CARROLLTON, Ga. — After more than 40 years in the wire and cable industry, Southwire’s Executive Vice President and President of Operations and International Business, Hans Meiring, has announced that he will retire at the end of 2018.
Meiring’s career is storied with many notable experiences and contributions. With a background in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from Buckingham Management School in the United Kingdom, he began his career in chemicals and explosives as a pupil engineer. He then worked as a resident engineer in gold and base metals mining before becoming the project engineer in charge of building and commissioning projects like the first stand-alone telecommunication cable plant in South Africa.
A few years later, Meiring joined Aberdare Cables, where he spent 27 years in roles including general manager of telecommunications, marketing director and group chief executive officer, working with a variety of customers and partners in countries around the globe. In 2007, Meiring retired from Aberdare and became part of Oman Cables in the Sultanate of Oman as the company’s chief operating officer and, eventually, chief executive officer.
In 2012, Meiring joined Southwire, where he developed efforts to expand the company’s reach into new global markets and served as chief operating officer.
“When I arrived at Southwire three years ago, Hans was instrumental in welcoming me to the company,” said CEO Rich Stinson. “His experience in the industry and his ability to lead teams and develop international and operational strategies has been essential to our company’s continued growth. We wish him the very best in his upcoming retirement.”
Moving forward, Meiring looks forward to traveling and staying active. He and his wife, Marianne, plan to return to their home in South Africa and spend time with their family, children, and grandchildren. He also plans to focus on his hobby as a car enthusiast and looks forward to supporting small businesses with a focus on global growth.
“Being part of Southwire has been an incredible experience in my career. I’ve seen growth, industry leadership and significant advancements for the company, and I am very proud of that,” said Meiring. “I’m very thankful for the time spent here and the ability to serve on effective teams. I look forward to what the future holds.”
As Meiring transitions into retirement, Kathleen Edge will begin to serve as the company’s Executive Vice President of Operations.
Edge, who joined Southwire in 2013, is currently the company’s chief human resources officer and has led overall human capital and talent strategy, communication and delivery of human resources services to more than 7,500 employees. Her leadership has been instrumental in the development of the company’s diversity and inclusivity focus, the implementation of a new HRIS platform, the introduction of a formalized performance management system, growth in Southwire’s commitment to Giving Back and expansion of the company’s efforts to address the skills gap.
Edge has 22 years of manufacturing experience, serving in companies like Kimberly-Clark and Oldcastle prior to her time at Southwire, where she gained cross-functional leadership experience in areas including finance, talent management and operations.
“Hans is an incredibly influential leader who has made a lasting impact on Southwire’s operations, our international strategies and me personally,” said Edge. “I look forward to building upon his foundation and joining the operations team.”
As Edge moves into her new role, Kelley Park has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Human Resources, where she will focus on fostering a culture of trust, empowerment, and inclusion at Southwire while supporting the company’s initiative to Build Organizational Capability.
“Kathleen has built a solid platform on which to execute our human capital strategy. Under her leadership, she has tremendously grown our organizational capability through system structures, development initiatives and business driven programs,” said Park. “I am eager and excited to work with an incredibly talented HR leadership team to take that foundation and build upon it by expanding our talent capabilities across the company.”
Park currently serves as Senior Vice President of Inclusivity and Talent Management. In this role, she has led the company’s efforts toward defining the organization’s talent needs and developing integrated talent strategies to close the gaps.
“We are excited to welcome Kathleen and Kelley into their new roles and look forward to the experience they will bring and contributions they will share as our company continues to grow,” said Stinson. “We have a strong leadership team, and these moves are a great representation of our commitment to provide experiences and growth for our people while creating an agile workforce that can reflect the outlook we have for Southwire’s future.”
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