MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. – Maysteel, LLC today announced that John Russell has been named president and CEO for the manufacturer. He will assume the role effective September 4, 2007. Russell, selected through a national search, is replacing Kim Harter, who led Maysteel for the past 19 years and is retiring.
“We are pleased that John is joining Maysteel and will be bringing his more than two decades of business leadership to the organization,” said J. Douglas Gray, chairman of the board for Maysteel and president and CEO for Everett Smith Group, Ltd., the parent company of Maysteel. “Throughout his career, John has demonstrated the strategic capability to develop winning new strategies and the leadership and operational skills to implement them successfully. I am confident that Maysteel and its strong team of hard-working individuals will continue to flourish under John’s leadership.”
As president and CEO, Russell will be responsible for overseeing the organization and identifying new opportunities for growth. Maysteel’s corporate headquarters and two manufacturing facilities are in Menomonee Falls with additional plants in Allenton, Wis. and Columbus, Wis. The 900-employee company specializes in the custom fabrication of metal enclosures, assemblies and components.
Russell has more than 23 years of business experience and most recently served as president and CEO of Neoplan USA, a manufacturer of custom designed transit buses. Prior to Neoplan USA, Russell was with Brunswick’s Mercury Marine where he held a variety of positions, including executive positions in strategic development, finance and operations before becoming president of Brunswick Billiards and later president of the US Marine division.
McKinsey & Company, an international consulting firm, is where Russell began his career. He worked his way up through the organization, spending the first 10 years of his professional career advising clients on strategic and operational issues. Before leaving McKinsey to join Brunswick’s Mercury Marine, Russell had become a partner with the consulting firm.
“John has big shoes to fill, but we are confident that he is the right person to lead Maysteel and to continue the tradition of success that was established by Kim,” said Gray. “Kim’s dedication and commitment to Maysteel has been incredible. He has been instrumental in making Maysteel into what it is today. We wish him well in his retirement.”
Russell was selected to lead the Wisconsin-based company by a search committee that consisted of Harter; Gray; Jerry Sumpter, CEO of Eagle Ottawa leather company; and Tom Hauske, Jr., vice chairman for the Everett Smith Group. The committee was formed in December after Harter announced his plans to retire.
Russell’s educational training includes a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Florida State University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Russell, his wife and three daughters currently reside in Glenview, Ill. and have plans to relocate back to Wisconsin in the future.
Maysteel, LLC, based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., specializes in the manufacture of precision metal enclosures, assemblies and systems used in the electronics, power distribution and general industrial markets. The company was founded in 1936 and today has four manufacturing plants comprising more than 500,000 square feet of production space. Since 1965, Maysteel has been privately owned by the U.S.-based Everett Smith Group, Ltd., which has operations in the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Hungary, China, Japan and South Korea. For more information, visit www.maysteel.com.
