EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.,
May 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- MTS Systems Corporation (Nasdaq:
MTSC), a leading global supplier of advanced test systems, motion
simulators and precision sensors, today announced that its Board of
Directors has unanimously elected Randy J.
Martinez as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer,
effective May 23, 2020. Mr. Martinez,
a seasoned executive who has served as an independent director on
the Company's Board since March 2014,
will succeed Dr. Jeffrey A. Graves,
who will be stepping down as President and Chief Executive Officer
and as a director of the Company to pursue another opportunity. The
Board is commencing a search process for a permanent replacement
that will include internal and external candidates.
David J. Anderson, Chairman of
the Board, said, "Randy is a proven leader with a passion for team
building, operational excellence and value creation that will serve
MTS well, particularly in these challenging economic times. Randy
has been an effective and thoughtful contributor to the Board for
over six years. He had an outstanding career in the U.S. Air Force,
and later in the commercial aerospace & defense industry,
including as a public company CEO. We are confident he is the right
choice to lead MTS as we search for a permanent successor."
Mr. Anderson continued, "The Board thanks Jeff for his
leadership of MTS over the last eight years as CEO and wishes him
the best in his new role. We are confident he leaves the business
in an excellent position, in particular because of the strong
management team he put in place. During his tenure, MTS has roughly
doubled in size, leveraging its market leading technologies to
accelerate organic growth while completing several strategic
acquisitions. Today, MTS is a leader in both test and simulation
and high-precision sensor markets, with a well-balanced product
portfolio focused on high-growth global markets. Our record orders
performance and strong backlog position MTS to withstand the
current economic challenges and capitalize on exciting growth
opportunities in markets ranging from infrastructure and renewable
energy, to military applications, electric vehicles and industrial
automation."
"Additionally, we will use this opportunity to consider further
deepening the expertise of the Board to ensure it has the strongest
mix of capabilities and experience to support MTS' long-term
strategy and provide strong oversight," Mr. Anderson concluded.
"I'm honored to take on this position at an important time for
MTS," said Mr. Martinez. "During my six-year tenure as a director,
I have developed a strong understanding of MTS' strengths and
opportunities. I have also been deeply impressed by our division
leaders as well as the full executive team and look forward to
working with them directly as we continue to execute the Company's
strategy. Our differentiated technology and industry-leading
application engineering expertise, deep long-term customer
relationships, geographic footprint spanning six continents, and
robust employee talent pool give me strong confidence in our
long-term prospects."
Departing Chief Executive Officer Dr. Jeffrey Graves said, "I am confident Randy has
the right skills and experience to lead MTS and create value for
all our stakeholders. I believe strongly that MTS is well
positioned to execute its strategy and build on its current market
momentum."
Mr. Martinez brings an exceptional track record of executive and
director-level leadership in billion-dollar public corporations in
aviation, aerospace & defense and industrials. He joined the
Company's Board as an independent director in March 2014. From 2009 to 2017, Mr. Martinez
served in several leadership roles at AAR Corporation (NYSE), a
provider of aviation services to the worldwide commercial aviation
and aerospace & defense industries, most notably President
& CEO of the Airlift Group and Group Vice President, Aviation
Services. Before joining AAR, Mr. Martinez was the CEO at World Air
Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ). As a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Mr. Martinez
served with distinction in the U.S. Air Force for 21 years,
retiring as a Colonel and Command Pilot and having held a wide
variety of leadership roles, including command and senior staff
positions.
ABOUT MTS SYSTEMS CORPORATION
MTS Systems Corporation's testing and simulation hardware,
software and service solutions help customers accelerate and
improve their design, development and manufacturing processes and
are used for determining the mechanical behavior of materials,
products and structures. MTS' high-performance sensors provide
measurements of vibration, pressure, position, force and sound in a
variety of applications. MTS had 3,500 employees as of September 28, 2019 and revenue of $893 million for the fiscal year ended
September 28, 2019. Additional
information of MTS can be found at www.mts.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release contains "forward-looking statements" made
pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties, as well as assumptions, that could cause actual
results to differ materially from historical results and those
presently anticipated or projected. Words such as "may," "will,"
"should," "expects," "intends," "projects," "plans," "believes,"
"estimates," "targets," "anticipates," and similar expressions
identify forward-looking statements in this release. Such
statements include, but are not limited to, statements about future
financial and operating results, plans, objectives, expectations
and intentions, and other statements that are not historical facts.
These statements are based on our current expectations and beliefs
and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
described in the forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties
and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ
materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, those described in the "Risk
Factors" section of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and
updated in any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other
filings with the SEC. The reports referenced above are available on
our website at www.mts.com or on the SEC's website at
www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the
date on which such statements are made, and we undertake no
obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect
events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is
made to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or
circumstances.
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SOURCE MTS Systems Corporation