Samson, the worldwide leader in performance cordage, announces that after 41 years with the company, Tony Bon will step down as CEO on January 1, 2016. Andrea Sturm has been appointed as Bon’s successor and will be joining the Samson team in November 2015. Bon will remain on staff through the end of 2016 to support Sturm during the transition.
Bon has been a valued member of the Samson team since 1974 when he began on the manufacturing floor in Samson’s Massachusetts facility. He transferred to the Ferndale facility in 1980 and advanced through the company in various positions until being named president in 2007 and CEO in 2013.
“Tony has been an integral part of Samson’s success and growth over the past 40-plus years,” said Russell Ball, CEO Wind River Holdings, which owns Samson. “Samson always has and always will lead the industry in innovation. Under Tony’s leadership, Samson advanced that effort even further and achieved new heights of synthetic rope technology.”
Sturm comes to Samson with a strong background in international business management, product management, new product development, and marketing and sales. For the last four years, she served as general manager at Fluke Corp., the world leader in electronic testing tools based in Everett, Wash. Previously, Sturm held several positions with Philips Consumer Electronics, including vice president of global marketing and sales with Philips Oral Healthcare, which is best known for its Sonicare line of products.