- After about five years in the position
- Praise, thanks and good wishes for Harrington
- Search for a successor
- Harrington said 105 words
(exechange) — Tampa, Florida, May 31, 2023 — Tom Harrington, chief executive of Primo Water, is set to leave his position. As announced by Primo Water Corp. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, Thomas J. (Tom) Harrington leaves his post as chief executive officer at the provider of drinking water, after about five years in the role, effective December 31, 2023.
Primo Water will undertake a search for a successor.
“Now is the right time”
The planned management change is explained as follows. Harrington stated: “With our strategy in place and exciting prospects for the future, now is the right time to begin the transition to Primo Water’s next phase of leadership.”
Precise information regarding Tom Harrington’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Retire”
Primo Water said: “Tom Harrington, Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors (“the Board”) since January 2019, has informed the Board that he intends to retire as the Company’s CEO, with a target effective date of December 31, 2023.”
Share price decline since January 2019
The announcement follows a decline in Primo Water Corp.’s share price of 9% since January 2019. January 2019 is the month in which Harrington’s tenure as CEO began.
In the position of CEO since 2019
Tom Harrington became CEO of the Company in 2019.
Thomas Harrington was appointed as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer effective as of the beginning of 2019.
Prior to his appointment, Harrington served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company’s North America business unit since the Company’s acquisition of DS Services in December 2014 and was appointed President Route Based Services in July 2016.
Prior to the acquisition, Harrington served in various roles with DS Services from 2004 to 2014, including Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Operating Officer, West Division President, and Senior Vice President, Central Division.
Prior to joining DS Services, Harrington served in various roles with Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. including Vice President and General Manager of Coca-Cola Enterprises New York and Chicago divisions.
He also served in various sales and marketing roles with Pepperidge Farm from 1979 to 1985.
Harrington previously served as a member of the board of directors of the National Automatic Merchandising Association, the International Bottled Water Association and the Water Quality Association.
He has served on the Company’s Board since the beginning of 2019.
105 words by Tom Harrington
In the news release announcing his departure as CEO of Primo Water Corp., Tom Harrington received praise, thanks and good wishes.
In announcing his departure, Tom Harrington said 105 words.
“Drive long-term growth and value creation”
Tom Harrington stated: “It has been an honor to lead Primo Water’s talented team through a critical and transformative period during my tenure as CEO. Our strategy is clearly working, we’re pleased with our past accomplishments and we’re even more excited about our future. With our strategy in place and exciting prospects for the future, now is the right time to begin the transition to Primo Water’s next phase of leadership. Together, we have built a powerful pure-play water platform that benefits from a large and growing revenue base. I am confident in our team’s ability to build on our momentum to drive long-term growth and value creation.”
40% of CEOs are forced out or fired
When CEO departures are announced, exechange determines the Push-out Score on a scale of 0 to 10 to assess how likely it is that the chief executive was pushed out or felt pressure to leave the position, with 0 being most likely a voluntary move and 10 being most likely a forced exit. Anything over a 5 indicates that there are valid reasons to believe an executive may have been pushed out.
Of the 317 CEO departures in the Russell 3000 Index evaluated over the past 12 months (May 31, 2022, to May 30, 2023), the average Push-out Score was 6.1, according to exechange data. References to conduct issues, disagreements and irregularities lead to the highest Push-out Scores. When performance issues, time with family or pursuit of other opportunities were cited as departure reasons, the average Push-out Scores were also significantly elevated.
Around 40% of the CEO departure events from the past 12 months received Push-out Scores of 8 or higher.
In other words, in the past 12 months, two in five departing CEOs were forced out or fired.
Push-out Score for Tom Harrington’s move determined
The Push-out Score regarding Tom Harrington’s move is explained point by point in the exechange report.
exechange reached out to Primo Water and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 23.2023 ($).