Invensys plc today revealed that Ken Brown, a 14-year company veteran, has been appointed interim president of the company's Process Systems group, replacing Mike Caliel, who resigned to take the helm of an electrical services company closer to his Houston home.
Caliel's sudden departure comes two months after the debut of Invensys's InFusion enterprise control system, the company's most significant control systems product introduction since its flagship I/A Series was released in 1987. His leadership was often cited by Invensys CEO Ulf Henriksson as the reason for the turnaround of the Process Systems Group, where he was the linchpin in the company's effort to establish a strong foothold in the North American market.
Caliel, 47, who was named president of the Foxboro, MA-based Process Systems group in 2003, is largely responsible for melding into one cohesive business previously disparate Invensys companies with separate product development and marketing infrastructures. Over the course of numerous reorganizations, Caliel presided over four such companies -- Foxboro, SimSci-Esscor, Triconex, and Avantis. These companies delivered $1.3 billion (£798) in revenue in fiscal 2006, an 18% increase from the prior year. (These figures include Wonderware, which has a separate executive team but is rolled into the Process Systems group for financial reporting purposes.)
Under Caliel's stewardship, Process Systems's orders increased by 14% to £798 in fiscal 2006, while operating profit reached £81 million during the year, an 88% increase from fiscal 2005. The unit now employs 6,853, up 3% from fiscal 2005.
Brown, who had held the position of general manager of SimSci-Esscor and Foxboro's Measurements & Instruments group, will run the Process Systems division while Invensys's executive board conducts due diligence on internal and external candidates for the president's position. Henriksson appointed Brown to fill the role on an interim basis due to his broad experience and management reputation, a company spokesperson told Managing Automation.
Brown is among the candidates being considered for the permanent position, he added.
"[Caliel] is leaving at a time when in the last couple of years we've done well financially, hit our targets, and introduced InFusion," the spokesperson said. "The company feels we have a good strategy now. [Brown's] objective now is to follow the strategy put in place and make sure we execute."
In an e-mail exchange, Brown told Managing Automation that he intends to follow the vision and leadership Caliel used to transform the division into a responsive, customer-focused organization. "Our goal moving from this point forward is to build on the foundation that Mike has put in place to further accelerate our financial performance," Brown wrote. "We'll accomplish this by taking full advantage of our great product portfolio and the unmatched 'know-how' available across Invensys Process Systems to help improve our customers' asset performance."
Caliel, who was unavailable for comment, starts his new job at Houston-based Integrated Electrical Services Inc on July 12. He replaces C. Byron Snyder, the founder of IES, who temporarily took on the role of CEO while the company emerged from a pre-arranged Chapter 11 filing. He was actively searching for a new CEO.
Founded in 1997, IES is a national provider of electrical solutions to the commercial, industrial, residential, and services markets. The company generated $1.1 billion in revenue for fiscal 2005, but suffered a net loss of $129 million. It has over 140 locations throughout the U.S. and 9,000 employees.
Caliel's exodus may seem somewhat of a surprise, but insiders say the commute between his home in Houston and his office in Foxboro was taking a personal toll.
"Mike Caliel has been a great leader for Invensys Process Systems and will surely be missed," Invensys's Henriksson said in a company statement. "Clearly, the appeal to move up to a chief executive's role in a company headquartered in close proximity to his family was too strong for Mike to pass up. However, we have every confidence that Ken Brown is exactly the right person to provide the clear vision and strong leadership that Invensys Process Systems needs to complete the execution of its current strategy, which has so far exceeded our expectations."