Babcock & Wilcox Announces Leadership Appointments

Rhea-AI Summary

Babcock & Wilcox (NYSE: BW) announced several key leadership changes effective January 1, 2025. CFO Lou Salamone will retire after serving since November 2018, transitioning to a one-year consulting role. Cameron Frymyer, a 20-year company veteran, will succeed as CFO. Chris Riker becomes COO, Jimmy Morgan is appointed CCO focusing on ClimateBright™ and BrightLoop™ technologies, and Gillianne Hetrick is named SVP of Corporate Operations. These appointments aim to streamline operations, reduce costs, and expand new technologies across B&W's Thermal, Renewable and Environmental segments.

Positive

• Strategic leadership restructuring aimed at operational streamlining and cost reduction
• Smooth transition plan with retiring CFO providing one-year consulting support
• Internal promotions demonstrate strong succession planning and organizational stability
• Focus on expanding new technologies in carbon capture and hydrogen for long-term revenue growth

Negative

• Company facing debt challenges requiring refinancing
• Overhead cost reduction initiatives indicate potential financial pressures

Insights

Management Transition Analyst

The announced leadership changes at B&W reflect a significant organizational restructuring aimed at debt reduction and operational efficiency. The retirement of CFO Lou Salamone and his one-year consulting agreement suggests a carefully planned transition during a critical period of refinancing efforts. The appointment of long-term internal candidates to key positions - particularly Cameron Frymyer as CFO and Chris Riker as COO - indicates continuity in strategic direction while emphasizing cost control and margin improvement.

The creation of a Chief Commercial Officer role focused on ClimateBright™ and BrightLoop™ technologies signals B&W's strategic pivot toward clean energy solutions. This restructuring appears designed to address $182M market cap company's debt challenges while positioning for growth in renewable and environmental segments. However, the extended timeline to 2025 for these changes creates uncertainty about near-term execution.

- Lou Salamone to retire as Chief Financial Officer

- Cameron Frymyer named Chief Financial Officer

- Chris Riker named Chief Operating Officer

- Jimmy Morgan named Chief Commercial Officer

- Gillianne Hetrick named Senior Vice President, Corporate Operations

AKRON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (“B&W” or the “Company”) (NYSE: BW) announced the following leadership changes that will become effective January 1, 2025.

Lou Salamone, who has served as Chief Financial Officer since November 2018, has announced he will retire from his role. In connection with his transition from his current position, Mr. Salamone has entered into an agreement with the Company to provide consulting services, including transition support for the Chief Financial Officer role, for a one-year term commencing on January 1, 2025.

“Lou’s leadership and support have been invaluable over the past six years as we worked through a number of challenges including the global impact of COVID-19,” Kenneth Young, B&W Chief Executive Officer, said. “Lou initially planned to join us for two years but signed on for another four, which shows his tireless efforts to support our Company and ensure it was on a strong path to future success. Lou will continue to provide strategic support and guidance to B&W under a consulting agreement for at least the next year as we look to refinance and reduce our debt obligations over the coming months.”

With the retirement of Mr. Salamone, Cameron Frymyer is named Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Frymyer, who has served in various management positions for B&W for the past 20 years including his most recent role as B&W’s Senior Vice President, Business and Finance Operations, will work closely with Mr. Salamone to ensure an orderly transition of responsibilities.

Chris Riker is named Chief Operating Officer, responsible for B&W’s global business operations and for the successful implementation of the company’s short- and long-term business growth and execution strategies as well as performance and cost-saving initiatives. Mr. Riker has led B&W’s Thermal Segment since August 2022 and has been instrumental in improving cash flows and margins within its global operations. Prior to that, he held several operational and finance-related leadership positions including Vice President of B&W’s Global Parts & Service operations, Vice President of B&W’s Industrial Steam Generation business, and Controller for B&W’s Diamond Power International, LLC subsidiary. He has nearly 15 years’ experience with B&W.

Jimmy Morgan is named Chief Commercial Officer, responsible for leading the commercial and business development for B&W’s ClimateBright™ and BrightLoop™ suite of products as well as select biomass and waste-to-energy projects that will leverage B&W’s new and emerging technologies. This a key role to drive growth from carbon capture and hydrogen technologies that will provide long-term revenue growth for B&W. Mr. Morgan has more than 31 years of large energy project experience including eight years with B&W where he has provided key leadership for a number of areas, including completing the challenging waste-to-energy projects in Europe.

Gillianne Hetrick is named Senior Vice President, Corporate Operations, and will lead B&W’s Human Resources, Environmental Health, Safety & Security, Information Technology, Communications & Marketing, Facility Services, and Global Travel organizations. Ms. Hetrick has over 20 years’ experience in the energy and communications industries, with both public and private companies.

“As we look to streamline our operations, reduce overhead costs and expand our new technologies, I am pleased to announce these new roles for Cameron, Chris, Jimmy and Gillianne,” Young stated. “Each of these highly talented individuals have demonstrated exceptional business experience, strategic vision and strong leadership skills as we’ve worked to reduce our debt, grow our business and transition B&W for the future. This leadership team is poised to help B&W expand and grow B&W’s Thermal, Renewable and Environmental segments, launch our new technologies and continue supporting our strong global base of customers.”

About Cameron Frymyer

Mr. Frymyer joined B&W in 1997 and has served in a number of senior-level Finance & Accounting and operational leadership roles during his 27 years with the company, most recently as Senior Vice President of Business Operations.

Mr. Frymyer has a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from The University of Akron and a Juris Doctor from The University of Akron School of Law.

About Chris Riker

Mr. Riker joined B&W in 2010 and most recently served as Senior Vice President, Thermal, since 2022, a role in which he was responsible for the Company’s global thermal energy business that provides advanced technologies and equipment, as well as replacement parts and services, to keep thermal and industrial plants operating efficiently. Prior to joining B&W, he served as a consultant with KPMG LLP.

Mr. Riker has a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Economics from Florida State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina.

About Jimmy Morgan

Mr. Morgan joined B&W in 2016 and has served as Chief Operating Officer since 2022. Before joining B&W, he was Executive Vice President for Allied Technical Resources, Inc. Previous positions included serving as Chief Operating Officer with BHI Energy, Vice President of Installation and Modification Services with Westinghouse and as Managing Director for AREVA T&D. He began his career with Duke Energy as a Maintenance Engineer.

Mr. Morgan has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of South Carolina, and a Master’s of Business Administration from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina.

About Gillianne Hetrick

Ms. Hetrick joined B&W in 2019 and has served as Vice President, Corporate Operations, since 2022. Prior to joining B&W, Hetrick held a number of positions at small to mid-sized publicly traded companies, where she led Human Resources, IT and Safety functions, and focused on business strategy, as well as process and operational efficiency improvements.

Ms. Hetrick has a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations, Advertising and Applied Communication from Northern Michigan University.

About Babcock & Wilcox

Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. is a leader in energy and environmental products and services for power and industrial markets worldwide. Follow us on LinkedIn and learn more at babcock.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

B&W cautions that this release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements relating to changes in the Company’s executive leadership team. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For a more complete discussion of these risk factors, see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K. If one or more of these risks or other risks materialize, actual results may vary materially from those expressed. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except to the extent required by applicable law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241202071472/en/

Investor Contact:

Investor Relations

Babcock & Wilcox

704.625.4944

investors@babcock.com



Media Contact:

Ryan Cornell

Public Relations

Babcock & Wilcox

330.860.1345

rscornell@babcock.com

Source: Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc.

FAQ

When will the new leadership changes at Babcock & Wilcox (BW) take effect?

The leadership changes at Babcock & Wilcox will become effective January 1, 2025.

Who will replace Lou Salamone as CFO of Babcock & Wilcox (BW)?

Cameron Frymyer, who has served in various management positions at B&W for 20 years, will replace Lou Salamone as CFO.

What is Jimmy Morgan's new role at Babcock & Wilcox (BW)?

Jimmy Morgan is appointed as Chief Commercial Officer, leading commercial and business development for ClimateBright™ and BrightLoop™ products and select biomass and waste-to-energy projects.