DENVER – Gates Corp., a portfolio company of Blackstone, has announced the appointment of Ivo Jurek as the company’s new CEO. Jurek will assume his responsibilities on May 18, succeeding Jim Nicol, who will remain on the board as the vice chairman.

Jurek has spent the entirety of his career in the industrials area, both in the U.S. and internationally, holding senior leadership positions at some of the world’s leading industrial companies. Immediately prior to assuming his new role at Gates, Jurek served as president of Eaton’s electrical business in Asia Pacific. Prior to that, he led various Cooper businesses in the U.S. and Asia, and held roles at International Rectifier and TRW Automotive.

Dave Calhoun, chairman of Gates Corp. and senior managing director and head of private Equity portfolio operations at Blackstone, said, “Ivo is a results-oriented leader who will seek to maintain leadership in quality and performance while accelerating our growth. He has had an impressive track record of success and we look forward to welcoming him to Gates.”

Nicol commented, “I remain fully committed to the success of Gates and look forward to supporting Ivo and the team in my continuing role as vice chairman of the board.”