MSC Industrial's Jilla to Resign, Become IFF CFO in January

JillaMRO products distributor and service provider MSC Industrial Supply — No. 8 on Industrial Distribution's 2019 Big 50 List — announced Thursday that Rustom Jilla, the company's executive vice president and chief financial officer, has decided to step down from his position effective Jan. 17, 2020. Also Thursday, IFF — which is merging with DuPont's Nutrition and Biosciences Unit in a $26.2 billion deal — announced that Jilla will become the newly-combined company's CFO effective Jan. 20.

Greg Clark, MSC's vice president of finance and corporate controller, will become MSC's interim CFO following Jilla's departure, reporting to CEO Erik Gershwind. Clark has held various finance positions with the company since 2003.

MSC said will conduct a comprehensive external search to identify a permanent CFO.

"On behalf of the company and the board of directors, I would like to thank Rustom for his significant contributions to our company and to congratulate him on his new opportunity," Gershwind said. "During his four years with MSC, Rustom built a strong finance team and instilled even greater discipline in our business. We are grateful for his contributions and leadership. I also have strong confidence that under Greg's leadership, our deep finance team will continue to strengthen our financial operations and ensure a smooth transition."

"After four-plus years here at MSC, this announcement is a bittersweet moment for me," Jilla said. "I am very proud of the team, and am confident that MSC — with its distinct culture and strong foundation — has a great future ahead of it. At the same time, I am excited to get back to my roots in international manufacturing and to join a global leader in innovation and solutions that is at a transformational point in its own journey."