LEESBURG, VA. — Rehau announced today that its current CEO of North American operations, Dr. Kathleen “Kitty” Saylor, would be stepping down from her position as of July 1, 2012, after an 18-year career with the company. Saylor, who has served as Rehau North American CEO since 2006, and was the company’s VP of human resources from 2001 to 2006, has accepted a position in Bozeman, Mont. as the chief executive in residence of the Montana State University Alumni Foundation. In this capacity, she will serve as a principal advisor to the University president, Alumni Foundation president and Innovation Campus executive director in establishing programs to ultimately advance the academic and research efforts of the University. Saylor is herself a Montana native and 1982 graduate of Montana State University.
Rehau North America’s current VP of marketing and sales, Christian Fabian, has been appointed to the position of incoming CEO, effective as of July 1, 2012. Fabian brings more than 20 years of experience working within Rehau operations around the world, including in Germany, France and England. In 2005, he became director of Rehau North America’s industry business division in Leesburg, Va., overseeing sales and marketing initiatives for products serving furniture, appliance and other industry segments. Fabian was appointed to his current position as VP of marketing and sales in 2006, and in 2007 was promoted to the Rehau North American regional executive board (REB). In September of 2011, Fabian’s executive management oversight was extended into Rehau’s construction business division, when he became responsible for sales and marketing in that division as well.
“Christian was the perfect choice as Rehau’s next CEO, and as such, the handover process is progressing smoothly and easily,” Saylor said. “The company’s focus has shifted toward growth and strategic business development, and Christian lends an astute and varied background in international business and sales management.”
According to Fabian, in addition to honing a cross-selling business strategy, his initial focus as CEO will be to shepherd planned investment by Rehau North America in both its construction and industry business divisions.
“While the economy continues to recover, there is no doubt that increasing opportunities for sales are out there, particularly in the rebounding construction industry,” said Fabian. “It’s our job to be smart, be strategic and apply a ‘comprehensive systems solutions’ method in our sales efforts, which we’re more than capable of doing thanks to a wide-ranging product offering. We’re also well positioned to capitalize on current trends in the North American construction market, where considerable investments are being made in sustainable building technology. Growth in ‘green buildings’ on both the new and retrofit construction side — particularly in education and hospitality — will allow us to really shine, as we have focused on the development of quality-driven energy-efficient and renewable energy products for some time now. High-performance windows, geothermal ground-source heat exchange systems and PVC-alternative furniture components are just some of the many examples of these, and our plan is to identify sales opportunities where combinations of these solutions can best meet the requirements of a project.”