Manitou, the supplier of flameproof skid steer loaders, telescopics and telehandlers to the mining industry, has announced that Dominique Bamas, President and CEO, has resigned and is being replaced by Michel Denis. Bamas was appointed on an interim basis on March 6, 2013 and is resigning in accordance with the agreements made with the Board in order to permit the appointment of Denis as the new President and CEO. Michel Denis will assume his functions as of January 13, 2014 for a four-year-term.
The Board members unanimously expressed their appreciation to Bamas for having managed the interim period “in the group’s best interests.” Marcel Braud, Chairman of the Board, stated: “First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr Bamas for the work accomplished in nearly a year. After having assisted the Board for several years as a Director, he made himself available at a pivotal moment in our history that required a realignment between profitability and development. During this period he stabilised financing for the next five years, reduced the debt and initiated a combination of optimisation programs and developments from which the group should benefit in the upcoming years. It is our pleasure to welcome Mr Denis whose appointment marks a new chapter in the history of Manitou.
He added: “I’m confident that his experience will permit him to continue the operating reforms already launched and accelerate the group’s adaption to the markets evolution. As the leader in Rough Terrain Handling since decades, our mission is to continue to serve our customers to the best of their needs. Based on the strength and leadership of the group, our goal is to remain faithful to our historic motto: safe international development based on innovation, performance, quality and customer satisfaction.”
Denis is a graduate of ESSEC, a French business school and the Ecole Centrale de Lyon, a French engineering school, and began his career as a strategy consultant. He joined Dalkia in 1994 to develop cogeneration. He subsequently managed the French businesses of MC International which later became Johnson Controls, a specialist in industrial and commercial refrigeration. In 2003 he joined the Fraikin Group, the European leader in truck rentals, for which he was CEO until August of 2013. Over the past 10 years, he accompanied the strong international development of the Fraikin group which imposed its approach to the design of industrial vehicles, the associated services and the European financing of its fleet of 60,000 vehicles as a model.