOs were granted to induce Mr. Bauer to join the
Company and will be issued outside the terms of the Company's
Amended and Restated 2006 Omnibus Incentive Plan and 2016 Omnibus
Incentive Plan in accordance with Section 711(a) of the NYSE
American Company Guide.
About Libbey Inc.
Based in Toledo, Ohio, Libbey
Inc. is one of the largest glass tableware manufacturers in the
world. Libbey Inc. operates manufacturing plants in the U.S.,
Mexico, China, Portugal and the
Netherlands. In existence since 1818, the Company supplies
tabletop products to retail, foodservice and business-to-business
customers in over 100 countries. Libbey's global brand portfolio,
in addition to its namesake brand, includes Libbey
Signature®, Master's Reserve®
Crisa®, Royal
Leerdam®, World® Tableware,
Syracuse® China, and Crisal Glass®. In 2018,
Libbey Inc.'s net sales totaled $797.9
million. Additional information is available at
www.libbey.com.
Caution on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements as
defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements
reflect only the Company's best assessment at this time and are
indicated by words or phrases such as "goal," "expects," "
believes," "will," "estimates," "anticipates," or similar phrases.
Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainty and that actual results may differ materially
from these statements. Investors should not place undue reliance on
such statements. These forward-looking statements may be affected
by the risks and uncertainties in the Company's business. This
information is qualified in its entirety by cautionary statements
and risk factor disclosures contained in the Company's Securities
and Exchange Commission filings, including the Company's report on
Form 10-K filed with the Commission on February 27, 2019. Important factors potentially
affecting performance include but are not limited to risks related
to increased competition from foreign suppliers endeavoring to sell
glass tableware, ceramic dinnerware and metalware in our core
markets; global economic conditions and the related impact on
consumer spending levels; major slowdowns or changes in trends in
the retail, travel, restaurant and bar or entertainment industries,
and in the retail and foodservice channels of distribution
generally, that impact demand for our products; inability to meet
the demand for new products; material restructuring charges related
to involuntary employee terminations, facility sales or closures,
or other various restructuring activities; significant increases in
per-unit costs for natural gas, electricity, freight, corrugated
packaging, and other purchased materials; our ability to borrow
under our ABL credit agreement; high levels of indebtedness; high
interest rates that increase the Company's borrowing costs or
volatility in the financial markets that could constrain liquidity
and credit availability; protracted work stoppages related to
collective bargaining agreements; increased pension expense
associated with lower returns on pension investments and increased
pension obligations; increased tax expense resulting from changes
to tax laws, regulations and evolving interpretations thereof;
devaluations and other major currency fluctuations relative to the
U.S. dollar and the euro that could reduce the cost competitiveness
of the Company's products compared to foreign competition; the
effect of exchange rate changes to the value of the euro, the
Mexican peso, the RMB and the Canadian dollar and the earnings and
cash flows of our international operations, expressed under U.S.
GAAP; the effect of high levels of inflation in countries in which
we operate or sell our products; the inability to achieve savings
and profit improvements at targeted levels in the Company's
operations or within the intended time periods; the failure of our
investments in e-commerce, new technology and other capital
expenditures to yield expected returns; failure to prevent
unauthorized access, security breaches and cyber attacks to our
information technology systems; compliance with, or the failure to
comply with, legal requirements relating to health, safety and
environmental protection; our failure to protect our intellectual
property; and the inability to effectively integrate future
business we acquire or joint ventures into which we enter. Any
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press
release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances
arising after the date of this press release.
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SOURCE Libbey Inc.