Milwaukee-based A.O. Smith Corp. chief financial officer John Kita will retire May 1, the company announced Monday.
Charles Lauber, currently senior vice president for strategy and corporate development at A.O. Smith, will replace Kita as CFO, the company said.
“Chuck has played a key role in helping to guide A. O. Smith to its current success. He has our utmost confidence as he assumes this critical role for our company,” said Kevin Wheeler, president and chief executive officer of A.O. Smith. “I want to thank John Kita for his 30 years of tireless and inspiring work with A. O. Smith, including the instrumental role he played in transforming A. O. Smith into a water technology company, and wish him well in retirement.”
Kita has been with the company since 1988. He became CFO in 2011.
Lauber joined the company in 1999 as director of audit and tax, having previously worked at Ernst & Young LLP. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
