Ryan and Raver will work closely during the transition period, which will be finalized on Jan. 1, when Raver will officially retire and Ryan will take on the full responsibilities of CEO and join the Hillenbrand board, the company said. During this transition period, Ryan will serve as executive VP, with the leaders of the company’s Batesville, Coperion, Milacron Injection Molding & Extrusion and Mold-Masters brands reporting directly to her.
"On behalf of the board of directors, the management team and Hillenbrand's 11,000 employees, we want to thank Joe for his leadership and impact over his more than two decades with the organization," Hillenbrand Chairman Joe Loughrey said.
During Raver’s tenure, Hillenbrand went from a $600 million business in the funeral industry in North America to a $2.5 billion global diversified industrial company that acquired companies including Coperion and Milacron.
Ryan was selected to succeed Raver after a multi-year leadership development and succession planning process led by the board. "For the past six years, Kim has led Coperion, and with her deep experience and strong track record of global leadership and execution, she is the right choice to lead Hillenbrand through its next phase of continued growth and shareholder value creation," Loughrey said.
Ryan joined the Batesville Casket Company in 1989 and, in her more than 30 years with Hillenbrand, has held many senior roles, including president of Batesville. She became president of Coperion, Hillenbrand's largest business, in 2015, achieving strong results, including 30 percent revenue growth to about $1 billion in 2020.
As Ryan begins the transition process to become CEO, she leaves the position of president of Coperion, a role which passes to Ulrich Bartel, who was president of Coperion’s polymer division.
"I want to thank Joe Raver for his distinguished leadership at Hillenbrand and also the board for its confidence in me as I step into this role," Ryan said. "I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to work with our talented leadership team and employees around the world to advance Hillenbrand's profitable growth strategy."
