Keith McLoughlin, who has led Electrolux as president/CEO since 2010, will retire at the end of the week following months of speculation and denials.
He will be succeeded on Feb. 1 by auto industry veteran Jonas Samuelson, who led Electrolux’s appliance operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Samuelson previously ran global operations and served as group chief financial officer after joining the No. 2 majap maker in 2008.
McLoughlin, a Long Island, N.Y., native and West Point graduate with a B.S. in engineering, joined Electrolux from DuPont in 2003 as president/CEO of its North American division, where he built Electrolux into a premium majap brand while maintaining its core Frigidaire business.
In the last year of his tenure McLoughlin made a $3.3 billion bid for GE Appliances, which would have given Electrolux near global parity with Whirlpool and capped a distinguished career. But the deal was ultimately dashed by Justice Department opposition and a richer bid by Haier.
McLoughlin will stay on as a consultant for Electrolux North America, where he has also served as interim president/CEO following the departure of division head Jack Truong in April.
