DANBURY, Conn. – Armored AutoGroup, the company formed from the November 2010 acquisition of The Clorox Co.’s Global AutoCare Business, says it has completed the formation of its senior leadership team. Armored AutoGroup’s new senior leadership team incorporates individuals that held senior positions with the business under Clorox ownership, as well as recent new hires. Armored AutoGroup is comprised primarily of the Armor All and STP automotive aftermarket brands.
 
David Lundstedt, Armored AutoGroup’s chairman and CEO, said, “Since the purchase of Armor All and STP from The Clorox Co., I have been impressed by the depth and quality of the management team that joined Armored AutoGroup from Clorox. Because Armor All and STP were not operated as a standalone business within Clorox, we needed to complement the existing team with additional resources in order to function as an independent company and to realize our ambitious strategic objectives. Today, I am pleased to introduce a group of accomplished managers, many of whom I have worked with in the past, who will serve in key positions for the business going forward and help Armored AutoGroup realize its full potential both domestically and internationally.”

Derek Gordon, executive vice president and president of North America, said, “I am thrilled to welcome these talented individuals to Armored AutoGroup. Together with our existing team members, including several newly-promoted individuals, these managers will constitute the Armored AutoGroup senior leadership team. This team has the expertise, experience, and strategic insight needed to drive strong growth for the business.”
 
Effective immediately, the following executives have been appointed to their respective new, global functional roles:

• Guy Andrysick, executive vice president, sales and marketing. Before joining Armored AutoGroup, Andrysick was the senior vice president of global sales for Honeywell’s Consumer Products Division, which marketed automotive aftermarket products including Prestone antifreeze and car care products, FRAM oil and air filters, and Autolite sparkplugs. Prior to his time at Honeywell, Andrysick was vice president of sales and a member of the management team that led the management buyout of Prestone Products Corp., when it was sold by First Brands and subsequently acquired by Allied Signal.

Lundstedt said, “We are thrilled to have Guy join the Armored AutoGroup team. I have known and worked with Guy for over 20 years. He brings a depth of experience in the automotive aftermarket, including extensive knowledge of our customers. I am confident that he will help us develop strategies that are mutually beneficial to our valued customers and Armored AutoGroup.”

Andrysick added, “I am very excited to have the opportunity to join Armored AutoGroup and to build and grow a new company founded upon the strength of the Armor All and STP brands. I look forward to working with our customers around the world to maximize the potential of these famous brands.”

• Dan Steimle, executive vice president, CFO. Steimle has nearly two decades of experience as CFO of a variety of companies, including Advanced Fiber Communications, Hybrid Networks, LGC Wireless and PlanetOut.

Lundstedt said, “Dan’s accomplished background will be put to good use at Armored AutoGroup. In particular, his experience successfully establishing start-up companies and registering multiple companies with the SEC will be important.”

Steimle said, “I am thrilled to be joining the Armored AutoGroup team and look forward to building an independent finance organization and standalone reporting capabilities for our company.”

• Frank Judge, vice president, general counsel. Judge most recently served on the legal team of Victorinox, a leading Swiss manufacturer of goods under the Swiss Army and Victorinox brands. Prior to that, he was the general counsel of the Honeywell Consumer Products Group, where he previously worked with Lundstedt and Andrysick. Prior to Honeywell, Judge held multiple senior positions within the legal department of Timex Group.

Lundstedt said, “Frank’s deep experience within the consumer products sector will be critical as we work to grow our business globally and to protect our most important asset, our brands.”

Judge commented, “I’m pleased to be partnering again with Dave Lundstedt and Guy Andrysick, and am looking forward to being part of the team working to expand the Armored AutoGroup business.”

• Robin Trainor, vice president, human resources. Trainor has held senior executive positions within the human resources function at UBS, Altria/Philip Morris and Kraft Foods.

Lundstedt said, “Given our ambitious plans for the business, effectively managing our human capital will be critical. Robin’s deep expertise in this area will be extremely helpful.”

Trainor said, “Being part of a new, growing company with such noteworthy brands and market positions is very exciting. I am glad to be joining this accomplished team and look forward to working together to foster growth.”

• Mike Connolly, vice president, International Business Development. Connolly has spent the majority of his career serving in a variety of international sales roles for consumer product companies, including Clorox, First Brands and Union Carbide.

“Mike brings significant experience and relationships in international markets, which will be important for our brands going forward. We believe that international growth is an essential strategic objective for our company,” said Lundstedt.

Connolly said, “The brand equity of Armor All and STP is recognized around the world. I look forward to deepening our international distribution relationships, developing a more meaningful presence in emerging markets, and exposing more consumers around the world to our products.”

• Fred Squires, chief information officer. Before joining Armored AutoGroup, Squires served as chief information officer at Sun Products, which was formed through a leveraged buyout that combined Huish Detergents with Unilever’s North American laundry care business. While at Sun Products, Squires successfully designed and implemented a new IT platform for the business. During this process, he worked closely with Lundstedt, who was president of Sun Products at the time. He previously worked as an IT consultant with Joseph Littlejohn & Levy.

“Fred’s experience with ERP implementation in carve-out situations will be invaluable to Armored AutoGroup as we execute the transition out of Clorox,” said Lundstedt.

Squires said, “I am pleased with the progress we have already made as we build Armored AutoGroup into a standalone organization, and look forward to building upon that progress.”

In addition to the new management team members noted above, the following individuals, who previously worked with the business under Clorox ownership, will have new management roles going forward at Armored AutoGroup:

• Gus Robinson, vice president, Supply Chain. Robinson has more than 30 years of experience as a functional leader for supply chain. He spent 20 years in operations and logistics with market-leading companies including DFS Galleria and LVMH-Sephora, as well as Walmart.com, where he was a founding member of the company’s direct-to-consumer fulfillment business. Over the past nine years, he has led supply chain operations for several Clorox businesses, including the Global AutoCare business. Robinson will be the global leader of Armored AutoGroup’s supply chain.

• Elaine Schley, vice president, Research & Development. Prior to joining Armored AutoGroup, Schley spent 33 years working in R&D and product development at The Clorox Co. She has been responsible for R&D for the Armor All and STP business for the past several years. Schley will be the global leader of Armored AutoGroup’s Research & Development.

• Simon Walsh, general manager of Europe. Walsh will remain as general manager of Europe, a position he has held since 2008 for the business under Clorox ownership. He brings more than 25 years of relevant experience, serving at Holt Lloyd and holding positions of increasing responsibility at The Clorox Co. starting in 1996.

• Paul Blair, general manager of Australia. Blair has held positions at The Clorox Co. for more than 17 years, including senior marketing roles for several of Clorox’s brands in Australia. He has focused on the Armor All and STP business since 2002. He will hold the new position of general manager of Australia for Armored AutoGroup.