Oshkosh Corp., designer and manufacturer of specialty vehicles, vehicle bodies and access equipment, has appointed John Pfeifer as executive vice president and chief operating officer, a newly created role, effective May 1.
Pfeifer brings to Oshkosh more than 25 years of senior leadership and management experience, most recently serving as president of Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corp. He will be responsible for Oshkosh’s commercial business portfolio, including the access equipment, fire and emergency and commercial segments and will play a vital role in shaping and executing the company’s business strategy. Pfeifer will report to Wilson Jones, president and CEO.
“We welcome John to the Oshkosh team and are pleased to have an executive of his caliber in this important role,” said Jones. “John is a proven leader with a history of delivering sustained operational and financial performance. We look forward to benefitting from his expertise and experience.”
“I am excited to take on this new role to help advance Oshkosh’s key strategic initiatives and to support Oshkosh’s global operations,” said Pfeifer. “I look forward to working closely with Wilson and the entire team to build on Oshkosh’s momentum and positive culture as we position the company for continued success and value creation.”
Pfeifer brings to Oshkosh a wealth of global leadership and general management experience with a track record of delivering sustained improvement in sales and earnings growth as well as operating performance. For the past five years, he led Mercury Marine, the world leader in marine propulsion systems, to significant sales and operating margin growth. Under his leadership, Mercury has been recognized with numerous awards for innovation, sustainability, and manufacturing and was in the top 100 on the Forbes list of “America’s Best Employers.”
Prior to joining Brunswick, Pfeifer held executive positions with ITT Corp., first as executive vice president and general manager of ITT’s joint venture with Sanoh Industrial, supplying fuel and fluid handling systems to the Japanese automotive industry. Subsequently, he served in various general management roles in ITT’s Electronic Components division.
Pfeifer earned both a bachelor’s degree in economics and a bachelor’s degree in Japanese language from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
