Fletcher Building taps former Formica boss Adamson as CEO as Ling departs

Monday 18th June 2012

Fletcher Building named Mark Adamson, an executive it picked up with the 2007 acquisition of Formica, as new chief executive, replacing Jonathan Ling.

Adamson, currently Fletcher’s chief executive for laminates and panels, will take up the top job starting on Oct. 1. The appointment follows a global search for a new CEO after Ling said he wanted to retire after six years in the job, the Auckland-based company said in a statement.

Adamson was the unanimous choice of the board, which was “impressed with what he had achieved in his current role and the vision he has for Fletcher Building,” chairman Ralph Waters said.

Under Ling, the company made acquisitions including Formica and Australian pipe manufacturer and distributor Crane which doubled the size of the business. At the same time, the company’s shares have shed about a third of their value under Ling’s watch, having peaked in 2007 before tumbling with the global financial crisis and local recession in 2008.

Much hope for earnings growth has been loaded onto the rebuild of Christchurch, where Fletcher is overseeing the rebuild efforts on behalf of the government.

Adamson will be the second CEO to come via the laminates and panels business, which Ling had headed before his appointment to the top job in 2006.

Adamson is a 46-year-old British chartered accountant who joined Formica in 2000. He is currently based at the Formica headquarters in Cincinnati.

His pay will be $1.5 million and he will receive two tranches of 500,000 share options, granted three years apart, Fletcher said.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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