Safway Services LLC, a leader in scaffolding and access solutions, has announced that Bill Hayes will become president, COO and a director of Safway Services LLC, reporting to Marc Wilson, chief executive officer.
"Since our partnership with Odyssey in 2009, we have continued to build our business in a challenging market," says Wilson. "As part of ensuring that Safway is well positioned to execute its long-term strategy, we are continually evaluating our senior leadership team’s succession plans and putting in place the key people to lead our business.
"Bill’s wealth of experience in our end-markets and in executing strategic acquisitions, as well as his focus on serving customers, will deepen our management capacity and position us for continued strong growth."
Hayes comes to Safway with a strong background in successfully leading a diverse group of industrial manufacturing and service businesses. He has spent the last four years at Honeywell International Inc. where he was President of Honeywell Safety Products (HSP), the leader in the personal protective equipment/safety industry with over 10,000 employees and approximately 50 manufacturing sites globally.
Under his leadership, HSP more than tripled in size from $600m to $2b, dramatically improved profitability and working capital performance, and successfully executed the most complex acquisition integration in recent Honeywell history.
From 2006 until 2008, Hayes was president of Norcross Safety Products’ industrial business, until its acquisition by Honeywell. Prior to Norcross he was president and CEO of the Americas Group for Asia-based Nitto Denko Corp. and a member of Nitto Denko’s board of directors, from 1994 to 2006.
"I am very excited to be joining Safway, especially at this point in time. To help lead a company of this calibre and leading market position, and have the chance to partner again with Odyssey Investment Partners, whom I worked with while at Norcross, is truly a unique opportunity.
"Safway has great customers, committed and experienced employees, and a strong customer service and safety focus that I share. I look forward to helping to lead Safway’s very talented management team and continuing to work with Marc and the board," says Hayes.
Hayes, who resides in Lake Forest, Illinois, US, with his wife and three children, graduated with honours from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business in 1991 and conducted his undergraduate studies at Northern Illinois University. He is a certified green belt in Lean/Six Sigma and completed Honeywell’s executive development programme.