Oshkosh Corp. Names Former JLG President Wilson Jones its Next CEO

Oshkosh Corp., parent company of aerial work platform manufacturer JLG Industries, announced that CEO Charles Szews will retire effective Dec. 31, and will be replaced by Wilson Jones, current president and chief operating officer. Jones, who has been with the company since 2005, took over the access segment (JLG) in May 2010 when long-time JLG leader Craig Paylor resigned.

Szews, who has served as CEO for five years, will also retire from the company’s board of directors, on which he served since 2007. Szews joined Oshkosh in 1996 as chief financial officer and served as president and COO from 2007 through 2011.

Richard Donnelly, current chairman of the board at Oshkosh, said Szews demonstrated strong leadership leading the company to successfully overcome U.S. Department of Defense spending reductions and the lingering effects of the recent recession.

Jones became president and COO in June 2012, at which time Frank Nerenhausen took over leadership of JLG.

“We expect the transition of Wilson Jones to CEO to be seamless as Charlie and the board have been preparing for this for several years,” added Donnelly. “Wilson has been with the company for a decade, gaining greater leadership and business responsibilities, as well as successfully serving as president for two of Oshkosh’s business segments prior to his August 2012 appointment to president and COO.”