Joseph Lemieux retired as chief executive officer of Owens-Illinois Inc. on 31 December 2003 after 13 years at the head of the glass and plastic packaging giant.
He will be succeeded by interim co-CE…
Joseph Lemieux retired as chief executive officer of Owens-Illinois Inc. on 31 December 2003 after 13 years at the head of the glass and plastic packaging giant. He will be succeeded by interim co-CEOs Terry Wilkison, 62, and Thomas Young, 59, both long-serving members of Owens-Illinois staff. Analysts and former Owens-Illinois executives praised Mr. Lemieux for keeping the company mostly intact during difficult times, controlling costs, efficiency in manufacturing, and keeping Owens-Illinois focused on its core business of glass and plastic-container manufacturing. Heidrick & Struggles, an international executive-search firm, have been engaged by Owens-Illinois to find a replacement for Mr. Lemieux. Owens-Illinois announced in December 2003 that it is reviewing operations of its plastics business in Europe and North and South America, a segment that involves 37 plants and sales of about USD 1.8 billion annually. When Mr. Lemieux took over as CEO in 1990, Owens-Illinois was privately owned by the New York investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., following a 1987 takeover. During Mr. Lemieux“s tenure, Owens-Illinois shares traded again on public exchanges and the company spun off two large units as separate companies: Libbey Inc., a maker of glass tableware, and Health Care & Retirement Corp. (now Manor Care Inc.), a nursing home operator. Libbey Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and, like Owens-Illinois, is based in Toledo, Ohio . Under Mr. Lemieux“s leadership, Owens-Illinois“ annual revenue grew by 65%, from USD 3.6 billion in 1990 to a projected USD 6 billion for 2003. At the same time, he has had to face problems including company debt of USD 5.3 billion, much of which dated from the KKR takeover era and a number of acquisitions in the 1980s, plus the rising level of asbestos-injury claims that have forced Owens-Illinois to take USD 1.7 billion in accounting charges in the last decade. Mr. Lemieux joined Owens-Illinois in 1957 after graduation from Bryant College in Providence, Rhode Island, and four years service in the ranks of the Air Force during the Korean War era. A talented sportsman, he played on a championship softball team while in the service. He began his career at Owens-Illinois in accounting and auditing jobs, then held management posts, becoming a vice president by 1972. He was elected to the board in 1984 and became president the following year. In 1991, the year after he was promoted to CEO, he also received the title of chairman. In recent years, Owens-Illinois has showed its potential for profitability, with a profit of USD 357 million in 2001, the same year it sold its Harbor mutual fund operation for USD 490 million. But it has had some big losses as well, including USD 460 million in 2002, partly because of a USD 475 million charge for the asbestos problem. Although Owens-Illinois has not yet taken any asbestos charges in 2003, in Securities and Exchange Commission filings it has warned that it will review its liability annually and could take another charge. Since Mr. Lemieux became CEO, Owens-Illinois“ price per share has ranged from a high of USD 49 in 1998 to a historic low of USD 2.50 in late 2000, soon after Owens Corning filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy because of its own asbestos problems. Wall Street was concerned then that Owens-Illinois might be next, even though the CEO insisted it would not file for bankruptcy. Owens-Illinois“ stock closed 30 December 2003 at USD 11.81 a share.