Press Release –
Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:PII) today named Scott W. Wine Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1, 2008.
Mr. Wine will succeed outgoing CEO Thomas C. Tiller, who will continue to serve as a member of the company’s Board of Directors.
Mr. Wine joins Polaris from UTC Fire and Security, a unit of Hartford, CT, based United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX), where he served as President, Fire Safety Americas.
He also held senior leadership positions at Danaher Corp., Honeywell International and served as an Officer in the United States Navy.
Wine’s selection comes at the end of an extensive and carefully conducted search process. The Polaris Board of Directors, led by Chairman Greg Palen, conducted a comprehensive evaluation of all candidates and unanimously believes that Wine is the ideal candidate to lead Polaris in the future.
“As a proven leader with considerable experience across a variety of industries and three outstanding international companies, Scott has an impressive track record of producing outstanding results,” Palen said. “We’re confident that Scott, together with our strong management team, will continue Polaris’ remarkable history of innovation, leadership and results benefitting all of our stakeholders.”
Polaris announced in January that Tiller expected to step down from his CEO position by the end of 2008, when his current employment contract expires. Tiller, 47, has been with the company since July, 1998 and its CEO since May, 1999. Tiller said his decision was for personal reasons and that he will remain on the Polaris Board of Directors.
“Tom and his team did an outstanding job of leading Polaris for the past ten years and we feel very fortunate to be able to continue that success by adding Scott’s experience and skills to that team,” Palen said.
Mr. Wine will be only the third Polaris CEO in the past 27 years and will work with a senior management team that includes Chairman Palen and President and COO Bennett Morgan to execute on the 10-year vision to become a much bigger and more profitable global company. Mr. Wine will join the Board of Directors of Polaris.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining such a great management team and a company with such amazing products and a strong and innovation-focused culture,” said Wine. “Tom and the senior management team have had such consistent success and I look forward to building on that accomplishment.”
Wine, 41, is a 1989 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and received a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Maryland. He will relocate shortly to Minnesota with his wife and two children from his current home in Connecticut.
