MILTON, Ga. – The Board of Directors of Exide Technologies has appointed James Bolch as president and CEO, effective July 26. Bolch will also join the Exide Board of Directors at that time.

Bolch will succeed Gordon Ulsh, Exide’s current CEO, who will retire and step down from the board on July 26. Ulsh, 64, who has served Exide in this leadership capacity since April 2005, had previously announced his intention to retire as part of the company’s long-term succession planning process.
 
Bolch, 52, currently serves as senior vice president and president, industrial technologies sector, at Ingersoll Rand Co.
 
“The Board of Directors conducted a comprehensive review of a strong field of candidates and has the utmost confidence in Jim Bolch. He is the ideal leader for Exide, combining deep operational acumen with a proven track record of driving innovation and strategic growth,” said Chairman John Reilly. “His broad expertise and insights will be instrumental in strengthening Exide’s position as an integrated global supplier of environmentally sound energy storage products and solutions for traditional and alternative energy markets – building on the successful model that Gordon Ulsh and his team have executed during the past five years.”
 
Bolch brings to Exide a career spanning 29 years in global industrial businesses serving a variety of customer segments. Since 2005, he has led the $2.2 billion Industrial Technologies Sector of Ingersoll Rand, with multiple business lines, 25 global manufacturing sites and 10,000 employees. The sector’s businesses include air compressors, tools, materials handling, fluid handling and compact vehicles. In this role, Bolch drove operational improvements and implemented innovation processes to drive revenue growth and profitability for the business while increasing focus on customer satisfaction.
 
He joined Ingersoll Rand from Schindler Elevator Corp., where as executive vice president of the service business, he led the North American services functions, including sales, marketing and service delivery, achieving record revenue and profits, improving customer retention and instituting major process improvements.
 
Prior to his tenure at Schindler Elevator Corp., Bolch spent 21 years with United Technologies Corp. (UTC), starting in engineering with United Technologies Optical Systems as business area manager, later moving to Otis Elevator Co. Between 1991 and 1999, he held positions of increasing responsibility at Otis in operations, services and product administration. He progressed to vice president, Otis Global Service, a $3 billion business that serviced more than 1 million elevators globally.
 
In his last role at UTC, he served as vice president, operations, for the UTC Power Division, where he created and implemented business strategies to commercialize fuel cell production for distributed generation and transportation markets.
 
A native of Shreveport, La., he earned his bachelor of science and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Tulane University and the University of Florida, respectively. Bolch also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
 
“I am honored and proud to succeed Gordon Ulsh as president and CEO of Exide Technologies. With its innovative technologies and rapidly expanding R&D and Engineering initiatives, technology partnerships, a growing service business and the right mix of people, processes and products, Exide is well positioned to accelerate its growth in today’s dynamic and challenging marketplace,” said Bolch. “I look forward to leading Exide and its 10,000 employees worldwide. Together, we will continue driving the company forward – providing customers with distinctive technological advances and solutions that can improve their businesses while strengthening Exide for all of its stakeholders.”