BUFFALO, N.Y. — Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ: ROCK) on Monday announced strategic leadership changes aimed at accelerating growth, driving operational excellence, simplifying operations, and spurring innovation across the company.
Kevin Viravec has joined Gibraltar from Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW), a Fortune 200 global diversified industrial manufacturer, to lead the company’s Industrial and Infrastructure Products segment. Viravec most recently had been Vice President and General Manager, North America for residential building components at ITW.
His appointment coincides with the retirement of Mr. Joseph Smith, who has served as President of the company’s AMICO business unit since 2006. “We deeply appreciate Joe’s contributions to the success of both AMICO and Gibraltar during his tenure,” Gibraltar President and Chief Executive Officer Frank Heard said. “In succeeding Joe, Kevin’s skills in transforming, building and leading high-performance businesses make him the ideal candidate to lead our realigned industrial group into a new phase of profitable growth.”
Within the company’s Residential Products segment, the postal and parcel products platform will be led by Stephen Duffy, who had served Gibraltar as President — Noll Building Products. This segment’s other ventilation and roofing related product platforms will be led by Charles Jerasa, who had been President of the company’s storage and ventilation businesses.
“The realigned leadership structure within the Residential Products segment will allow for a more cohesive approach to our markets,” said Heard. “Our customers have made extensive changes in an effort to find success through these challenging times. Just like us, they seek improved profitability for their businesses, as well as high quality products and service from their suppliers at a competitive price. We are delighted to have Steve and Chuck in these new positions as we satisfy these customer requirements while leveraging the strength of Gibraltar’s existing brands and relationships to accelerate profitable top-line growth.”
Paul Plourde will fill the newly created position of Vice President, Business Development. He joins Gibraltar from ITW, where he most recently served as General Manager, Construction Products Canada. An experienced executive in the consumer goods, building products and industrial sectors, Plourde brings to Gibraltar a record of success in developing and executing business growth initiatives. “Further, Paul’s expertise in using sophisticated end-user and end-market analyses to drive innovation and enhance the acquisition selection process makes him an outstanding choice to fill this new role at Gibraltar,” Heard said.
“These leadership changes are part of our strategy to complement the existing senior leadership team with new skills and experiences from best-in-class industrial organizations. These changes, in conjunction with our newly reconstituted board, ensure that the company is led by a strong, reinvigorated management team. Looking forward, we will be focused near-term on increasing operational excellence throughout the organization, seeking ways to simplify our operations, adding to our capacity for innovation and accelerating our growth through strategic acquisitions. We look forward to the success of these efforts as we drive towards enhancing shareholder value,” Heard concluded.
Gibraltar Industries is a manufacturer and distributor of building products, focused on residential and low-rise commercial building markets, as well as industrial and transportation infrastructure markets. The company generates more than 80 percent of its sales from products that hold leading positions in their markets, and serves customers across North America and Europe. Comprehensive information about Gibraltar can be found on its website at www.gibraltar1.com.
