BORAL LIMITED 
By 10 September 2012
Boral's Board appoints Mike Kane as Boral's Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
The Chairman of Boral Limited, Dr Bob Every, today announced
the appointment of Mr Mike
Kane as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of
Boral Limited, effective 1 October
2012.
Mike Kane will replace Ross Batstone who became Boral's Chief
Executive Officer in May 2012 when Mark Selway stood down
from the role. At that time the Board commenced a
comprehensive international search for a new Chief Executive
Officer.
Dr Every said that the Board had considered a number of
excellent external and internal candidates for the role and
was delighted to announce the appointment of an internal
candidate to the position.
Mr Kane joined Boral in February 2010 in the role of
President Boral USA. He has spent the past two and half years
significantly realigning the US business to the changed
market conditions and positioning Boral to take full
advantage of the US market recovery.
Mr Kane holds Arts and Law degrees as well as a Masters in
Science. He has extensive experience in the building and
construction industry including 24 years in senior executive
roles with US Gypsum, Pioneer / Hanson Building Materials,
Johns-Manville Corp and Holcim. Mr Kane joined Boral from
Calstar Products where he was the Chief Executive Officer.
During his
25 years with US Gypsum, Mr Kane spent five years managing
the Asia Pacific and International business, which has given
him an excellent working knowledge of the plasterboard
industry in Asia.
The key terms of Mr Kane's contract are outlined in the
attached document.
Commenting on Mr Kane's credentials, Dr Every said: "Mike has
a deep understanding of the US building and construction
materials industry and has been doing an excellent job
leading the US business through the most difficult period in
the last 60 years of the US housing market.
Mike has delivered substantial improvements to the underlying
business in the US at the same time as introducing innovative
new technologies and integrating two key strategic
acquisitions that position the business well for the
future.
"Mike's proven track record in managing businesses through
cycles and his stewardship of Boral's US operations during a
period of extremely difficult market conditions while
delivering substantial operational improvements is critically
important to Boral going forward.
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"While Mike's focus has been on managing the US business, he
has been a key member of Boral's executive management
committee and has spent considerable time in Boral's
Australian offices over the past two and a half years. As a
result of the time Mike has spent in Australia and through
working closely with other members of the Boral executive
team, Mike comes into the role with a solid knowledge of
Boral's broader operations and markets beyond the US
business," said Dr Every.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr Kane said: "I am delighted
to have been appointed to the position of CEO of Boral
Limited. Boral is an iconic building and construction
materials company in Australia with an increasingly
significant position in the global building materials
industry.
"The Company has undergone significant change over the past
two years to realign the business to meet current challenging
market conditions and changing demographics, particularly in
Australia and in the USA. In Asia, Boral's now wholly-owned
plasterboard position provides an exciting growth
opportunity.
"Against this backdrop, my immediate priorities are to work
with Boral's management team to continue to strengthen
Boral's financial position by maximising cash generation,
further aligning Boral's operational portfolio and delivering
benefits from our LEAN manufacturing initiative.
"I believe Boral is very well positioned for the next upswing
in activity. My medium-term focus is to ensure that the
Company has in place the necessary strategies to maximise
returns through the construction and building cycles. I'll be
working with my team over the next six months to define a
clear path forward to achieve both our immediate and longer
term objectives," said Mr Kane.
Boral's Board expressed its thanks to Mr Batstone for his
stewardship as CEO during the transition period. "I would
like to thank Ross for his outstanding contribution and
leadership over recent months and in other senior roles over
the past 21 years. Ross has made a significant contribution
to Boral, particularly in the building products and
plasterboard operations in
Australia and Asia. In his most recent role as CEO, Ross has
done an excellent job harmonising the changes that have taken
place over the past two years and continuing to drive
improvements. I also look forward to his continued support in
coming months before his planned retirement," said Dr
Every.
Mr Batstone will remain with the Group in a consulting
capacity until his retirement in July 2013 and will continue
as Chairman of Boral Gypsum Asia. In coming weeks, Mr Kane
will work closely with Mr Batstone providing for a seamless
leadership transition.
With the appointment of Mr Kane to the CEO role, Al Borm has
been appointed to the position of President Boral USA,
effective 1 October 2012. Mr Borm is currently in the role of
President Boral Roofing in the USA and joined Boral in this
role in July 2010. Mr Borm has extensive experience in the
building products industry including logistics, marketing,
sales, business development and general management roles with
US Gypsum, Hanson Building Products America and Oldcastle
APG, a subsidiary of CRH. Mr Borm has an MBA from DePaul
University's Graduate School of Management in Illinois.
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Mike Kane - Biographical Details
Born and raised in the United States, Mike completed a
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the Southern Illinois
University in 1973 and completed his Juris Doctor at the
DePaul University's School of Law in Illinois in 1983. In
2010, Mike completed a Masters in Science at Creighton
University, School of Law in Nebraska.
Mike started his career with US Gypsum (USG) where he spent
25 years across a number of businesses, functions and
geographies. Mike's early roles included Director of Labor
Relations, Vice-President for Regulatory Affairs and Chief
Labor Counsel. He was promoted to Vice- President Asia
Pacific and International Business Development in 1992 while
also holding the role of General Manager for Gypsum
Woodfiber. In 1996 he became the Executive Vice- President of
USG International and in his final role with USG, as
President USG Europe, Mike was based in Belgium and
restructured USG's European interests.
In 1998, Mike joined Pioneer USA, which later became Hanson
Building Materials America, as President and CEO, based in
Houston. He had responsibility for Pioneer's $1 billion US
construction materials division. After about three years at
Pioneer/Hanson, Mike joined Johns- Manville Corporation as
Senior Vice-President, Global Insulation Group.
In 2003, Mike joined FMI Corporate, a boutique management
consulting and investment banking firm focused on the
construction industry. He spent a year with the firm, heading
up their Leadership Consulting Practice and advising on due
diligence activities relating to building products and
construction materials.
Mike joined Holcim (US) Inc. in 2004. He spent the next five
years, based in Atlanta, as Senior Vice President for the
East Region, with responsibilities for the East Region cement
operations of Holcim's US construction materials
business.
In 2009, Mike joined Calstar Products Inc, a Silicon Valley
Clean Technology start-up reinventing exterior building
materials for sustainable construction, as the Chief
Executive Officer and a Board Member.
In February 2010, Mike joined Boral as President Boral
USA.
Mike is 61 years old. He is married and has three adult
children and three younger children.
Kylie FitzGerald
Group Communications & Investor Relations Manager
Tel: +61 2 9220 6591 or 0401 895 894
Mark Gell
GSG Counsel
Tel: 0419 440 533
Boral Limited ABN 13 008 421 761 - GPO Box 910 Sydney NSW 2001 - www.boral.com.au
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