Kadant (Westford, Mass., USA) announced this week that Jeffrey L. Powell will be named president effective April 1, 2019 and CEO and a director effective July 1, 2019, as part of a succession plan adopted by the board of directors. As part of the succession plan, Jonathan W. Painter will become executive chairman of the board of directors effective July 1, 2019. William A. Rainville, the company’s current chairman of the board of directors, has decided not to stand for reelection as a director of the company and will cease to be a director and the chairman of the board of directors when his current term ends at the company’s 2019 annual meeting of stockholders.

Powell has been a co-chief operating officer since March 2018 and an executive vice president for six years with supervisory responsibility for our Material Processing Group. He joined Kadant in 2008 and served in several capacities, initially having responsibility for our acquisition-related activities. Prior to joining Kadant, Powell was the chairman and chief executive officer of Castion Corporation, a provider of sustainable wastewater treatment and recovery solutions. Prior to Castion, Powell held various management positions at Thermo Electron Corporation, including chief executive officer and president of one of its publicly traded subsidiaries.