Dallas-Based Global Specialty Materials Co. ATI Elects New President and CEO

Source: Dallas Innovates
Author: Dallas Innovates, Lance Murray

Kimberley Fields will succeed Robert S. Wetherbee, who will become executive chairman, according to aerospace and defense leader ATI. Fields has served as chief operating officer since 2022 and became president in July 2023.

Kimberley A. Fields has been appointed chief executive officer of Dallas-based ATI, effective July 1, and will serve as a board member immediately.

Fields will succeed Robert S. Wetherbee, who will become executive chairman, ATI said.

"ATI is well-positioned, on a clear path to $5 billion in revenue and $1 billion in EBITDA by 2027. We have the capabilities, and the team is aligned to deliver," Wetherbee said in a statement. "Kim is ready to lead this organization. Her demonstrated operational and commercial success makes her proven to perform. As ATI's next CEO, Kim will further accelerate our growth and value creation."

Fields has served as chief operating officer since 2022 and became president in July 2023, ATI said. During her tenure, ATI has grown as one integrated operation, sharpening its operational advantages, increasing capacity and capability for the extraordinary materials customers value most, the company said.

Wetherbee was named president and CEO in 2018 and became board chair in 2020. Under his leadership, ATI transformed to become an aerospace and defense leader, growing share and creating value for customers and shareholders, ATI said.

Fields joined ATI in 2019 as executive vice president of its Flat Rolled Products group, and in 2020, took on leadership of both business segments. Before ATI, Fields was group president for industrial and energy at IDEX Corp., where she dramatically improved profitability and accelerated growth in the business portfolio.

Fields has held commercial, manufacturing, and strategic leadership positions at EVRAZ and GE, growing GE's penetration in metals, petrochemicals, and mining segments, ATI said.

"I'm honored to succeed Bob as ATI's next CEO," Fields said in a statement. "Collaboratively, we've built a team that is aligned, disciplined, and focused on execution to deliver extraordinary solutions to our customers' most difficult challenges. I'm confident in our ability to continue ATI's incredible trajectory."

Lead Independent Director Brett Harvey also lauded Wetherbee's tenure.

"Bob truly transformed ATI, turning the challenge of a pandemic into an opportunity to create our purpose-built portfolio, accelerating our strategy of high performance and differentiation," Harvey said in a statement. "On behalf of the board and our shareholders, we thank Bob for all he's done, especially his focus on developing talent across the entire leadership team to ensure a smooth succession. We look forward to working with Kim to build on this success and drive long-term sustainable growth."

ATI is a global producer of high-performance materials and solutions for the aerospace and defense markets, and critical applications in electronics, medical and specialty energy.

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