Littelfuse Inc. has announced that Philip Franklin, executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO), will retire after 17 years of service with the company. Meenal Sethna, senior vice president, finance, will succeed Franklin as CFO. Franklin will transition the CFO responsibilities to Sethna at the end of March and will remain with the company through July in an advisory role.
“During Phil’s tenure as Littelfuse CFO, revenue grew from $270 million to what we expect will be over $1 billion in 2016, and our market capitalization increased six-fold,” said Gordon Hunter, CEO. “Phil has been instrumental in creating significant shareholder returns and shaping our strong financial position and I want to thank Phil for his numerous accomplishments.”
“I am proud of what we have achieved at Littelfuse over the past 17 years,” said Franklin. “It has been a tremendous team effort by a group of talented and dedicated people who I am privileged to call friends. Together, we have built a company that has strong positive momentum and a bright future.”
“In her nine months with Littelfuse, Meenal has proven to be a quick study on our business and our key financial processes and has established herself as a leader within the company,” added Hunter. “With the time Phil and Meenal have spent together and with the capabilities that Meenal has already demonstrated, I am confident we will have a very smooth transition.”
Sethna has served as senior vice president, finance, since joining the company in May 2015. Prior to joining Littelfuse, Sethna spent four years at Illinois Tool Works as vice president and corporate controller. Prior to that, she worked at Motorola Inc. for six years, most recently as vice president, finance. She began her career at Baxter International, holding a variety of finance roles during her tenure. Sethna is a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois-Urbana, and is a Certified Public Accountant.