Astro-Med Appoints Stephen J. Russo as Director of Operational Excellence
Astro-Med, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALOT), a global leader in the manufacture, marketing and distribution of specialized printing systems and data acquisition systems, today announced the appointment of Stephen J. Russo as Director of Operational Excellence.
“Stephen’s proven track record in rapidly implementing global lean transformations makes him an ideal choice to lead our lean initiatives that will help insure that we achieve our performance excellence goals,” said Astro-Med Chief Executive Officer Gregory A. Woods. “Stephen understands that creating and sustaining a lean culture requires a balanced focus on quality, delivery, productivity and growth. He has successfully implemented lean processes at some of the best operating companies in the world such as Avery Dennison, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Textron and Danaher, all which share elements in common with our core businesses. Over nearly 20 years, Stephen has played a transformational role in lean management through the development and implementation of kaizen events and other training tools that have produced dramatic improvements in operational and transactional processes.”
“Astro-Med is a dynamic organization with a 45-year history of successful product development and technology innovation, and it is with particular excitement that I begin this new opportunity,” Russo said. “Under Greg’s leadership, it is clear that the company is committed to a lean operating model and over the past year the company has made substantive process improvements in both the manufacturing and transactional areas. I look forward to accelerating our lean transformation and supporting our growth objectives by engaging employees across the company to deliver tactical solutions that connect organizational strategy and operational results.”
Russo previously served for three years as Corporate Director, Lean Enterprise for Thermo Fisher Scientific, where he was responsible for the lean transformation of six global divisions. From 2009 to 2011 he was Director, Global Process Transformation, Retail Information Services Division at Avery Dennison Corporation, where he oversaw the transformation of 60 independently run sites to globally common processes. Before that he was Corporate Lean Sensei at Textron Corporation from 2005 to 2009. In that role he was responsible for transforming many Textron business units from traditional batch and queue to Lean Manufacturing. From 2002 to 2005 he served as Corporate Director for Danaher Business Systems (DBS), where he focused on leadership training as well as development and implementation of lean conversion techniques. Russo also has worked as Lean Manufacturing Manager at Rexam Beverage Can Americas and in operational excellence roles at The Wiremold Company and United States Surgical Corp. He served as a Nuclear Weapons Specialist in the US Air Force and received a bachelor’s degree in productivity management from Central Connecticut University and a master’s degree in operations management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
About Astro-Med, Inc.
Astro-Med, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of specialty high tech printing systems and data acquisition systems. Products include color label printers and consumables sold under the QuickLabel Systems brand as well as rugged printers for aerospace and defense applications and data acquisition products sold under the Astro-Med brand. Astro-Med, Inc. is a member of the Russell Microcap® Index. Additional information is available by visiting www.astro-medinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Information included in this news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact, but rather reflect our current expectations concerning future events and results. These statements may include the use the words “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “likely,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements, including those concerning the appointment of Stephen J. Russo as Director of Operational Excellence, involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to, those factors set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2014 and subsequent filings Astro-Med makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The reader is cautioned not to unduly rely on such forward-looking statements when evaluating the information presented in this news release.
Source: Astro-Med, Inc.
Astro-Med, Inc.
Joseph O’Connell, 401-828-4000
Senior Vice President & CFO
joconnell@astromed.com