CANTON, OH — Timken Co. has announced five leaders of the businesses within its new Bearings and Power Transmission Group. All five will report to Michael Arnold, executive vice president and president, Bearings and Power Transmission Group, and will be responsible for improving performance, increasing differentiation and accelerating growth in targeted market sectors.
Timken has appointed Michael Connors as president of process industries, J. Ron Menning as president of aerospace and defense, and Daniel Muller as president of distribution and services. In mobile industries, the company named Peter Sproson as vice president of commercial transportation systems and Kenneth Hopkins as vice president of light vehicle systems.
“With these talented and accomplished leaders heading up our bearings and power transmission businesses, we will have the right team in place to deliver additional value to our customers,” said Arnold. “As we better align our organization to meet customer needs and focus each of these businesses on improved performance and accelerated growth in targeted markets, we also expect to provide strong returns to our shareholders.”
Connors joined the company in 1983 as a manufacturing engineer and has held various manufacturing, market and business development positions. Prior to his current position, he served as vice president of industrial equipment, Timken, leading that business segment through an unprecedented period of rapid growth in global heavy-industries markets.
Menning, who joined Timken in 1983, was previously vice president of aerospace, health and positioning control at the company. He has held several leadership roles at the company and led a major expansion in Timken’s aerospace technology, product and services portfolio.
Muller began his career at Timken in 1979 and was most recently vice president of global distribution, sales and marketing, at the company. Since taking on that role in 2001, Muller increased the company’s offerings by introducing Timken seals, lubricants and related products and services through a global distribution network.
Sproson, who was previously vice president of automotive engineering and marketing for Timken, began working at the company in 1978 as a student apprentice in England. In his prior role, he implemented key elements of Timken’s automotive restructuring program and improved alignment of the company’s engineering capabilities to profitable market opportunities.
Hopkins joined Timken in 2004 to lead innovation and strategy for Timken’s automotive group. In 2006, he was named vice president for Timken’s automotive business in Europe where he focused on improving profitability through a strategy of increasing the differentiation of the company’s automotive products.
