Badger Meter’s Meeusen retiring
Richard A. Meeusen, company CEO, will retire at the end of the year.
Richard A. Meeusen, longtime chief executive officer of Badger Meter Inc. and a fixture among Milwaukee area business leaders, is retiring at the end of 2018 and will be succeeded by company President Kenneth C. Bockhorst, the firm said Monday.
Bockhorst will become CEO Jan. 1, and also has been appointed to the board of directors. Meeusen, who has been CEO of Badger Meter for 16 years, will remain board chairman through 2019.
“After nearly a year of working alongside Ken, I am confident this is an appropriate time to transition the chief executive responsibilities,” Meeusen said in a statement. “Ken has embraced the Badger Meter culture, advanced new growth paths and instituted a continuous improvement philosophy throughout the organization during his tenure as president and chief operating officer.”
Meeusen said said Bockhorst “brings excellent strategic, operational and talent development skills to the role and is passionate about delivering outstanding returns to our stakeholders.
“Under his leadership, I am convinced Badger will continue to thrive.” Meeusen said.
Badger Meter’s products measure water, oil, chemicals and other fluids. Its markets include water utilities, municipalities, and commercial and industrial customers worldwide.
Badger Meter had earnings of $34.6 million in 2017 on sales of $402 million.
Todd Teske, lead director of Badger Meter, praised Meeusen for “innumerable contributions to the success of Badger Meter during his 23-year tenure at the company, both as CEO and before that, as chief financial officer.”
“He spearheaded the strategic direction of the company and successfully created its innovative and integrity-led culture. His unyielding focus on delivering shareholder value is remarkable, with more than a 20 percent average annual shareholder return under his leadership,” said Teske.
Meeusen has participated in numerous not-for-profit activities including serving on the boards of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin Inc., the Greater Milwaukee Committee, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, the Wisconsin Policy Forum, Milwaukee Water Council (co-founder and co-chair), the Great Lakes Protection Fund and United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County.
Bockhorst joined Badger Meter in October 2017 as COO and was named president in April.
“The board views this important leadership transition as thoughtful, well planned and soundly executed,” Teske stated. “Ken is a proven leader with broad industry experience, global perspective and demonstrated success in driving strategy and operational excellence.”
“I am honored to be given the opportunity
“He spearheaded the strategic direction of the company and successfully created its innovative and integrity-led culture. His unyielding focus on delivering shareholder value is remarkable, with more than a 20 percent average annual shareholder return under his leadership.” Todd Teske Lead director of Badger Meter
to lead the tremendous team at Badger Meter,” said Bockhorst. “As only the sixth CEO in the company’s 113-year history, I recognize the awesome responsibility of preserving the legacy of trusted solutions, broad offerings and innovation earned since Badger Meter’s founding in 1905. That solid foundation, coupled with prudent strategies and a strong financial position, provide us the opportunity to continue to grow both organically, and when strategically appropriate, through acquisition.”
Bockhorst previously worked at Actuant Corp. as executive vice president of the $330 million energy segment. He also served as president of the Hydratight business unit and global vice president of operations for Enerpac.
Prior to Actuant, he held product management and operational leadership roles at IDEX Corp. and Eaton Corp. Bockhorst earned a bachelor’s degree in operations management, marketing and human resources from Marian University and an executive MBA from the University of WisconsinMadison.