Plexus announces Todd Kelsey to succeed Dean Foate as president and CEO

Plexus, of Neenah, WI, announced on April 20 Dean Foate’s intention to retire as president and chief executive officer at the end of Plexus’ fiscal year 2016.  Having served in the role since 2002, Foate led the development of Plexus’ differentiated go-to-market strategy and transformed the business to provide a comprehensive array of Product Realization solutions to globally recognized brands in mid-to-low volume, higher complexity markets.

As part of Plexus’ succession planning process, Plexus’ executive vice president and chief operating officer, Todd Kelsey, will become president and chief executive officer on October 2, 2016.  In order to ensure a smooth transition, Foate will continue with Plexus as an executive chairman until September 30, 2017, at which time the Board intends to appoint him non-executive chairman of the Board.

Dean Foate, chairman, president and CEO, commented, “I am fortunate to work with the best management team in the industry.  Their passion for executing our differentiated strategy, in conjunction with our employees’ dedication to delivering customer service excellence, has made Plexus a leader in our industry.”  Foate continued, “Todd is a seasoned leader that knows our industry well and has amassed a comprehensive knowledge of Plexus while cultivating strong relationships with our customers.  He has been instrumental in developing and driving key strategic initiatives and I am confident in his ability to deliver industry-leading results.”

Todd Kelsey joined Plexus in 1994 as a design engineer and was named vice president of Plexus’ Neenah Design Center in 2002, senior vice president of Plexus Engineering Solutions in 2006, senior vice president global customer services in 2007 and executive vice president global customer services in 2011.  He was promoted to his current position of executive vice president and chief operating officer in 2013.  Kelsey holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Source: Plexus Corp.