SAF-Holland’s COO/President to Resign

Nov. 16, 2010
Sam Martin, 65, COO of SAF-HOLLAND Group and President of the American subsidiary SAF-HOLLAND Inc., will resign from his operating activities at the end of 2010 at his own request.

Sam Martin, 65, COO of SAF-HOLLAND Group and President of the American subsidiary SAF-HOLLAND Inc., will resign from his operating activities at the end of 2010 at his own request.

He will remain available to the company to help ensure a smooth transition in leadership. He is expected to be nominated to join the Board of Directors at the company’s Annual General Meeting in April. His responsibilities in the Management Board will be re-distributed and the board will also be reduced in size.

Jack Gisinger will succeed Martin as President of the American subsidiary SAF-HOLLAND and will take up his new position as of January 2. At the same time, Detlef Borghardt will assume the position of Deputy CEO of the entire Group and will take over the responsibility for the strategic planning. The COO function will be dropped in the future.

"Sam Martin's decision to end his active career marks the departure of a strong leader who had a formative influence on the company. He made a vital contribution to SAF-HOLLAND, a company recognized today as a technology leader and a strong brand in many of our international markets. The Board would like to thank Sam, also on behalf of all his colleagues and staff, for the outstanding work he has done. Jack Gisinger and Detlef Borghardt are recognized market experts who will continue to pursue our corporate strategy and we are very pleased that they have taken on these new responsibilities", said Bernhard Schneider, Chairman of the Board of Directors at SAF-HOLLAND S.A.

Jack Gisinger and Detlef Borghardt were appointed to the Management Board in June 2007 in the course of the initial public offering of SAF-HOLLAND. Each is responsible for one of the company's three business units. Gisinger is Head of the Powered Vehicle Systems Business Unit and Borghardt of the Trailer Systems Business Unit. In addition to their new functions, they will continue to be responsible for these business units.

A further change to the Management Board of SAF-HOLLAND involves the resignation of Martin Kleinschmitt as Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO). Consistent with the completion of the company’s restructuring program that was introduced two years ago, he has concluded his function of CRO on the Management Board as planned.