Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) today announced that the Company's Board of Directors has implemented its previously disclosed succession plan and will appoint Thomas P. Joyce, Jr. as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, effective September 9, 2014. Mr. Joyce's predecessor, H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., will transition to a senior advisory role.
Steven M. Rales, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated, "The transition has proceeded quite well since April, and the Board has concluded that Tom is now ready to be Chief Executive Officer. He assumed the CEO-designate role with more than 20 years of Danaher leadership experience, and we are confident that his deep knowledge of our businesses, his commitment to our culture and the Danaher Business System, and his focus on value creation for shareholders have prepared him well. Additionally, we are pleased that Larry will continue with Danaher as a senior advisor to Tom, the Board and the rest of the leadership team as previously communicated."
"I am honored to become Danaher's next President and CEO," said Mr. Joyce. "I look forward to working with our senior leaders to continue developing the best team of associates globally, delighting our customers and driving value for Danaher's shareholders. I believe we have the right strategy, the right management team, and that our future is bright. I want to thank Larry for his wisdom and mentorship in helping me prepare to step into this role. He has provided me and our team with a terrific springboard from which to launch Danaher's next chapter, and I look forward to that opportunity."
Mr. Joyce began his career at Danaher in 1989 as a Marketing Project Manager in the Danaher Tool Group. In 1995, he became President of Delta Consolidated Industries, a truck box and storage container manufacturer. Following that assignment, in 2001, Mr. Joyce became President of Hach Company, a global leader in water analytics. In 2002, he was appointed Group Executive and a corporate officer of Danaher. From 2006 until his CEO appointment, he was an Executive Vice President, with responsibility for over $9 billion of annual revenues, including Danaher's Life Sciences & Diagnostics and Water Quality businesses.
Mr. Joyce has been instrumental in building Danaher's portfolio. Under his leadership, Danaher's Water Quality platform revenues increased from $400 million to almost $2 billion. He led the acquisition and integration of many of Danaher's leading brands, including Beckman Coulter, AB SCIEX and ChemTreat. He is a seasoned teacher and practitioner of the Danaher Business System and has played a key role in creating and evolving many of the tools and processes on which the system is built.
Mr. Rales further commented, "On behalf of the Danaher Board, our leadership team and all Danaher associates, I wish to extend my sincerest thanks and appreciation to Larry for his extraordinary leadership as CEO during the last 13 years. He has been instrumental in charting our course and has helped to build a deep and talented team that will continue to do great things."
During Mr. Culp's tenure, Danaher's revenues increased approximately five-fold to nearly $20 billion and its market capitalization grew to more than $50 billion. At the same time, shareholder returns have outpaced the S&P 500 Index by a factor of five. Under his leadership, Danaher greatly expanded its global reach with particular emphasis in the high growth markets, increasing sales in these markets ten-fold to $5 billion. Mr. Culp began his career at Danaher in 1990 and had served as President and Chief Executive Officer since May 2001. He will serve as a senior advisor to Mr. Joyce, the Danaher Board of Directors and the rest of the leadership team until March 1, 2016.
