James Hardie Industries PLC (ASX:JHX), Sydney, announced late Thursday that Dr. Jack Truong, currently the company’s president – International since April 2017, will succeed long-standing CEO Louis Gries as the incoming CEO of James Hardie Industries.
Truong, who continues to be based out of North America, will be formally appointed to the CEO role toward the end of the company’s 2019 fiscal year, at which time Mr Gries will step down as CEO and from the Board.
The Board has determined that a structured transition is in the best interest of shareholders and an approximate six month handover period has been established, during which time Mr Gries will remain in the CEO role and Dr Truong will become president and COO with the responsibility of running the group’s global business. He currently has responsibility for the operations of the Asia Pacific Fiber Cement business and the Europe Building Products business.
James Hardie Chairman Michael Hammes, said: “The Board has selected Jack following a rigorous and extensive process that included a strong field of internal candidates. The decision considered the transition from Louis’ immensely successful 13-year tenure as CEO of James Hardie and the requirement for the incoming candidate to possess strong operational experience and industry knowledge.
“Jack offers the ideal combination of commercial expertise, operational excellence, and leadership in order to continue to grow the business and maintain the industry-leading performance, across multiple geographies, established by Louis over a long period.”
Truong has been president of International Operations at James Hardie since April 2017. Prior to James Hardie, Truong was the president and CEO of home appliance manufacturer, Electrolux North America Inc, a $5+ billion revenue and 14,000+ employee business at the time of his leadership.
Before joining Electrolux, Truong enjoyed a successful 22-year career at 3M Company, where he held senior leadership roles throughout the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific, including Vice President and General Manager of the Global Construction and Home Improvements Division and Global Office Supplies Division.
As an engineer and inventor himself – earning his PhD in chemical engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York – Truong is the recipient of 11 U.S. patents and several international patents.
