Helios Technologies Announces Leadership Transition

The board of directors of Helios Technologies, of Sarasota, Fla., which develops and manufactures solutions for both the hydraulics and electronics markets, has named the company’s CFO, Tricia L. Fulton, as interim president and CEO. The company also announced that Philippe Lemaitre transitioned from chairman of the board to the newly established position of executive chairman. Both moves were effective immediately, according to an April 9 press release.

Fulton succeeds Wolfgang H. Dangel, who has separated from Helios following the board’s determination that he violated company policy, demonstrated behavior that was inconsistent with the company’s core values and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, and also exhibited poor judgment involving a consensual relationship with an employee. The violation of company policy did not involve financial misconduct or the integrity of the company’s financial systems or controls. The board has initiated a comprehensive search process to identify a permanent successor. The process will include internal and external candidates.

Fulton joined Helios in March 1997 and held positions of increasing responsibility, including corporate controller, prior to being named CFO in March 2006. Fulton was responsible for the company’s South Korean operations from 2008-2013. Previously, she served as the director of accounting for Plymouth Harbor. Additionally, she served in various financial capacities for Loral Data Systems, as well as an auditor with Deloitte & Touche. Ms. Fulton is a graduate of Hillsdale College and the General Management Program at the Harvard Business School. She served as a member of the board of directors for the National Fluid Power Association from 2011-2019 and as the chairwoman of the board for the 2016-2017 term.

Lemaitre has served as chairman of the Helios board since June 2013, and as a director of the company since June 2007. He retired in November 2006 as chairman, president and CEO of Woodhead Industries, Inc., a publicly held automation and electrical products manufacturer, upon its sale to Molex. Before joining Woodhead in 1999, Lemaitre was corporate vice president and chief technology officer of AMP, Inc. and was also in charge of AMP Computer and Telecom Business Group Worldwide. Prior to joining AMP, Lemaitre was an executive vice president of TRW, Inc. and also general manager of TRW Automotive Electronics Group Worldwide. He previously held various management and research engineering positions with TRW, Inc., International Technegroup, Inc., General Electric Company and Engineering Systems International. Lemaitre also served as chairman of the board of directors of Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. from March 2011 until the sale of the company in July 2016. He holds a master of civil engineering degree from Ecole Spéciale des Travaux Publics, Paris, and a master’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Calif.