Foster Wheeler AG (Nasdaq: FWLT) announced today that it has appointed Robert C. Flexon, 51, as President and Chief Executive Officer of Foster Wheeler USA (FWUSA) Corporation, the company''s Global Engineering and Construction Group subsidiary based in Houston, Texas, effective November 16, 2009. He succeeds W. Troy Roder, who, as previously announced, had formerly served in this capacity and who has been named as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd. (FWEL), which is based in Reading, England.
Flexon is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NRG Energy, Inc., a wholesale power generation company primarily engaged in the ownership and operation of power generation facilities and the sale of energy, capacity and related products. He has also served as a member of the Foster Wheeler AG board of directors since 2006 and will continue to serve in that capacity through November 16, 2009.
Raymond J. Milchovich, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Foster Wheeler AG, said, "Having worked very closely with Bob in his role as chair of our audit committee and as a member of our board for three years, I feel that I know him very well. I have tremendous respect for Bob''s business judgment, intelligence, work ethic, and the very constructive way in which he has worked with and added value to the functionality of Foster Wheeler''s board and management. We are very fortunate that we have been able to recruit Bob to this very important position at this time and I look forward to working very closely with him in this new capacity."
Foster Wheeler''s President and Chief Operating Officer Umberto della Sala said, "Bob understands the company and its culture. Combined with his knowledge of our industry, we expect him to be an exceptionally strong leader for Foster Wheeler USA."
Flexon joined NRG in 2004 and, in addition to serving as Executive Vice President and CFO, he had also served as NRG''s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from March 2008 to February 2009, overseeing NRG''s plant and commercial operations, environmental compliance and risk management, as well as the Engineering, Procurement and Construction division. Before joining NRG, he was Vice President, Corporate Development & Work Process and Vice President, Business Analysis and Controller of Hercules, Inc. Flexon also held various financial management positions with Atlantic Richfield Company from 1987 to June 2000, including General Auditor, Franchise Manager and Controller. He began his career with the former Coopers & Lybrand public accounting firm. Flexon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Villanova University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
Foster Wheeler AG is a global engineering and construction contractor and power equipment supplier delivering technically advanced, reliable facilities and equipment. The company employs over 14,000 talented professionals with specialized expertise dedicated to serving its clients through one of its two primary business groups. The company’s Global Engineering and Construction Group designs and constructs leading-edge processing facilities for the upstream oil and gas, LNG and gas-to-liquids, refining, chemicals and petrochemicals, power, environmental, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and healthcare industries. The company’s Global Power Group is a world leader in combustion and steam generation technology that designs, manufactures and erects steam generating and auxiliary equipment for power stations and industrial facilities and also provides a wide range of aftermarket services. The company is based in Zug, Switzerland, and its operational headquarters are in Clinton, New Jersey, USA. For more information about Foster Wheeler, please visit our Web site at www.fwc.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Foster Wheeler AG news releases may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management’s assumptions, expectations and projections about the Company and the various industries within which the Company operates. These include statements regarding the Company’s expectations about revenues (including as expressed by its backlog), its liquidity, the outcome of litigation and legal proceedings and recoveries from customers for claims and the costs of current and future asbestos claims and the amount and timing of related insurance recoveries. Such forward-looking statements by their nature involve a degree of risk and uncertainty. The Company cautions that a variety of factors, including but not limited to the factors described in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the following, could cause the Company’s business conditions and results to differ materially from what is contained in forward-looking statements: benefits, effects or results of the Company’s redomestication, further deterioration in the economic conditions in the United States and other major international economies, changes in investment by the oil and gas, oil refining, chemical/petrochemical and power industries, changes in the financial condition of its customers, changes in regulatory environments, changes in project design or schedules, contract cancellations, changes in estimates made by the Company of costs to complete projects, changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies worldwide, compliance with laws and regulations relating to its global operations, currency fluctuations, war and/or terrorist attacks on facilities either owned by the Company or where equipment or services are or may be provided by the Company, interruptions to shipping lanes or other methods of transit, outcomes of pending and future litigation, including litigation regarding the Company’s liability for damages and insurance coverage for asbestos exposure, protection and validity of its patents and other intellectual property rights, increasing competition by non-U.S. and U.S. domestic companies, compliance with its debt covenants, recoverability of claims against its customers and others by the Company and claims by third parties against the Company, and changes in estimates used in its critical accounting policies. Other factors and assumptions not identified above were also involved in the formation of these forward-looking statements and the failure of such other assumptions to be realized, as well as other factors, may also cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Most of these factors are difficult to predict accurately and are generally beyond the Company’s control. You should consider the areas of risk described above in connection with any forward-looking statements that may be made by the Company. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any additional disclosures the Company makes in proxy statements, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, annual reports on Form 10-K and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contacts:
Foster Wheeler AG
Media:
Maureen Bingert,
908-730-4444
maureen_bingert@fwc.com
or
Richard
Gaona, 713-929-5550
richard_gaona@fwhou.fwc.com
or
Investor
Relations:
Scott Lamb, 908-730-4155
scott_lamb@fwc.com
or
Other
Inquiries, 908-730-4000
fw@fwc.com
