W.C. Bradley Co. announced today that effective August 1, 2020, James G. Hillenbrand will be appointed President in addition to his role as Chief Operating Officer. He will continue to report directly to Chief Executive Officer Marc Olivié. This promotion is part of a transition for Hillenbrand to become President and Chief Executive Officer upon the retirement of Olivié on January 2, 2021. This transition was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors.

“Before being appointed Chief Operating Officer, Jim held leadership positions in each of our consumer products businesses. In addition, he served as Chief Financial Officer of the company for seven years. These multiple roles allowed him to develop an outstanding foundation to support future growth and he has improved execution across the company by aligning our consumer product businesses leading to synergies and improved overall results,” said Olivié.

As President of the company, Hillenbrand’s expanded responsibilities will include W.C. Bradley Real Estate. He will continue lead the consumer products group that includes Badlands, Char-Broil, Lamplight, and Zebco Brands, as well as Information Technology.

“Jim has provided strong leadership in every role he has held. His proven track record of performance makes him an exemplary choice to lead the W.C. Bradley Co. into the future,” Olivié said.

Upon Olivié’s retirement, Hillenbrand will report to John Turner, Chairman of the W.C. Bradley Co. Board of Directors, and will assume full responsibility for the remaining corporate functional areas.

“Jim shares the vision Marc has brought to the company and the Board of Directors is confident in Jim’s ability to continue to drive business growth while keeping true to our values,” said John Turner. “At the same time, we will continue to benefit from Marc’s experience as he will remain a member of the Board of Directors of the company.”

Hillenbrand joined W.C. Bradley Co. when Zebco Brands was acquired in 2001. During his tenure at the company, Hillenbrand has served as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, W.C. Bradley Co.; President and Chief Executive Officer, Char-Broil; President and Chief Operating Officer, Lamplight; and Vice President of Finance, Zebco Brands. Prior to joining W.C. Bradley Co., Hillenbrand held leadership and management positions at Brunswick Corporation and Deloitte. Hillenbrand is a graduate from Loyola University of Chicago and is a Certified Public Accountant.