Fortune Brands Home & Security, an operating unit of Fortune Brands,
Inc. (NYSE: FO), today announced that E. Lee Wyatt has joined the
business as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Wyatt,
58, was most recently executive vice president and chief financial
officer at HanesBrands.
"Lee Wyatt is a talented and proven leader who is a terrific fit for
Fortune Brands Home & Security,” said Chris Klein, president and chief
executive officer of Fortune Brands Home & Security. "As CFO at
HanesBrands, Lee helped guide the company through its spin-off from Sara
Lee, built a strong finance organization, and was instrumental in
building HanesBrands’ reputation on Wall Street. Lee has a long track
record of helping create shareholder value and we are excited to welcome
him to the FBHS team as we prepare to become a standalone company and
build on our considerable strengths.”
Prior to joining HanesBrands in advance of its 2006 spin-off, Wyatt
served as a vice president of Sara Lee and as chief financial officer of
Sara Lee Branded Apparel from 2005 to 2006. His previous executive
leadership positions include serving as executive vice president, chief
financial officer and treasurer of Sonic Automotive, Inc. and as vice
president of administration and chief financial officer of Sealy
Corporation.
Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Klein also announced the appointments of executives to lead the
company’s investor relations and corporate communications functions.
Brian Lantz has joined the company as vice president – investor
relations for Fortune Brands Home & Security. Lantz, 48, also comes from
HanesBrands where he was vice president – investor relations for the
past five years.
Gary Ross has been named Fortune Brands Home & Security’s vice president
– corporate communications. Ross, 45, has served in key communications
roles at CDW for the past 11 years, most recently as director –
corporate communications. He will join the company the week of June 20th.
Wyatt, Lantz and Ross join an executive team at FBHS that will be
anchored by several veteran leaders who will join Home & Security from
the parent company and also reflect the strength of the current
operating leadership. The leadership of FBHS will include:
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John Heppner, president, Storage & Security
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David Lingafelter, president, Moen
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David Randich, president, Therma-Tru
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Mark Savan, president, Simonton
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Greg Stoner, president, MasterBrand Cabinets
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Elizabeth Lane, senior vice president, human resources
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Lauren Tashma, senior vice president, general counsel
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Miriam Van de Sype, senior vice president, strategy
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Ed Wiertel, senior vice president, finance
"We’re determined to inspire the confidence of our investors in
everything we do,” Klein added. "The corporate team that we’re building
will enable Fortune Brands Home & Security to hit the ground running on
day one as an independent public company and deliver as a
high-performance organization over the long term.”
As previously announced, Fortune Brands is targeting to complete the
separation of its businesses early in the fourth quarter. The separation
remains subject to completion of detailed separation plans, customary
regulatory approvals and final Board approval.
About Fortune Brands
Fortune Brands, Inc. is a leading consumer brands company. Its operating
companies have premier brands and leading market positions in distilled
spirits, home and security, and golf products. Beam Global Spirits &
Wine, Inc. is the company's premium spirits business. Major spirits
brands include Jim Beam and Maker's Mark bourbon, Sauza tequila,
Canadian Club whisky, Courvoisier cognac, Cruzan rum, Teacher's and
Laphroaig Scotch, EFFEN vodka, Skinnygirl margarita and DeKuyper
cordials. The brands of Fortune Brands Home & Security LLC include Moen
faucets, Aristokraft, Omega, Diamond and Kitchen Craft cabinetry,
Therma-Tru door systems, Simonton windows, Master Lock security products
and Waterloo storage and organization products. Acushnet Company's golf
brands include Titleist and FootJoy. Fortune Brands, headquartered in
Deerfield, Illinois, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the
ticker symbol FO and is included in the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI World
Index.
To receive company news releases by e-mail, please visit www.fortunebrands.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, as that term is
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers
are cautioned that these forward-looking statements speak only as of the
date hereof, and the company does not assume any obligation to update,
amend or clarify them to reflect events, new information or
circumstances occurring after the date of this release.
