HONG KONG, CHINA, Dec. 4, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) --
-- JP Miller named CEO of NorthPole Ltd. and elected to the Board of Directors. -- TP (Youn Jae) Lee, NorthPole Ltd. founder and current CEO, will continue as Chairman of the Board. -- Donald Lorberbaum retires following long relationship with NorthPole.
NorthPole Ltd. today named Mr. JP Miller as the company's chief executive officer. Mr. Miller succeeds TP (Youn Jae) Lee, who will continue to serve as Chairman of the company.
Mr. Miller most recently served as a strategic advisor to Mr. Lee. He now joins NorthPole's Executive Management team and Board. "Mr. Miller brings expertise in strategy and operations along with the ability to lead an organization such as NorthPole through change," said Lee. "He understands and embraces our strategic vision and business improvement plans, which he helped develop in cooperation with NorthPole Senior Management.
"Mr. Miller and the Executive Management team have put in place and are implementing a solid program for improving NorthPole's business results and providing a platform for significant growth in the future," said Lee. "NorthPole has a significant opportunity in its marketplace, serving a customer base that will greatly benefit from Mr. Miller's business acumen and management style.
Mr. Miller commented:" I am very excited about this relationship with NorthPole. The company has great employees and excellent relationships with its customers. It has a strong tradition that I intend to build on and expand."
Before joining NorthPole, Mr. Miller spent more than 20 years as a business strategy and change management consultant. He has worked with companies such as Colgate-Palmolive, PepsiCo, Kellogg, Pulte Homes, and the InterContinental Hotel Group. He was part of the consulting team that designed and implemented GE's famous "WorkOut" methods. Prior to his work in consulting, Mr. Miller was on the faculty of the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management and prior to that on the finance staff of Ford Motor Company.
Mr. Miller received his PhD from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and his BS in Industrial Management from Purdue University.
Mr. Donald Lorberbaum, Vice Chairman of NorthPole, will retire at the end of 2003 after a long and fruitful association with the company.
Mr. Lorberbaum has many important relationships within the industry and will continue to act as a consultant to Mr. Miller. Prior to his work as Vice-Chairman at NorthPole, Mr. Lorberbaum served in various management roles with Springs Industries.
NorthPole Ltd. is a vertically integrated, global company that offers a unique combination of consumer-driven product development, manufacturing and delivery of innovative products for home and outdoor use. It is the world's largest camping tent and sleeping bag maker. The privately held company has over 6000 employees worldwide and has its USA headquartered in Washington, Missouri with the corporate headquarters in Hong Kong.
For more information on NorthPole Ltd, visit its Web site at: www.northpoleltd.com.