Velan announces changes to its Board

Velan announced that Mr. James Mannebach has been appointed Chairman of the Board. The outgoing Chairman of the Board, Tom Velan, will continue to serve as a director of the company. Mr. Mannebach who joined the board in 2018 is the first independent Chairman of the company. He has extensive experience in the valve and flow control industry having worked in senior leadership positions at Emerson Process Management (Xomox, Fisher Controls, Micro Motion and Rosemont), Roper Technologies, and IMI.
Rob Velan has been appointed Vice-Chairman of the Board as the Velan family continues to move from the second-generation leadership to third-generation and independent leadership. Rob has served on the board since 2013 and is the Executive Vice-President of MRO and Aftermarket, one of the company’s strategic business units.
Bill Sheffield has been appointed Chair of the Audit Committee; a position previously held by James Mannebach. Bill Sheffield was previously Lead Director, a position that is no longer required due to the appointment of an independent Chairman. Bill was also the Chair of the Corporate Governance and Human Resources Committee. Dahra Granovsky is now the Chair of the Corporate Governance and Human Resources Committee.
Tom Velan, who has been a director since 1976 and Chairman since 2015, will, in addition to being a director, serve as an advisor to the Chairman, CEO and President and work on various matters at their request. Tom will also continue to be involved with some of the subsidiary companies.
Tom Velan stated “These changes are part of the ongoing board renewal process which was started in 2018. The Velan family is the controlling shareholder but we recognize that as a public company it is important to have strong and independent corporate governance. Now for the first time in our history, the Chairman, CEO, and President are all independent from the Velan family. I believe that the appointment of James Mannebach as Chairman is a positive step for the future of the company.”
James Mannebach stated “I am honored to be appointed Chairman of the Board of Velan and humbled to become the Company’s first non-family member to serve in this leadership role. Working closely with our CEO Yves Leduc, President Bruno Carbonaro, and the best team of global colleagues in the industry, the Company is poised to further capitalize on its market leading technologies, application knowledge and unsurpassed commitment to our customers”.
Bill Sheffield stated “My hats off to Tom Velan once again for his efforts to renew & transition the Velan Inc. Board of Directors. I have been honored to serve on the Velan Inc. Board & work with the Velan Family for 14 years. I am happy to continue to serve alongside Tom under the leadership of our new Board Chair.”