CEO Wells Leaves LSI, Stock Price Dips

CINCINNATI, April 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LSI Industries Inc. announced that its board of directors appointed Ronald D. Brown as interim chief executive officer and Crawford Lipsey as interim president and chief operating officer effective immediately. The hiring of Brown and Lipsey follows the departure of Dennis W. Wells as president and chief executive officer on April 23, 2018. Brown and Lipsey will report to John Morgan, a member of LSI’s board of directors who will serve as managing director during the transition. The board has initiated a search to identify a permanent replacement for Wells.

Brown most recently served as Vice Chairman of The Armor Group, a certified woman-owned corporation which provides manufactured goods and services to a variety of industries. He is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Milacron Inc., a supplier of plastics processing and industrial fluids technologies with manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. Brown serves on the Board of Directors of A.O. Smith Corporation and James Advantage Funds Trust and serves on the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees. Lipsey worked for several years in the lighting and electrical industry prior to serving for ten years at Acuity Brands Lighting, including as executive vice president for an Acuity division reporting $500 million in annual revenue.  Lipsey also invested and worked with venture capital sources to build Relume Technologies, a LED lighting and controls manufacturer. Since 2015 he has been a consultant serving various companies in the lighting industry.  He also serves on a number of not-for-profit boards providing services for children.

“Ron and Crawford have decades of executive leadership experience and we are grateful for their willingness to provide a seamless transition until the permanent CEO role is filled,” said Morgan. “Their business acumen, impeccable reputations and relevant experience are attributes that will help us enhance operational efficiencies and increase shareholder value. LSI appreciates the contributions Mr. Wells made to the company since he joined LSI in 2014.”

LSI Industries stock was trading at $7.67 a share on Monday, April 23, before the announcement.  By Tuesday afternoon, the stock had dipped to $5.32 a share. It has rebounded slightly in early trading on Wednesday, April 25.