Former Gillette, Timex and Energizer executive
brings wealth of global consumer product experience, turnaround
leadership, and proven track record of driving profitable
growth
BEDFORD,
Mass., May 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- iRobot
Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in consumer robots, today announced
that Gary Cohen will serve as the
company's new chief executive officer, effective immediately. Mr.
Cohen has more than 25 years of executive leadership and turnaround
experience. As iRobot CEO, he will lead the company's
transformational strategy to re-orient toward profitability
following a recent operational restructuring. Mr. Cohen will be
responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company's business,
including innovation, product and commercial
strategies, operational excellence, talent, and maintaining a
sustainable competitive advantage and consumer-centric brand.
"iRobot has made significant progress toward its operational
restructuring plan to position the company for the future, and we
are excited to welcome Gary to the team as the business enters its
next chapter," said Andrew Miller,
iRobot's chairman of the board of directors. "Gary's leadership
qualities and areas of expertise, including commercial growth,
product innovation, brand-building, global distribution, and
operational efficiencies, are a strong match to address the
opportunities that lay ahead for iRobot. His proven track record of
successfully leading global consumer businesses through challenging
times gives us even greater confidence that he is the right person
to lead the company on its path toward returning to profitable
growth."
"I am truly honored to be joining iRobot, a company with an
iconic brand, a legacy of innovation, and a commitment to
delighting customers around the world," said Mr. Cohen. "I look
forward to working with the board, the leadership team, and our
employees across the company to reinvigorate the category, create
value, bring new products to market, and continue building the
future of consumer robotics."
Mr. Cohen has successfully driven enterprise-wide transformation
and brand growth at Fortune 500 and privately held companies in
both consumer and B2B segments. He has a history of leading
successful turnarounds, most recently at Qualitor Automotive.
There, he led a successful transformation as CEO and board
director, increasing sales and profits by approximately 100%
through the design of proprietary wiper technologies, improved
supply chain and operations, and the implementation of an
omnichannel strategy that allowed the business to scale
distribution globally.
Prior to Qualitor Automotive, Mr. Cohen served as CEO at Timex,
where he led an $800 million
multi-brand business and global team of 5,000 employees, increasing
sales through the development of a new advertising platform as well
as a blueprint for product innovation and restructuring of its
product portfolio. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles
at Energizer, Playtex and Gillette, where he acquired extensive
experience in the areas of sales and marketing, product development
and design, brand building, global omnichannel strategies, retail,
manufacturing, supply chain, and M&A. At Playtex. Mr. Cohen was
part of a turnaround team that led the sale of Playtex to Energizer
for $1.16 billion in 2007. At
Gillette, Mr. Cohen played an integral role in new product
innovation and advertising, growing Oral-B global sales from
$1 billion to $1.8 billion and launching the Mach3, one of the
company's largest global razor introductions.
Mr. Cohen will join iRobot's board of directors after its annual
shareholder meeting on May 23, 2024.
Andrew Miller will remain as chair.
Former interim CEO Glen Weinstein
will stay on with the company for 60 days to assist in the
leadership transition.
"I want to thank Glen for his hard work during this pivotal time
and congratulate him and the leadership team for what was a
successful first quarter and an important step in establishing a
foundation for continued success," said Mr. Miller.
About iRobot Corp.
iRobot is a global consumer
robot company that designs and builds thoughtful robots and
intelligent home innovations that make life better. iRobot
introduced the first Roomba robot vacuum in 2002. Today, iRobot is
a global enterprise that has sold more than 50 million robots
worldwide. iRobot's product portfolio features technologies and
advanced concepts in cleaning, mapping and navigation. Working from
this portfolio, iRobot engineers are building robots and smart home
devices to help consumers make their homes easier to maintain and
healthier places to live. For more information about iRobot, please
visit www.irobot.com.
For iRobot Investors
This press release contains
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal
securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended, including statements regarding the Company's
implementation of its operational restructuring plan and related
restructuring charges (including the timing thereof), the Company's
business plans, strategies, priorities and initiatives and the
expected business and financial impacts thereof (including
anticipated cost savings), expected product launches and the impact
thereof, and anticipated business enhancements and expected
benefits to the Company's products and business therefrom. These
forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current
expectations, estimates and projections about its business and
industry, all of which are subject to change. In this context,
forward-looking statements often address expected future business
and financial performance and financial condition, and often
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"believe," "could," "seek," "see," "will," "may," "would," "might,"
"potentially," "estimate," "continue," "expect," "target," similar
expressions or the negatives of these words or other comparable
terminology that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes.
All forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that
involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our
control, and are not guarantees of future results. These and other
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and
are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in
any forward-looking statements. Accordingly, there are or will be
important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those indicated in such statements and, therefore,
you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and
caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements.
Important risk factors that may cause such a difference include,
but are not limited to: the Company's ability to implement its
business plans and strategies; the Company's ability to achieve the
anticipated benefits of its operational restructuring plan; the
Company's ability to successfully navigate its leadership
transition; the ability of the Company to retain and hire key
personnel; legislative, regulatory and economic developments
affecting the Company's business; general economic and market
developments and conditions; the impact of various global conflicts
on the Company's business and general economic conditions; the
evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes under which the Company
operates; unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events,
including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war
or hostilities; supply chain challenges including constraints in
the availability of certain semiconductor components used in the
Company's products; the financial strength of the Company's
customers and retailers; the impact of tariffs on goods imported
into the United States; and
competition. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those
contemplated by the forward-looking statements are included under
the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent annual and
quarterly reports filed with the SEC and any subsequent reports on
Form 10-K, Form 10-Q or Form 8-K filed from time to time and
available at www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements included
herein are made only as of the date hereof. The Company does not
assume any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances
change, except as otherwise required by securities and other
applicable laws.
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SOURCE iRobot Corporation