Williams Controls Announces Election of Two New Directors
12 March 1999
Williams Controls Announces Election of Two New Directors
PORTLAND, Ore., March 12 -- Williams Controls, Inc.
announced that shareholders elected two new directors to the
board at the company's Annual Meeting on February 26, 1999. Elected as
Class III directors for three-year terms were Charles G. (Chip) McClure and
Anthony B. Cashen.
Since August 1997, Mr. McClure has been President of Detroit Diesel
Corporation, of which he has been a director since November 1997. From 1995
to 1997, he was President, and before that Vice President and General Manager,
of the Americas Division of Johnson Controls, Inc. From 1992 to 1995, he was
Vice President and managing director of Johnson Controls' Automotive Systems
Group's European Operations. Mr. McClure serves on the Cornell University
Council and is a member of the Technology Transfer Committee of the Council.
He received an MBA from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science
degree from Cornell University.
For the past five years, Mr. Cashen has served as a Managing Partner, then
as a Senior Partner, of LAI Ward Howell, a management consulting and executive
recruiting firm located in New York City. Previously, Mr. Cashen had been an
officer and principal of the investment firms A.G. Becker, Inc. and Donaldson
Lufkin and Jenrette, Inc. He also serves as a director of LBO Capital
Corporation, Immucell Corporation and Ajay Sports. He received an MBA from
the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, and a
Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University.
In addition to being elected directors, both Mr. Cashen and Mr. McClure
were appointed to the Compensation and Audit Committees of the Williams
Controls board. These board committees now have a majority of their members
as outside independent directors.
Commenting on the election of Messrs. McClure and Cashen, Williams
Controls Chairman and CEO Thomas W. Itin stated, "We are delighted to add two
people of the caliber of Tony Cashen and Chip McClure to our board. Tony
Cashen has broad experience in the securities and human resources fields. His
knowledge and insight from these two disciplines will be invaluable as we
continue to build the people side of our organization, striving to attract,
motivate and retain a management team that will lead us into new products and
markets in the future."
Mr. Itin continued, "Chip McClure has an outstanding record in many of the
markets in which Williams Controls now operates or will pursue in the future.
His operating experience and strategic vision, as it relates to the heavy-duty
truck and automotive markets, will be a resource from which our management
team will derive numerous benefits in the future. We are fortunate to have
Tony and Chip as directors."
Mr. Itin also stated that R. William Caldwell, a director for the past
five years, will stay on the board as Director Emeritus. Mr. Itin
acknowledged Mr. Caldwell's contribution in a presentation at the Annual
Meeting.
In addition to electing the two new directors, shareholders also approved
an amendment to the company's Stock Option Plan to increase the number of
shares available for grant under the plan.
Williams Controls is a leading manufacturer and integrator of innovative
sensors, controls and communications systems for the transportation and
communications industries. For more information, you can reach the Company at
http://www.wmco.com on the World Wide Web.
Forward-looking statements in this news release, if any, are made under
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Certain important factors could cause results to differ materially from
those anticipated by the statements, including the impact of changing economic
or business conditions, the impact of competition, the availability of
financing, the success of products in the marketplace, other factors inherent
in the industry and other factors discussed from time to time in reports filed
by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.