Enerpac Tool Group announces leadership transition

Enerpac Tool Group Corp has announced a new president and chief executive officer, Paul Sternlieb, who will also sit on the Enerpac board of directors.

Sternlieb succeeds Randy Baker, who will retire from his role as president and CEO of the company and as a member of the Enerpac board. Sternlieb’s appointment and Baker’s retirement were effective 8 October 2021. Baker has agreed to remain with the company through the end of the calendar year in an advisory capacity to ensure a smooth transition.

“It has been an honour to serve as CEO of Enerpac over the last five years,” said Baker. “With the support of the entire team, we have made significant progress repositioning the business and driving positive change across our organisation. Having navigated through the pandemic and with the company positioned for its next phase of execution, I believe it is an appropriate time for me to step down, and I decided to do so once the right successor was found. I am very proud of all we have accomplished together and am confident in Paul’s and the Enerpac team’s ability to continue growing and transforming the company following my retirement.”

Jim Ferland, non-executive chairman of the board, said, “We are grateful for Randy’s leadership. He played a key role in reshaping our portfolio and transforming the Company into a pure play industrial tools and services company and rebranding it as Enerpac Tool Group. With the operational improvements and structural changes that Randy helped put into place, the company has managed through the impacts of the pandemic on its business and built momentum, validating our strategic focus and setting the company on a sustainable path to becoming a best-in-class performer in terms of sales growth and margins. On behalf of the board, we wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”

Sternlieb is a seasoned executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience across several sectors, including at global industrial and manufacturing businesses. He most recently served as executive vice president and president, Protein, at John Bean Technologies (JBT) and previously held senior positions at Illinois Tool Works (ITW), Danaher, HJ Heinz and McKinsey & Company. Throughout his career, Mr. Sternlieb has developed and implemented global operating strategies that deliver meaningful, sustainable organic growth and margin expansion. He has deep experience across a range of key value drivers, including new product development, commercial growth initiatives, digital and IoT innovation, supply chain efficiency programs, and effective capital allocation. Sternlieb also has a record of implementing Lean principles to drive sustained improvements in operational excellence, productivity, innovation, and cultural transformation at multiple organizations, in addition to successful M&A execution and integration.