Foster Wheeler to hire Linde exec Masters as CEO
The board of directors for global contractor Foster Wheeler has approved a senior leadership succession plan under which J. Kent Masters, 50, will become CEO, effective October 1.
It is expected that he will stand for election to the company’s board of directors as soon as practicable after October 1, the company said.
Umberto della Sala, 63, will continue to serve as interim CEO through September 30 and then will continue in his ongoing roles as president and chief operating officer, CEO of the company’s global engineering and construction group and member of the board of directors.
As part of the leadership succession plan, Raymond J. Milchovich, 61, is expected to continue to serve as non-executive chairman of the board of directors through November 3.
He has informed the board that he intends to leave the board on that date.
The board has been actively planning for Milchovich’s eventual departure and expects to announce its succession plan for chairman on or before November 3, it said.
Masters comes to Foster Wheeler from The Linde Group, a world-leading gases and engineering company, where he has served as a member of the executive board with responsibility for the operating segments Americas, the healthcare global business unit and the business area of merchant and packaged gases.
He joined Linde in 2006 as a result of Linde’s acquisition of The BOC Group, where he had been CEO of industrial and special products and a member of the board of directors.
“Kent has significant operating, technical and contracting experience - and a demonstrable track record of successfully leading complex global organizations,” said Milchovich. “Moreover, we believe that Kent’s leadership approach is a perfect fit with the cultural norms of Foster Wheeler.”
Milchovich added: “With Umberto under contract through 2013 and having spent considerable time with Kent and Umberto together, I believe that they will be an excellent team.”
A native of Atlanta, Masters holds a degree in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree in business administration from The Stern School of Business at New York University.
He also serves on the board of directors of Rockwood Holdings, a manufacturer of chemicals and advanced materials based in Princeton, New Jersey.
Umberto della Sala joined Foster Wheeler in Milan in 1973 as a process engineer. From 1997 to 2000, he was assigned to FW USA as vice president and general manager of Latin American Operations and President of FW Caribe and later as commercial director.
In 2000, he returned to Milan as commercial director of the newly formed Foster Wheeler Continental Europe Unit. He was appointed in 2001 as CEO of FW Continental Europe.
In 2005, he was appointed as Foster Wheeler CEO for its global engineering and construction (E&C) group.
He assumed the additional role of president and chief operating officer of Foster Wheeler in 2007 and has served as the company’s interim CEO since October 2010. He was elected to the Foster Wheeler board of directors in February 2011.
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