Polaris names new CEO
Polaris Industries Inc. announced that Scott Wine will be the company’s new Chief Executive Officer effective September 1, 2008. Wine will succeed outgoing CEO Tom Tiller, who will continue to serve as a member of the company’s Board of Directors.
Wine joins Polaris from UTC Fire and Security, a unit of Hartford, Conn., based United Technologies Corp., where he served as president, Fire Safety Americas. He also held senior leadership positions at Danaher Corp., Honeywell International and served as an officer in the United States Navy.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining such a great management team and a company with such amazing products and a strong and innovation-focused culture,” Wine said. “Tom Tiller and the senior management team have had such consistent success and I look forward to building on that accomplishment.”
Wine’s selection comes after an extensive search process. Polaris’ Board of Directors, led by Chairman Greg Palen, conducted a comprehensive evaluation of all candidates and unanimously believes Wine is the ideal candidate to lead Polaris in the future.
“As a proven leader with considerable experience across a variety of industries and three outstanding international companies, Scott has an impressive track record of producing outstanding results,” Palen said. “We’re confident that Scott, together with our strong management team, will continue Polaris’ remarkable history of innovation, leadership and results benefiting all of our stakeholders.”
Polaris announced in January that Tiller expected to step down from his CEO position by the end of 2008, when his current employment contract expires.
“Tom and his management team did an outstanding job of leading Polaris for the past 10 years and we feel very fortunate to be able to continue that success by adding Scott’s experience and skills to that team,” Palen said.
Wine will be only the third Polaris CEO in the past 27 years and will work with a senior management team that includes Chairman Palen and President and COO Bennett Morgan to execute on the 10-year vision to become a much bigger and more profitable global company. Wine will also join Polaris’ Board of Directors.
