- After almost seven years in the position
- Praise and thanks for Rossi
- Sanjay Chowbey taking over
- Rossi said 72 words
(exechange) — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 14, 2024 — Chris Rossi, chief executive of Kennametal, leaves his position. As announced by Kennametal Inc. in a news release on Thursday, March 14, 2024, Christopher (Chris) Rossi leaves his post as chief executive officer at the supplier of tooling and industrial materials, after almost seven years in the role, effective May 31, 2024.
Chris Rossi’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Sanjay Chowbey, currently President, Metal Cutting Segment at Kennametal Inc.
The Company has launched a search for Chowbey’s Metal Cutting successor, considering both internal and external candidates. Chowbey will also continue in his current role during this transition period until he officially steps into the CEO role.
“Difficult to say goodbye”
The management change is explained as follows. Rossi stated: “While difficult to say goodbye to this great company and our employees around the world, it is the right time for me personally to make this transition, especially knowing that I leave Kennametal under the very capable leadership of my planned successor Sanjay.”
Precise information regarding Chris Rossi’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Retire”
Kennametal said: “Rossi has decided to retire from the company after nearly seven years as CEO, effective May 31, 2024.”
Share price decline since August 2017
The announcement follows a decline in Kennametal Inc.’s share price of 33% since August 2017. August 2017 is the month in which Rossi’s tenure as CEO began.
In the position of CEO since 2017
Chris Rossi became CEO of the Company in 2017.
Rossi will continue to serve on the company’s Board of Directors until his retirement, at which time Chowbey will join the Board.
Rossi and Chowbey will work together to ensure a seamless transition.
Rossi is President and CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Kennametal Inc., serving in these positions since August 2017.
Prior to that, he was CEO of Dresser-Rand at Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, from September 2015 to May 2017.
Dresser-Rand is part of the Siemens business, a leading global supplier of custom-engineered rotating equipment solutions for the oil, gas, petrochemical, power and process industries.
Rossi held numerous leadership positions at Dresser-Rand including Executive Vice President of Global Operations, Vice President of Technology and Business Development, and Executive Vice President of Product Services Worldwide.
He joined Dresser-Rand in 1987 and, throughout his career there, was responsible for the areas of Engineering, Production, Supply Chain Management, Sales and Business Development.
He served as the company’s Vice President and General Manager of North American Operations, Vice President and General Manager of Painted Post Operation, and Vice President, Supply Chain Management Worldwide.
In 2022, Rossi joined the Board of Directors of the National Association of Manufacturers, and he has served as a director on the Board of Terex Corporation since 2021.
Rossi holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech and an MBA in Corporate Finance and Operations Management from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business.
72 words by Chris Rossi
In the release announcing his departure as CEO of Kennametal Inc., Chris Rossi received praise and thanks.
In announcing his departure, Chris Rossi said 72 words.
“Good progress”
Chris Rossi stated: “Over the last seven years, we have made good progress in streamlining our organization, improving operations and sales effectiveness, enabling higher value-add product innovations and establishing our growth strategy. While difficult to say goodbye to this great company and our employees around the world, it is the right time for me personally to make this transition, especially knowing that I leave Kennametal under the very capable leadership of my planned successor Sanjay.”
The above text is an excerpt from the exechange report 12.2024 ($), publication date March 18, 2024.