The board of directors of Horizon Global Corp., manufacturer of branded towing and trailering equipment, today announced that, effective immediately, Carl Bizon has been appointed as the company’s president and CEO and also will serve as a director of the company. Before being named to this permanent role, Bizon had been serving as interim president and CEO of the company since May 2018. In this new role, he will be responsible for continued progress in moving the company forward with its action plan initiatives in its Americas and Europe-Africa segments, while increasing profitability for long-term sustainable growth.
Commenting on Bizon’s appointment, Denise Ilitch, the company’s chair of the board of directors, said, “When the board named Carl interim CEO, we recognized that he was uniquely qualified to lead the company with an extensive knowledge of our products, customers and suppliers, as well as the overall industry. His prior experience running each of our three divisions has been important, particularly as he has demonstrated the ability to move quickly, decisively, and effectively to positively impact operations and maintain a laser focus on executing the Company’s Action Plan initiatives. This has given the Board confidence to name Carl permanent CEO of the Company. To date, Carl has strengthened our organizational leadership, stabilized our Americas business and is leading efforts to evaluate our Europe-Africa business and develop a comprehensive plan to deliver improvement in that region – actions intended to enhance shareholder value over both the near-, medium- and long-term.”
Bizon joined Horizon Global in January 2018 as president of Horizon Americas before being promoted to interim president and CEO of the company on May 8. Prior to Horizon Global’s spin-off from its former parent company, TriMas Corp., Bizon led its international businesses from 2008 to 2015, including both Europe-Africa and Asia-Pacific. Before re-joining the company, Bizon served as CEO at Jayco Corporation, Australia’s largest manufacturer of camper trailers, caravans and motorhomes. Prior to TriMas, he developed a strong knowledge and skill set in the areas of sales, manufacturing, customer management, product development, IT and large-scale project management at companies such as GWA International, Stramit Industries and Tubemakers. Bizon brings extensive experience in the manufacturing sector and expertise in operations.
The company also announced that David Rice, current chief financial officer (CFO), will step down as CFO following the announcement of third quarter 2018 earnings results. Effective Nov. 9, the company’s board of directors appointed Brian Whittman, a managing director of Alvarez & Marsal North America, LLC, to serve as interim CFO. Whittman will report directly to Bizon until a permanent CFO is named. A comprehensive search for a seasoned financial executive to serve as permanent CFO is underway with the assistance of a leading executive search firm.
Bizon commented, “I am fortunate to have a long history with the businesses of Horizon Global, and I am a great believer in our company and its strong brands and great products. We do business around the globe with some of the most well-known and respected companies as part of our diverse customer base, and we have a broad and balanced geographic footprint that is supported by a team of more than 4,300 dedicated global employees. Our company has all the right ingredients to deliver growth, and I look forward to leading Horizon through its near-term challenges and driving the team to future successes. I will work closely with our board to name a strong executive to the permanent CFO role in a timely fashion and have full confidence in Brian Whittman and the world-class team from Alvarez & Marsal in the interim. Our leadership team remains intently focused on advancing the company’s progress by building on our established strengths, driving operational improvements, and expanding the appeal of our many successful brands to deliver value for our shareholders.”
