Finning Announces Canada, UK & Ireland Leadership Transition

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Finning International Inc. (TSX:FTT) today announced that Juan Carlos Villegas, President of Finning Canada and Chief Operating Officer of Finning International, will retire on December 31, 2018 following a distinguished career with the company. Kevin Parkes, currently Managing Director of Finning UK and Ireland, will assume the role of President of Finning Canada.  Assuming the role of Managing Director of Finning UK and Ireland will be David Primrose, currently Finning Canada’s Executive Vice President of Core Industries. Kevin and David will assume their positions on January 1, 2019 and will report to Finning International’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Scott Thomson.

Juan Carlos Villegas was appointed President of Finning Canada in 2013. Prior to that appointment, over the course of his 20-year career at Finning, Mr. Villegas served as Chief Operating Officer of Finning International, President of Finning South America, Vice President of Power Systems for Canada, Vice President of Mining for South America and Vice President of Operations for Chile.

“Juan Carlos has been an integral part of Finning’s executive team and has created an extraordinary legacy for us in the work he did to rejuvenate the Canadian operations and grow our South American business,” said Mr. Thomson. “His passion and commitment to our customers, employees and partner Caterpillar was evident in his ability to execute his compelling vision. We are very grateful to Juan Carlos and wish him the very best.”

Kevin Parkes joined Finning in the UK in 1996 and has held a variety of progressively senior positions in the equipment solutions division. From 2010 to 2015, Mr. Parkes was CEO of Hewden, a leading UK equipment rental company, following Finning’s divestiture of that business. Mr. Parkes returned to Finning in 2015 to take on the role of director, equipment solutions and was appointed Managing Director of UK and Ireland in February 2016.

“We are excited to welcome Kevin to his new role as President of Canadian operations, as his blend of Finning and external experience, strong customer focus, and successful track record in restructuring our UK and Ireland operations have made him well suited to build on the momentum we have in our Canadian business,” said Mr. Thomson.

David Primrose has 30 years of experience with the company.  He started in Finning Canada and held several management roles of increasing responsibility before he took on the role of divisional director, power systems for Finning UK. Mr. Primrose then returned to Finning Canada as vice-president, human resources. In 2008 he moved to Finning International as senior vice-president, human resources. In 2009 he was appointed executive vice-president, mining for Finning Canada and in 2014 he moved into the role of executive vice-president, core industries.

“David will seamlessly take the helm in the UK and Ireland given his prior experience in region, solid leadership skills, great relationship with Caterpillar and deep understanding of our digital vision for our European business,” said Mr. Thomson.

Mr. Thomson concluded, “With these senior leaders assuming their new roles, we are assured our executive will continue to lead the company to deliver exceptional service and results for our customers and partners.”

About Finning

Finning International Inc. (TSX:FTT) is the world’s largest Caterpillar equipment dealer delivering unrivalled service to customers for 85 years. Finning sells, rents and provides parts and service for equipment and engines to help customers maximize productivity. Headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., the Company operates in Western Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Forward Looking Information

This release includes “forward-looking information” (as defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation) that is based on expectations, estimates and projections that management believes are reasonable as of the date of this release, but may ultimately turn out to be incorrect.

Wherever possible, words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “intend”, “project”, “plan”, “forecast”, “opportunity”, “target”, “potential” and similar words have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. Information in this release is only considered accurate at the time of issuance but may later be superseded by more current information. Except as required by law, Finning does not undertake any obligation to update the information, whether as a result of new facts becoming known, future events occurring or otherwise.

Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Finning to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information in this presentation. Important information identifying and describing such risks, uncertainties and other factors is contained in Finning’s most recently filed annual information form (under the headings “Forward-Looking Information” and “Key Business Risks”) and in the management’s discussion and analysis of financial results (MD&A) portions of Finning’s most recent annual and quarterly financial reports (under the headings “Risk Factors and Management” and “Forward-Looking Disclaimer”). These documents may be accessed on the Finning website at www.finning.com (in the financial reports section on the Investors page) or the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

Contact Information

Investor Relations Inquiries:
Mauk Breukels
VP, Investor Relations & Corporate Affairs
(604) 331-4934
mauk.breukels@finning.com
www.finning.com

Media & Government Relations Inquiries:
Elisha McCallum
Director, Global Communications
(604) 331-4992
elisha.mccallum@finning.com
www.finning.com

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