In a press release dated January 17, 2005, the board of directors of Gleason Corporation announced the resignation of President and Chief Executive Officer David J. Burns, who is leaving the company to pursue other interests and opportunities.
"David was a fine steward of the company as CEO. We appreciate his work as part of the management team that has positioned Gleason for future success, as well as his very significant contributions to the company over the past 26 years, and we wish Dave the very best," says Chairman James Gleason.
Effective immediately, longtime board member John W. Guffey, Jr., will become the chief executive officer and John J. Perrotti, the company’s current executive vice president and chief financial officer, will become the company’s president and chief operating officer. Guffey was most recently chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Coltec Industries until its merger with The BFGoodrich Company in 1999. The board further announced that John W. Pysnack, the company’s current controller, will become the company’s vice president, finance. James S. Gleason remains as chairman of the board of directors.
"The board of directors determined that Gleason now requires leadership that can achieve an even faster rate of top- and bottom-line growth," Gleason explains. "With John Guffey and John Perrotti at the helm, the board believes Gleason can maximize its full potential.
"We are particularly fortunate to have John Guffey, with both his past experience as a CEO of a major engineering and manufacturing company and his long association with Gleason as a director, leading our company and working alongside John Perrotti as he assumes his additional responsibilities," Gleason adds.
"I look forward to working closely with John Perrotti, whose track record and extensive knowledge of the company’s operations and markets, as well as the heritage, people, and products of this company, make him ideally suited for Gleason’s newly created COO position," Guffey says. "My immediate focus is going to be redoubling our company’s customer service efforts, while ensuring that John Perrotti and the rest of the management team have the tools and resources they need to be successful."
"I am excited by this new challenge," Perrotti says. "I value John Guffey’s counsel and I look forward to a close partnership with him in the coming months. Gleason expects a record high level of sales in 2005, a testament to the company’s innovative products and the commitment and dedication of our 2,500 employees worldwide to serve our global customer base. Gleason will continue its aggressive introduction of new technology and will have a sharp focus on expanding the company’s leadership position in gear technology leading to growth in both revenues and profitability."
Guffey, 66, a member of the company’s board since 1995 and chairman of Gleason’s audit committee, previously served as chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Coltec Industries, Inc., a $1.5 billion diversified manufacturer of engineered products primarily serving the aerospace, automotive, and general industrial markets. Coltec merged with The BFGoodrich Company in the fall of 1999. He held the position of president and COO of Coltec prior to being appointed CEO. Prior to Coltec he held various engineering and management positions with Carlisle Corp., Garlock Inc., General Tire & Rubber Co., Aeroquip Corp., and General Motors spanning a period of 38 years. Guffey previously served on the board of directors of Giddings & Lewis, BF Goodrich, and Keystone International. He has a bachelor of engineering degree, with majors in metallurgy, industrial engineering, and mathematics, from Youngstown State University.
Perrotti, 44, joined Gleason in 1986 and has served as executive vice president since 2002. He was elected to the company’s board of directors in March, 2000. Before his current position, Perrotti was vice president and chief financial officer (from 1995 through 2000) and treasurer (since 1997). During this time Perrotti has overseen many of the company’s strategic initiatives including acquisitions, divestitures, implementation of a global enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, and various other operational projects. Among other various positions in the company, Perrotti served as vice president, operations, of The Gleason Works; Gleason’s largest subsidiary.
Perrotti is a member of the board of directors of Hardinge, Inc., and chairman of Hardinge’s audit committee. He is also a trustee of the American Gear Manufacturing Association Foundation and is a committee chairperson of the Association for Manufacturing Technology. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in business administration from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester.
John (Jack) Pysnack, 42, has been with Gleason since 1987 in a variety of financial leadership positions. Pysnack has been the company’s controller since 1995 and is a CPA and a graduate of St. John Fisher College in Rochester.
Gleason Corporation is the world leader in the development, manufacture, and sale of gear production machinery and related equipment. The company’s products are used by customers in the automotive, truck, aircraft, agriculture, construction, power tool, and marine industries, and by a diverse set of customers serving various industrial equipment markets. The company, founded in 1865, employs approximately 2,500 people worldwide. Gleason has manufacturing operations in Rochester, New York; Rockford, Illinois; Plymouth, England; Munich and Ludwigsburg, Germany; Bangalore, India; and Biel, Switzerland, and has sales and service offices throughout North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions.
For more information contact Edward J. Pelta, vice president, general counsel, and secretary of the Gleason Corporation, at (585) 256-8760. Send e-mail to epelta@gleason.com. The company’s Web site is [www.gleason.com].
