MILWAUKEE — Actuant Corporation’s Board of Directors announced that Randal W. Baker has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company effective immediately. Mr. Baker has also been appointed to the Board of Directors. Effective with this transition, Actuant’s Board of Directors has appointed an independent director, Robert A. Peterson, as Actuant’s Chairman of the Board, replacing Robert C. Arzbaecher who will remain a member of the Board. Mr. Peterson has been on the Actuant Board of Directors since 2003, and has been Actuant’s lead independent director since 2015.
“We are excited to welcome Randy to Actuant,” commented Peterson. “He brings a wealth of experience from a variety of leadership roles in multiple industrial companies with revenues and complexity greater than Actuant. His demonstrated success in driving new product development and strong organic growth, along with superior customer and global market knowledge, was a differentiator to Actuant’s CEO search committee. He is a proven, results-oriented leader with the strategic, operational and talent development skills required to inspire the organization and deliver shareholder value.”
Baker has nearly 30 years of industrial experience, including serving in numerous executive roles of increasing responsibility and depth. From 2009 to 2015 he was with Joy Global, Inc., most recently as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Joy, Baker was an executive with Case New Holland (CNH) from 2004 to 2009, holding a variety of roles including President and CEO of their agriculture equipment business. Prior to CNH, Baker had diverse leadership roles at Komatsu America Corporation, Ingersoll-Rand, and Sandvik Corporation.
“Actuant is a great industrial company with outstanding diversity, market-leading brands and technologies as well as deep and long-standing customer relationships,” stated Baker. “I am humbled to be given the opportunity to lead it going forward and to help deliver superior results for stakeholders.”
