Actuant Corp. today named former Joy Global chief operating officer Randal W. Baker as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately.
Baker replaces Bob Arzbaecher, who had returned to serve in an interim CEO role since August. Arzbaecher also served as CEO from the Menomonee Falls-based company from 2000 until his retirement in January 2014.
The company also announced lead independent director Robert A. Peterson will replace Arzbaecher as chairman of the board. Arzbaecher will remain on the board.
Actuant is a diversified industrial company with operations in more than 30 counties. The company’s businesses are involved in markets including branded hydraulic tools and solutions, specialized products and services for energy markets and highly engineered position and motion control systems.
Peterson said Baker is a proven, results-oriented leader with the skills needed to lead Actuant.
“He brings a wealth of experience from a variety of leadership roles in multiple industrial companies with revenues and complexity greater than Actuant,” Peterson said. “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.”
Baker was COO of Milwaukee-based Joy Global from December 2013 until September 2015. Before that role, he was president of Joy Global Surface Mining Inc. starting in November 2009. He was also an executive with Case New Holland from 2004 to 2009 and held leadership roles at Komatsu America Corp, Ingersoll-Rand and Sandvik Corp.
“Actuant is a great industrial company with outstanding diversity, market-leading brands and technologies as well as deep and long-standing customer relationships,” Baker said. “I am humbled to be given the opportunity to lead it going forward and to help deliver superior results for stakeholders.”
Baker will have an initial base salary of $850,000 per year, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He is eligible for a $425,000 performance bonus in his first year, of which half is guaranteed. He is also being granted stock options and restricted stock units with a total value of $2.3 million. Half the equity award will vest three years front the grant date and the other half will vest five years from the grant date.
