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Leadership Bios

Steven E. Simms | President and Chief Executive Officer

Steven E. Simms is President and Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Colfax Corporation. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Apex Tools and is a former Executive Vice President of Danaher Corporation.  Mr. Simms held a variety of leadership roles during his 11-year career at Danaher. He became Executive Vice President in 2000 and served in that role through his retirement in 2007, during which time he was instrumental in Danaher’s international growth and success. He previously served as Vice President–Group Executive from 1998 to 2000 and as an executive in Danaher’s tools and components business from 1996 to 1998. Prior to joining Danaher, Mr. Simms held roles of increasing authority at Black & Decker Corporation, most notably President–European Operations and President–Worldwide Accessories.  Mr. Simms started his career at the Quaker Oats Company where he held a number of brand management roles. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Apex Tools, which was formed in 2010 as a joint venture between Danaher Tool Group and Cooper Tools, is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland and is actively involved in a number of other educational and charitable organizations in theBaltimorearea.

 

C. Scott Brannan | Senior Vice President, Finance & Chief Financial Officer

C. Scott Brannan became the Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer in October of 2010. Mr. Brannan served on the Colfax Board of Directors and was Chairman of the Audit Committee from 2008 to 2010. Prior to joining Colfax in his current role‚ he was a partner at Aronson & Company‚ a public accounting firm‚ from 2003 to 2010. He was also previously employed at Danaher Corporation for 12 years in roles of increasing responsibility‚ including Chief Accounting Officer‚ Controller and Vice President of Administration. Prior to Danaher‚ he spent 8 years with Arthur Andersen & Co. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Loyola University Maryland and is a certified public accountant.

Ian Brander | Chief Executive Officer of Howden

Ian Brander has been the Chief Executive Officer of Howden since August 2011. Prior to becoming Chief Executive Officer of Howden, he served as Operations Director beginning in 2008. His experience includes over 20 years at Howden in various roles in technical, project, commercial and general management positions associated with a wide range of products. He holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Strathclyde.

Clay H. Kiefaber | Executive Vice President, Chief Executive Officer ESAB Global

Clay H. Kiefaber is Executive Vice President‚ Chief Executive Officer ESAB Global and a Director of Colfax Corporation. Mr. Kiefaber has served as the President, Chief Executive Officer of Colfax from January 2010 through April 2012 and on the Colfax Board of Directors since the Company’s IPO in 2008. Before joining Colfax‚ he spent nearly 20 years in increasingly senior executive positions at Masco Corporation. Most recently‚ he was a Group President‚ where he was responsible for a $2.8 billion group of architectural coatings‚ windows‚ and spa business units. Prior to becoming a Group President at Masco‚ Mr. Kiefaber was Group Vice President of Masco Builder Cabinet Group. He previously spent 14 years in increasingly senior positions in Masco’s Merillat Industries subsidiary. Mr. Kiefaber holds an M.B.A. degree from theUniversityofColoradoand a B.A. degree fromMiamiUniversity.

Daniel A. Pryor | Senior Vice President, Strategy & Business Development

Daniel A. Pryor joined Colfax Corporation in 2011 as Senior Vice President‚ Strategy and Business Development. Prior to Colfax‚ he was a Partner and Managing Director with The Carlyle Group‚ where he focused on industrial leveraged buyouts and led numerous portfolio company and follow-on acquisitions. Prior to Carlyle‚ he spent 11 years at Danaher Corporation in roles of increasing responsibility‚ most recently as Vice President – Strategic Development. Mr. Pryor earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and his BA in Economics from Williams College.

A. Lynne Puckett | Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

A. Lynne Puckett joined Colfax Corporation in 2010 as Senior Vice President‚ General Counsel and Secretary. Prior to Colfax‚ she was a Partner with the law firm of Hogan Lovells. Her experience includes a broad range of corporate and transactional matters‚ including mergers and acquisitions‚ venture capital financings‚ debt and equity offerings‚ and general corporate and securities law matters. Before entering the practice of law‚ Ms. Puckett worked for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and a major U.S. defense contractor. Ms. Puckett holds a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law and a B.S. degree from James Madison University.

William E. Roller | Executive Vice President, Colfax Fluid Handling

William E. Roller was promoted to Executive Vice President‚ Colfax Fluid Handling in November 2010 and is responsible for overseeing global fluid-handling operations. He most recently served as Executive Vice President‚ Colfax Americas and was responsible for Colfax’s business in the Americas as well as the global oil & gas and defense solutions organizations. He joined Colfax in 1999 as General Manager‚ Imo Pump. In addition to Imo‚ he managed Zenith Pump‚ Lubrication Systems Company and Baric Group upon the acquisition of those businesses. He joined Colfax from Precision Auto Care‚ Inc. where he was Senior Vice President of Manufacturing and Distribution for 2 years. From 1991 until 1997‚ Mr. Roller worked for AMF Industries in several increasingly responsible manufacturing roles. Previous to AMF‚ he spent 4 years with FMC Corporation in various manufacturing roles. Mr. Roller is a graduate of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University‚ with a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School.

William F. Rothenbach | Senior Vice President, Human Resources

William F. Rothenbach joined Colfax Corporation in 2011 as Senior Vice President‚ Human Resources. Prior to Colfax‚ he worked as the Senior Vice President-Human Resources for Old Mutual Financial Network. He has over thirty years of broad-based domestic and international human resources executive experience with companies from a variety of industries‚ including Black & Decker‚ Bausch & Lomb‚ Procter & Gamble and Sara Lee. Mr. Rothenbach earned his M.A. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Akron and his B.A. in Psychology from Edinboro University. He is an accredited Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a member of the Associate Graduate Faculty at Towson University.

Steve Wittig | Senior Vice President, Colfax Business System and Supply Chain Strategy

Steve Wittig became Senior Vice President of the Colfax Business System and Supply Chain Strategy in August of 2011. Prior to Colfax‚ he was Vice President of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma for the Masco Cabinet Group. Prior to that he held a number of operations positions with Lear Corporation‚ Preferred Technical Group‚ Sumitomo Electric and United Technologies. Steve received his Masters of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Michigan and his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute).