Marc Bitzer, who ran Whirlpool’s North American and European businesses as vice chairman, has been promoted to president and COO of the company and given a seat on its board.
In related news, Whirlpool said co-vice chairman and 22-year veteran Mike Todman will retire at year’s end in a planned departure.
In his new role, which he assumes immediately Bitzer will be responsible for all global operations of the world’s largest majap maker. In announcing the promotion, Whirlpool chairman/CEO Jeff Fettig praised Bitzer’s leadership skills and commended his oversight of the integration of Indesit, the major Italian appliance manufacturer the company acquired last year.
Prior to his appointment as vice chairman in 2014, Bitzer served as president of Whirlpool’s North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa divisions. He joined the company from the Boston Consulting Group in 1999.
The retiring Todman joined Whirlpool in 1993 as U.K. finance director, and went on to serves as sales and marketing senior VP and later controller in North America, and consumer services VP in Europe. In his last role as vice chairman he led the acquisition and integration of Hefei Sanyo in China, ran the company’s global information systems unit, and headed operations throughout Asia and Latin America.
