Columbus McKinnon Corporation, a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of material handling products, announced today the promotion and appointment of three executives as corporate officers. Eric Woon was named Vice President of Asia-Pacific (APAC); Dr. Ivo Celi was named Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Alan Korman was named Vice President, Corporate Secretary and General Counsel. All are members of the Columbus McKinnon Executive Committee. The appointments were effective July 25, 2011.
Timothy T. Tevens, President and CEO of Columbus McKinnon, noted, “The promotions of Ivo, Eric, and Alan recognize their accomplishments and the vital role each plays in the profitable global growth of Columbus McKinnon. Together with the rest of our executive leadership team, they give us a firm foundation for continued growth as we move toward our long-term goal of annual sales of $1 billion.”
In 2009, Eric Woon joined Columbus McKinnon as Managing Director – Asia-Pacific, where he was responsible for leading the Company’s long-term growth for the region, with a strong focus on China. Before joining Columbus McKinnon, Mr. Woon, spent 15 years in Asia in highly visible roles, as President of Volvo Construction Equipment China and as President and CEO of tesa tape Asia Pacific, where he contributed to the significant growth of both organizations. He also spent four years in China in managerial roles with Cummins Inc., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of diesel engines. Mr. Woon has bachelor’s degrees in economics and political science from the University of Hawaii, as well as master’s degrees in both business administration and international relations from Yale University.
Dr. Celi joined Columbus McKinnon as Managing Director – EMEA in 2010, to oversee the Company’s growing presence in the Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining Columbus McKinnon, Dr. Celi spent 13 years with Hilti AG, progressing through jobs of increasing responsibility, most recently as Senior Vice President – Business Unit Diamond Systems. At Hilti, he had responsibility for significantly growing businesses both organically and through acquisitions. His experience includes roles in strategy development, sales and marketing, product portfolio management, customer oriented product development, supply, production and logistics. Dr. Celi graduated from Rheinisch-Westfalische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) in Aachen, Germany with a degree in Mechanical Engineering studies, with a specialization in production technologies. He also received a doctorate with distinction from Fraunhofer-Institute for Production Technology (IPT), also in Aachen, Germany.
Alan Korman joined Columbus McKinnon as General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary in January 2011, where he played a key role in the Company’s corporate governance and business strategy. After graduating from SUNY-Buffalo with his law degree, Mr. Korman began his law career in Buffalo with Hodgson-Russ, and later joined Nixon-Hargrave, where his primary focus was intellectual property. After five years in private practice, he took the position as General Counsel with Ivoclar Vivadent, Inc., a leading innovator and manufacturer of sophisticated dental products, overseeing a legal function in a U.S.-based company that grew from $30 million to $250 million in sales over 16 years. During this time, he also was given additional responsibilities, both for business and operational matters for the U.S. operation and an increased role in the international legal and compliance issues for the Liechtenstein-based parent company, as well as a large number of subsidiary operations around the world.
