Timken Appoints Richard Kyle As CEO, John Timken As Chairman

(RTTNews) - Timken Co. (TKR) said Tuesday that its Board of Directors has appointed Richard Kyle as president and chief executive officer of the company, effective immediately.

The company's board also elected John Timken, Jr. as chairman following today's annual meeting of shareholders.

Kyle replaces James Griffith, who became president of Timken in 1999 and chief executive officer in 2002. Griffith is retiring from the company this year and did not stand for re-election as a director. He will remain with the company until June 30, to assist with the leadership transition and oversee the spinoff of TimkenSteel Corp. as an independent publicly traded entity.

Kyle began his career at Timken in 2006 as vice president of manufacturing and was named president of the aerospace and mobile industries segments in 2008. In 2012, Kyle was named group president, responsible for the aerospace and steel segments as well as the engineering and technology organization. He was named chief operating officer of the company in September 2013, and has been a director since November 2013.

John Timken's role as non-executive chairman of the board is a change to Timken corporate governance. Ward Timken, Jr., who had been executive chairman since 2005, will serve as chairman, chief executive officer and president of the new TimkenSteel Corp., and will remain a director on the Timken board.

Additionally, at the annual meeting, Timken shareholders elected 11 directors to new one-year terms. Shareholders also supported the company's 2013 "Say-on-Pay" vote, ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as independent auditor, and voted against a shareholder proposal requiring that the chair be an independent member of the board.