Lloyd D. Ward Picked To Be Maytag's New Chairman And CEO

Jet, May 31, 1999

Lloyd D. Ward, president and chief operating officer of Maytag Corporation, was recently named to succeed Leonard A. Hadley as the company's chairman and CEO in August of this year.

The move places Ward among the country's top corporate leaders and makes him the first Black to head the multi-billion dollar company.

Ward, 50, praised Hadley's leadership: "Len has literally redefined Maytag, both as a business enterprise and as an investment. Thanks to his strategy of profitable growth through product innovation, business diversification and sound financial management is firmly in place. This strategy gives us a sound platform on which to build and deliver even more value to our consumers, commercial customers and shareowners. I'm extremely excited about Maytag's future."

Hadley, a 40-year veteran with Maytag, will retire at the company's board meeting on Aug. 12, at which time Ward takes over the reins as the company's leader. There are no immediate plans to fill Ward's current position.

Hadley, 64, who personally selected Ward as his successor, said, "I'm confident that Lloyd Ward and the excellent management team we have in place will continue to leverage Maytag's formidable strengths and deliver outstanding results as they lead the corporation onward and upward in 2000 and beyond."

Ward joined Maytag, headquartered in Newton, IA, in April 1996 as executive vice president of the corporation and president of Maytag Appliances, the corporation's major home appliance division. He was elected to his current position of president and chief operating officer of Maytag Corporation in February 1998, at which time he was also elected to the board of directors.

From 1988 until he joined Maytag in 1996, Ward was associated with PepsiCo, Inc., serving initially as vice president of operations for Pepsi-Cola East. In 1991 he became president of PepsiCo's Frito-Lay Western Division, and in 1992 he was named president of Frito-Lay's Central Division. Before his career with PepsiCo, Inc., Ward held a variety of positions with Procter & Gamble.

A native of Romulus, MI, Ward received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University in 1970 and an MBA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH, in 1984.

Maytag Corporation is a $4 billion home and commercial appliance company. Its products are sold to customers throughout North America and in targeted international markets.

Maytag is among the top three major appliance companies in the North American market, offering consumers a full line of washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators and ranges distributed through large and small retailers across the U.S. and Canada.